EFA President in Brexit talks

President of the EFA Group in the European Parliament Josep-Maria Terricabras is taking part in the first of a series of exchanges of view on the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union.

Josep-Maria Terricabras

Today's meeting and exchange of views with the European Commission's lead Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, takes place in the context of an extraordinary meeting of the European Parliament's Conference of Presidents in Brussels.

Terricabras is one of two representatives of the Greens/EFA group at these meetings which will help prepare the European Parliament's approach to the forthcoming Brexit negotiations.

Josep-Maria Terricabras

The meetings are chaired by European Parliament President Martin Schulz and representatives from different political groups will take part.

The United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union by a narrow margin at a referendum in June 2016, but significantly a majority of voters in Scotland (62%) voted to remain.

Withdrawal negotiations cannot formally begin until 'Article 50' is triggered and the United Kingdom officially gives notice of its intention to leave.

The UK Government has suggested that this will happen before March 2017, followed by two years of negotiations.