Th e European Union’s Brexit plans remain unchanged by Th eresa May’s snap election announcement, the council representing EU leaders has said.
Th e UK prime minister, who had promised not to call an election before 2020, said she planned to call a snap general election on 8 June. But European Council President Donald Tusk’s spokesman said the 27 other EU states would forge ahead as planned. “Th e UK elections do not change our EU27 plans,” Mr Tusk’s spokesman said. He added: “We expect to have the Brexit guidelines adopted by the European Council on 29 April and following that the Brexit negotiating directives ready on 22 May. Th is will allow the EU27 to start negotiations.”
Mr Tusk and Mrs May have had a “good” conversation on the phone following the announcement, the council president tweeted. Using his personal account, Mr Tusk also tweeted: “It was Hitchcock, who directed Brexit: fi rst an earthquake and the tension rises.” An EU offi cial and spokesman for the negotiating team told the BBC that they were hopeful the outcome may even improve negotiations. “Th is is a domestic matter for the UK. But we have some hope that this will lead to a strong leader in London that can negotiate with us with strong backing by the electorate,” they said. “Th is does not change things. We are
