EUROPEAN leaders are preparing for Britain to begin Brexit imminently, amid signs that Theresa May could activate Article 50 divorce proceedings as early as Tuesday.

    During a summit of the remaining 27 EU members in Brussels on Friday, leaders were told to expect London to trigger exit talks this week and to prepare for a Brussels gathering April 6 to respond to Britain’s formal letter of notification.

    One U.K. Government official involved in the process said he “hoped” that Article 50 could begin Tuesday when May is due to address the House of Commons, but would certainly start by the end of the week.

    Donald Tusk, the EU Council president, said that other European capitals would be ready to issue draft “guidelines” for negotiations within 48 hours. The EU is “well prepared for all procedures,” he said, at the conclusion of a meeting at which Europe’s political elite continued fleshing out plans for life without the United Kingdom in the bloc.

    Aware that the long wait for Article 50 may soon be coming to an end, EU leaders also threw down some markers on how complex they expect the exit talks to be.

    Charles Michel, Belgium’s prime minister, said that “there will be difficult discussions on all subjects but also on the financial aspects” of Britain’s departure. “The British did not make a good choice.”

    May faces votes in both houses of parliament today which are likely to give her the authority to begin Brexit.

    The prime minister will make a statement to parliament on this week’s Brussels summit Tuesday, a day later than usual, prompting speculation that she may use the moment to start the two-year negotiation period.

    On Friday, Downing Street said only that she planned to do so “by the end of the month.” Two senior EU figures involved in preparations said they doubted that May would wait for long to notify once she had secured parliamentary approval.

    German chancellor Angela Merkel said that if the United Kingdom triggered this week, then the other EU-27 leaders could meet April 6 to agree the guidelines for the exit talks.

    The date was confirmed by Enda Kenny, Ireland’s prime minister. Speaking to reporters, he said it would be possible to meet then if “the prime minister moves Article 50, I think, by March 15,” adding that May had not told him the exact date Brexit would be triggered.

    Should Britain take until the end of March to notify, the EU plans to hold its own summit either in late April or early May. Jean-Claude Juncker, the EU commission president, struck a philosophical note after the Brussels meeting, saying that he hoped that Britain’s decision could one day be reversed.”

    I don’t like Brexit, because I would like to be in the same boat as the British,” he said. “The day will come when the British will re-enter the boat, I hope.”

    In today’s debate, May will try to kill two additions to the legislation that were approved by the House of Lords. The first seeks to unilaterally guarantee the rights of EU citizens currently living in the United Kingdom and the other seeks a meaningful vote on the final deal in parliament.

    (SD-Agencies)