Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, left, welcomes President of the European Council Donald Tusk to 10 Downing Street in London, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016. They met for a bilateral meeting to discuss Britain's Exit of the European Union. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
EU President Donald Tusk will meet British Prime Minister Theresa May in London later Thursday, his office announced, as the two sides prepare for tough Brexit talks.
The visit was listed on an updated weekly schedule for Tusk and gave no reason for the visit nor details of what he would discuss with May.
The announcement comes after the European Parliament on Wednesday overwhelmingly adopted tough “red lines” for the Brexit negotiations, saying the divorce terms must be agreed first before any talk of a new trade deal.
The parliament largely followed Tusk’s own draft guidelines issued last week after May formally triggered the historic Brexit process.
May has pressed hard for the divorce and trade deal talks to proceed in tandem but Brussels has repeatedly rebuffed her demands.
The remaining 27 European Union member states are due to sign off on Tusk’s guidelines at a summit on April 29, paving the way for formal negotiations to begin at the and of May.
The EU wants a draft deal by October 2018 so that national leaders will have time to approve it before ratification by the European Parliament, most likely in early 2019.
© Agence France-Presse
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