The UK government has announced that it intends to invoke Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union on 29 March 2017, which will begin the process for the UK's exit from the EU. The legislation granting the government the power to invoke Article 50 received Royal Assent and was enacted on 16 March. Once Article 50 is invoked, preliminary negotiations will begin, with full negotiations expected to be concluded in autumn 2018 and the final agreement for the exit expected to be ratified in early 2019.