Britain should be out of the EU before European Parliament elections in 2019 said Martin Schulz.
London:
Britain should be out of the European Union before the next European Parliament elections in 2019 but the government appears "undecided" over how to proceed, the parliament's president said on Friday.
"I called on Prime Minister (Theresa) May to notify the UK's departure from the EU as soon as possible," Martin Schulz said in a speech at the London School of Economics after talks with May on Thursday.
"If Article 50 is triggered too late, we run the risk of facing European elections in the UK in 2019 at the very same time as it is leaving the EU.
"That would be a very difficult thing to explain to UK and to European citizens," Schulz said.
European Parliament elections are due to be held in May or June 2019.
May has said she is not planning to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty -- the formal procedure for leaving -- before the end of the year.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and other officials have suggested it will happen early next year.
"Honestly, I leave London with a feeling that the government is undecided about how and when they should trigger Article 50," Schulz said.
"It is absolutely clear, and it became for me every day clearer -- the complexity of the whole exercise is enormous," he said, calling the vote to leave the EU a "disaster" for both Britain and the European Union.
Asked by AFP about the possibility of his leaving the presidency of the European Parliament in January, Schulz said: "I'll decide later about my own career".
Socialist Schulz has completed a first mandate and was re-elected for a second following the 2014 European elections after a promise to centre-right lawmakers that he would step down in January 2017.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
"I called on Prime Minister (Theresa) May to notify the UK's departure from the EU as soon as possible," Martin Schulz said in a speech at the London School of Economics after talks with May on Thursday.
"If Article 50 is triggered too late, we run the risk of facing European elections in the UK in 2019 at the very same time as it is leaving the EU.
"That would be a very difficult thing to explain to UK and to European citizens," Schulz said.
European Parliament elections are due to be held in May or June 2019.
May has said she is not planning to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty -- the formal procedure for leaving -- before the end of the year.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and other officials have suggested it will happen early next year.
"Honestly, I leave London with a feeling that the government is undecided about how and when they should trigger Article 50," Schulz said.
"It is absolutely clear, and it became for me every day clearer -- the complexity of the whole exercise is enormous," he said, calling the vote to leave the EU a "disaster" for both Britain and the European Union.
Asked by AFP about the possibility of his leaving the presidency of the European Parliament in January, Schulz said: "I'll decide later about my own career".
Socialist Schulz has completed a first mandate and was re-elected for a second following the 2014 European elections after a promise to centre-right lawmakers that he would step down in January 2017.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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