By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal
LONDON (AA) – British lawmakers voted on a bill Wednesday that gives Prime Minister Theresa May authority to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty that officially begins the U.K.’s exit negotiations with the European Union.
MPs voted 498-114 in favor of the bill after two days of debate.
A roadmap of the U.K. government’s Brexit strategy will be published in a White Paper on Thursday, May told parliament earlier Wednesday during a session.
May told parliament the White Paper would include the government’s approach to the statuses of EU nationals living in the U.K. and British citizens living in EU member states, and that an early settlement of the issue would be sought at the start of negotiations on exiting the 28-member bloc.
“My intention and expectation is that we will be able to offer that reassurance to EU nationals living in the UK but I do also want to see reassurances offered to U.K. nationals living in the EU,” she said.
She said the issue “will be referenced in the White Paper”.
Addressing questions about the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, May said she and Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny want to ensure there is no “return to the borders of the past” and reiterated their agreement to have a border that is “as frictionless as possible”.
The bill was presented to parliament last week, following a U.K. Supreme Court decision that said the government must seek parliament’s approval before triggering the article.
British voters decided to leave the EU in a referendum last June.
May has set the end of March as the deadline to trigger Article 50.
