Brussels — Britain's prime minister vowed on Thursday that the UK would continue to have a "full role" in the workings of the European Union until it leaves the 28-nation bloc.
Britain is unlikely to officially trigger the two-year negotiations for its exit from the EU, commonly referred to as "Brexit," until the end of March.
That forces the 27 other nations to plot their future without a major but often recalcitrant member state, while British Prime Minister Theresa May has yet to make the talks for a breakup official.
May arrived for her first EU summit in Brussels Thursday and said "I'm here with a very clear message. The UK is leaving the EU but we will continue to play a full role until we leave. And we'll be a strong and dependable partner after we've left."
The June 23 referendum to leave the EU was a milestone in the history of the bloc and the disentanglement is expected to be long, difficult and confrontational.
May said however that "it's in the interests of the UK and the EU that we continue to work closely together, including at this summit," which runs through Friday. She is expected to brief the other 27 leaders on the Brexit issue over dinner — though it isn't expected to dominate the rest of the summit.
European Council President Donald Tusk vowed last week not to compromise on the bloc's principles in negotiating Britain's departure and warned that London is heading for a hard exit.
He insisted that Britain can't hope to both stay in Europe's single market and restrict the movement of EU migrants, saying there would be no compromises.
May has appeared to signal that her government would prioritize controls on immigration over access to the European single market, an approach informally called a "hard Brexit."
Once May activates the exit clause — Article 50 in the EU's governing Lisbon Treaty — negotiations on the terms of Britain's departure would run for two years. The time frame could be extended, but only if the 27 remaining member states agree unanimously.
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