With the suspension of work in Parliament until 14 October, the future of Brexit remains uncertain. A painful serial that has lasted for more than three years.
- June 23 , 2016
After 43 years of belonging to the European community, British voters vote in a referendum of almost 52% for a UK exit from the European Union. David Cameron, the Conservative Prime Minister who organized the consultation and is campaigning for EU membership, announces his resignation. On July 13, he gives way to his home secretary, Theresa May.
- January 17 , 2017
In front of foreign diplomats and British Brexit negotiators at Lancaster House, where Margaret Thatcher announced British support for the single market in 1988, Theresa May announces that the UK will leave the single European market at the same time as European Union.
"No partial membership of the European Union, no EU associate status, nothing that leaves us half out, half in. We are not trying to adopt a model that already benefits other countries ", she announces, fixing her" red lines "and assuring that a lack of agreement will be better than a bad deal.
- March 29 , 2017
Nine months after the British vote, Theresa May formally initiates the divorce proceedings by activating Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty in a letter to the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk.
The text provides that "any Member State may decide, in accordance with its constitutional rules, to withdraw from the Union" and sets a period of two years to negotiate the terms of the divorce. Brexit will therefore have to be negotiated and ratified by March 29, 2019 at 11 pm GMT.
- March 31 , 2017
Donald Tusk responds to London by presenting the roadmap of the Europeans for the upcoming negotiations, with a first phase dealing with the terms of the divorce and then, in a second time only, the negotiation of a possible transition period and future relations. between London and the Europeans.
Among their demands, Europeans call for the settlement of existing financial commitments made by London - the bill must amount to tens of billions of euros - and the granting of a residence permit to the 3 million European citizens living in the United Kingdom. United. It is also a question of avoiding the return of a "physical" border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, in order to preserve the peace agreements of 1998.
- June 8 , 2017
The early parliamentary elections ordered by Theresa May to establish her authority turn into a nightmare for the Prime Minister: her Conservative Party loses an absolute majority in the House of Commons, May now depends on the ten elected Northern Irish Democratic Party of Ulster ( DUP). His position is weakened even before the official launch of negotiations with Brussels.
- September 22 , 2017
In a speech in Florence, Theresa May tries to relaunch stalled negotiations by deciding for a transition period of about two years after the Brexit, during which the United Kingdom would remain in the single market.
- December 8 , 2017
"White smoke" in Brussels where the United Kingdom and the European Union announce at the dawn an agreement in principle on the modalities of their divorce, which will allow them to proceed to the second phase of the negotiations.
- December 15 , 2017
Meeting at the summit in Brussels, the European Union validates the opening of the second phase of negotiations on the exit of the United Kingdom while warning against the difficulty of the discussions to come.
Theresa May, on the Irish issue, agrees in principle to a solution called "backstop", a safeguard clause that would apply as a last resort - if London and Brussels can not agree on a better
solution - to avoid the return of customs controls between Ireland and Northern Ireland by keeping the British province within the customs union and the single market.
- March 19 , 2018
An agreement has been reached in Brussels between Great Britain and the European Union on the post-Brexit transition period, which should run from the effective date of Brexit until 31 December 2020. However, details remain to be discussed on the
Irish border file, says the chief negotiator of the Europeans, Michel Barnier.
- An eventful 2018 summer
On July 6th, Theresa May gathered her government in a seminar at Checkers, her official residence in North London, to draw up a White Paper on Brexit.
On July 9, David Davis, his Brexit Minister, and Boris Johnson, his foreign minister, resigned in protest against the text, which was released three days later.
On 19 July, the European Commission publishes a document explaining to the Twenty-Seven the procedure to be followed in case of absence of agreement with London and asking them to accelerate the preparations for a "dry exit".
"If the withdrawal agreement is not ratified by 30 March 2019, there will be no transition period and EU law will cease to apply in the United Kingdom as from 30 March 2019 This is the 'no deal' scenario or the 'sudden break', "warns the Commission.
- October 20 , 2018
Hundreds of thousands of UK supporters in the EU are marching through the streets of London to demand a second referendum on Brexit. The organizers estimate the number of protesters to be 700,000, the most-seen in Britain since a demonstration against the war in Iraq in 2003.
- November 13 , 2018
Following leaks in the Irish and British media, London confirms that the negotiators of the European Union and Great Britain have finally agreed on a technical draft withdrawal agreement.
- November 15 , 2018
Unhappy with the terms of the agreement negotiated by Theresa May, many of her ministers resign, including Brexit Minister Dominic Raab.
- November 25 , 2018
The leaders of the Twenty-Seven, meeting in extraordinary summit in Brussels, validate the agreement.
- December 10 , 2018
Fearing not to have a majority to pass the draft agreement negotiated with Brussels, Theresa May postponed the vote scheduled the next day in the Commons and announced that she will travel to Brussels to obtain assurances, including on the issue of the safeguard clause on Ireland.
- December 12 , 2018
By 200 votes to 117, Theresa May survives a vote of distrust triggered by her rivals in the Conservative Party.
- January 15 , 2019
The withdrawal agreement is overwhelmingly rejected the first time in House of Commons by 432 votes against 202.
- March 12 , 2019
Just 17 days before the scheduled Brexit date, the British House of Commons rejects the withdrawal agreement a second time, by 391 votes to 242.
- March 13 , 2019
UK MPs approve text calling on government to exclude Brexit track without agreement. Theresa May warns them that she will not be able to get Brexit postponed if they do not accept the withdrawal agreement by March 20.
- March 21 , 2019
Meeting in Brussels, the 27 Heads of State and Government outside the United Kingdom postpone the date of Brexit from March 29 to May 22 - if the House of Commons ratifies the withdrawal agreement the following week - or April 12 in the case
opposite.
- March 23 , 2019
Several hundred thousand people hostile to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union are demonstrating again in central London to demand a second referendum for or against Brexit. The organizers of the march estimate their number at more than one million.
More than five million Britons are signing a petition calling for the revocation of Article 50 and the termination of the divorce proceedings.
- March 29 , 2019
For the third time, members of the House of Commons reject the exit agreement from the United Kingdom of the European Union by 344 votes to 286, the day of the original date for Brexit.
- April 2 , 2019
Theresa May, after a seven-hour conclave with her ministers at 10 Downing Street, announces in a televised speech that she intends to request a further postponement, as brief as possible, of the date of Brexit .
At the same time, she is reaching out to the Labor opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn, to get out of the current parliamentary impasse and find common ground with him so that he can propose the following week to the European Union an acceptable formula, in order to allow an orderly Brexit. The discussions will not succeed. Failure will be recorded in mid-May.
- April 11 , 2019
European Heads of State and Government postpone Brexit date to 31 October.
- May 23 , 2019
More than three years after the referendum, the British went to the polls for European elections in which they did not think they should participate. Nigel Farage's Brexit Party loses its opponents with 31.6% of the vote in front of the pro-European Liberal Democrats (18.6%), the Labor Party (14.1%), the Greens (11.1%) and the Conservatives , relegated to a humiliating fifth place with 8.7% of the vote.
In the week leading up to the vote, Theresa May shot her latest card with closer trade ties with the EU, without ruling out a second referendum. But his offer cemented a refusal front ranging from his party's most pro-Brexit elements to the Labor opposition.
- May 24 , 2019
With tears in her eyes, Theresa May announces her resignation. She says she will step down as Conservative leader on June 7th. He will then begin the process of appointing his successor who will also head the government.
- July 24 , 2019
Comfortably elected the day before at the head of the Conservative Party, Boris Johnson succeeds Theresa May at the head of the government. He promises that the UK will leave the EU "no matter what" by 31 October, with or without agreement.
"The people who have bet against Britain will be on their side because we are going to restore confidence in our democracy, keep the repeated promises of Parliament to the people and leave the EU on October 31, point to the line" ,
announces the former Mayor of London in his first address to 10 Downing Street.
He goes on to say that there can be no agreement on whether the Northern Ireland "backstop" is maintained. But Brussels maintains that the withdrawal agreement is not renegotiable.
- August 28 , 2019
Boris Johnson provoked an uproar by demanding the suspension of the work of the Parliament of Westminster from a date between September 9 and 12 and until October 14, just two weeks before the expected date of Brexit.
- September 3 , 2019
Parliamentary return to the House of Commons, where Boris Johnson is outvoted: 21 Conservative MPs mingle their voice with those of the opposition to remove the risk of a Brexit without agreement on October 31. Their initiative was approved by 328 votes to 301.
- September 4 , 2019
The Commons are in favor of a text enjoining Boris Johnson to seek a postponement of Brexit to the European authorities. They reject in the wake of a motion he had tabled to organize October 15 elections
legislative elections.
- September 9 , 2019
New parliamentary setback for Boris Johnson in the Commons: British MPs again reject a motion tabled by the government to hold early parliamentary elections on October 15. Parliamentary proceedings are suspended until 14 October.