Related: Women Between 2017 and 2019, representatives of the United Kingdom and the European Union negotiated the terms of Brexit, the UK's planned withdrawal from membership of the EU.

These negotiations arose following the decision of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to invoke Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, which in turn followed the UK's EU membership referendum on 23 June 2016 in which 52% of votes were in favour of leaving.

In March and April 2019, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Theresa May and the European Council agreed to move the date of the UK's departure to 31 October 2019.

Following the 2019 UK general election, which returned a Conservative majority, the Withdrawal Agreement Bill and its programme motion passed its first reading in the House of Commons.

[15] According to the European Parliament in March 2017, "For the moment, it appears that the two sides have different views on the sequencing and scope of the negotiations, and notably the cross-over between the withdrawal agreement and the structure of future relations, and this divergence itself may be one of the first major challenges to overcome.

"[21] In the event, the election led to a hung parliament which reduced the Prime Minister's room for manoeuvre; in particular in respect of the Irish border question due to her dependency on a confidence and supply agreement with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party.

[28] Intergovernmental organisations also involved in Brexit uncertainty considerations include the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

At the outset policy provisions binding on the EU include principles, aspirations and objectives set out in the TEU (Treaty on European Union) Preamble[33] and Articles.

[35] In the white paper, British negotiating policy was set out as twelve guiding principles: On 28 June 2016, five days after the referendum, Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel advised the German parliament of the agreed EU negotiation position: the UK could remain in the European Single Market (ESM) only if the UK accepted the ESM's four conditions (free movement of goods, capital, services and labour).

[37] In contrast, at her October 2016 party conference, Prime Minister Theresa May emphasised that ending the jurisdiction of EU law and free movement from Europe were priorities.

She wished "to give British companies the maximum freedom to trade with and operate in the Single Market – and let European businesses do the same here", but not at the expense of losing sovereignty.

[42] In January 2017, the Prime Minister presented twelve negotiating objectives and confirmed that the British government would not seek permanent single market membership.

[50] On 29 April 2017, immediately after the first round of French presidential elections, the EU27 heads of state unanimously accepted, without further discussion,[51] negotiating guidelines prepared by the president of the European Council.

[53] Nevertheless, a 4 March 2017 report of the European Union Committee of the House of Lords stated that, if there is no post-Brexit deal at the end of the two-year negotiating period, the UK could withdraw without payment.

[58] According to the leaked description, Juncker claimed that Theresa May was "living in another galaxy" when suggesting that British and EU migrant rights could be rapidly negotiated and agreed in the course of June 2017.

[59] The background for German nervousness allegedly was the possibility that Britain could veto EU budget increases, which for example in the immediate term amounted to four billion euros.

Approaching the end of the two-year negotiation period in March 2019, Theresa May and European leaders agreed to a delay for the Parliament of the United Kingdom to approve the proposed Withdrawal Agreement.

[75][54] Discussing financial and legal complexities involved in negotiating withdrawal, including settlement of outstanding financial liabilities and division of assets, the report mentions (paragraph 15) that the EU budget is funded by revenue drawn from various sources, governed by the EU's Own Resources Decision (ORD), which was made part of British law by the European Union (Finance) Act 2015.

[84] Antonio Tajani spoke after a meeting with Theresa May on 20 April 2017, saying "the issue of reciprocal EU citizen rights should be negotiated 'immediately' with a view to getting an agreement by the end of the year.

[87] The policy paper proposed that EU citizens living in Britain will be required to apply for inclusion on a "settled status" register if they wish to remain in the country after Brexit.

The Chávez-Vílchez decision may have consequential effects for British residents who have young children and wish to live in the EU27 territory post Brexit, but this remains to be tested.

The report of the House of Commons Exiting the European Union Committee on The Government's negotiating objectives, published in April 2017,[95] proposed (paragraphs 20 and 123) that the future system for EU migration should meet the needs of different sectors of the British economy, including those employing scientists, bankers, vets, care workers, health service professionals and seasonal agriculture workers.

They were released online on 21 December 2017 but lawmakers were unimpressed: "Most of this could be found on Wikipedia or with a quick Google search", said Labour's David Lammy, "these documents [were made] in a couple of weeks.

Investment banks may want to have new or expanded offices up and running inside the EU27 bloc before the UK's departure in March 2019, with Frankfurt and Dublin the possible favourites.

This imbalance could potentially give Britain some negotiating leverage e.g. power of retorsion in case the EU attempts to impose an abrupt cancellation of the mutually-binding obligations and advantages of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive 2004 (" fund passporting").

[113] The letter of 29 March 2017 giving the UK's notice of intention to withdraw from the EU stated "In security terms a failure to reach agreement would mean our cooperation in the fight against crime and terrorism would be weakened.

"[117]: ch.5 Robin Walker MP, a junior minister at the Department for Exiting the European Union, is responsible for managing the relationship between the overseas territories and Parliament in their discussion with the EU27.

The Government has produced no evidence, either to this inquiry or in its White Paper, to indicate that it is giving the possibility of 'no deal' the level of consideration that it deserves, or is contemplating any serious contingency planning.

This resolution proposes that the agreement address four domains: trade, interior security, foreign and defense policy collaboration, and thematic cooperation (for instance for research and innovation).

[139] In December 2018, then Secretary for Work and Pensions Amber Rudd suggested that a Norway-plus model – the membership of the European Economic Area (EEA) – could be an alternative if Theresa May's Brexit deal was rejected.