LONDON (AP) – Since the U.K. voted to leave the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May has said it again and again: “Brexit means Brexit.”
Despite the mantra, though, it’s far from clear what a British exit from the bloc will look like. Almost three months after the vote, Britons and Europeans still don’t know when the departure will happen or how it will affect their work, travel, pocketbooks and prospects.
“There are lots of players, a lack of clarity – we don’t (even) have an agreed process,” said Simon Usherwood, a reader in politics at the University of Surrey. “It’s a sorry state of affairs.”
For now, Britain remains a member of the bloc, though an increasingly detached one, as the other 27 countries start to move on. EU leaders meet Friday in Slovakia – without the U.K. – to try to steer a way past challenges including violent extremism, the refugee crisis and economic woes.
EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker acknowledged Wednesday that Britain’s departure was a blow.