Prime Minister Theresa May took the first step towards Brexit on Wednesday by giving up Britain's presidency of the European Council, ahead of her first meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Britain will no longer assume the six-month rotating presidency next July as planned, choosing instead to prioritise negotiations on implementing last month's shock referendum vote to leave the European Union (EU).
Estonia's turn, which had been due to start in January 2018, is set to be brought forward by six months to take Britain's place, a spokesman for EU president Donald Tusk said after the announcement. The move came just hours before May, who took office only a week ago as Britain's first female leader since Margaret Thatcher stepped down, makes her first foreign trip with a visit to Berlin to meet Merkel.
Following a working dinner with the German chancellor she travels to Paris on Thursday for talks with French President Francois Hollande in a bid to forge a personal relationship with two leaders who will play a key role in developing Britain's new EU ties. May is set to repeat her call for patience as her new government maps its strategy for ending its 43-year-old membership with the bloc. "I am determined that Britain will make a success of leaving the European Union and that's why I have decided to visit Berlin and Paris so soon after taking office," May said in a statement.
"I do not underestimate the challenge of negotiating our exit from the EU and I firmly believe that being able to talk frankly and openly about the issues we face will be an important part of a successful negotiation. "I also want to deliver a very clear message about the importance we attach to our bilateral relationship with our European partners, not just now but also when we have left the EU."