UK to Make Steps Towards Becoming Independent From EU

UK Prime Minister Theresa May said that she would return to the United Kingdom its independence from the European Union and put an end to the supremacy of the EU legislation in the state by introducing a new bill, local media reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – On June 23, the United Kingdom held a referendum in which 51.9 percent of voters, or 17.4 million people, opted for the country to leave the European Union.

"We will introduce, in the next Queen's Speech, a Great Repeal Bill that will remove the European Communities Act from the statute book…It will return power and authority to the elected institutions of our country. It means that the authority of EU law in Britain will end," May told the Sunday Times newspaper in an interview.

May also stressed that introduction of the legislation would mark "the first stage in the UK becoming a sovereign and independent country once again."

Earlier in September, UK’s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said that the process of leaving the European Union for the United Kingdom would begin after invoking Article 50 of the EU Lisbon Treaty at the beginning of 2017, adding that it could be completed in less than two years.

Article 50 states that any country that wishes to leave the European Union must formally inform the European Council about its decision and then will have a period of two years to negotiate the terms of its withdrawal.