LONDON: Britain launched the historic process of leaving the EU on Wednesday but its European partners were quick to warn of the difficult path that lies ahead.

Prime Minister Theresa May declared there was “no turning back” after she gave EU President Donald Tusk formal notification of Britain’s intention to withdraw following last June’s shock referendum.

The momentous move, which comes just days after the EU celebrated its 60th birthday, leaves Britain deeply divided and has thrown a question mark over the future of the 28-nation bloc which rose from the ashes of World War II.

“This is a historic moment from which there can be no turning back,” May told MPs, to cheers from members of her ruling Conservative party.

British ambassador Tim Barrow handed-delivered the letter to Tusk triggering Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty, starting the two-year countdown to leaving. “We already miss you,” Tusk said in Brussels.

But French President Francois Hollande struck a tough tone, warning that Brexit would be “economically painful” for Britain, the first country to leave the bloc. German Chancellor Angela Merkel also rebuffed May’s call for negotiations on Britain’s withdrawal to run alongside talks on a future trade agreement.

Trade is a key issue as Britain prepares to leave Europe’s single market in order to control migration, but Merkel said the exit deal must come first.

The EU is determined to preserve its unity and has said any Brexit deal must not encourage other countries to follow Britain out of the door.

May’s six-page letter struck a conciliatory tone and called for a “deep and special partnership” with Brussels.

While the EU faces the departure of one of its largest and oldest members, May is also battling to keep her divided nation together.

The Brexit vote was only won by a narrow 52-48 margin and Scotland’s nationalist government is now calling for a fresh referendum on independence.

“As we face the opportunities ahead of us on this momentous journey, our shared values, interests and ambitions can — and must — bring us together,” May said.

May also used her letter to repeat her desire for an early agreement over the post-Brexit status of more than three million European nationals living in Britain, and one million British expats in the EU.

Nicolas Hatton, a Frenchman with a British wife who leads a grassroots campaign for EU expatriates, said he wanted a deal “so that we can get on with our lives”. “We don’t want to be the bargaining chips in the negotiations and today the triggering of Article 50 de facto makes us these bargaining chips,” he said.

Tens of thousands marched through London on Saturday demanding Britain stay in the EU, with one banner urging politicians to “stop this madness”.

But others were elated that Brexit was finally under way. “We’ll control our own destiny instead of being governed by unelected bureaucrats in Brussels,” said Martin Spearing, a 65-year-old London market seller.

In Sunderland, a bastion of Brexit support in northeast England, former miner Tom Curras said: “I don’t believe that we should be dominated by other countries.”

Nigel Farage, the founder of the anti-immigration UK Independence Party (UKIP) and a key player in the Brexit campaign, celebrated in a pub near parliament. “Today’s the day for me after 25 years of campaigning that the impossible dream came true,” he said — before a passerby heckled him as “a disgrace”.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2017