MOSCOW (Sputnik) – British Prime Minister Theresa May intends to formally trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty that starts the legal process for the United Kingdom to exit the European Union without a parliament vote, The Telegraph reports.
"The Prime Minister has been absolutely clear that the British public have voted and now she will get on with delivering Brexit [Britain leaving the European Union]," a Downing Street source told the newspaper on Friday.
According to The Telegraph, May wants to avoid giving Brexit opponents a chance to hamper Britain’s withdrawal from the bloc. Government lawyers have told the prime minister that she has executive power to invoke Article 50 without a parliament vote.
On June 23, the United Kingdom held a referendum to determine whether or not the country should leave the European Union. According to the final results, 51.9 percent of voters, or 17.4 million people, decided to support Brexit, while about 16.1 million opposed it.
According to the Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, each EU member state can leave the bloc. In order to start the process of leaving the European Union, a member state must formally inform Brussels about its intention and, then, formally begin negotiations on the matter. The departing member is released from its obligations under EU treaties once a final agreement is reached with Brussels or — if no such deal is struck — two years after notification was first given.
