Britain's May wants two-year transition deal with EU - BBC

LONDON - 21 September 2017: British Prime Minister Theresa May will say she wants a two-year transition deal after leaving the European Union in March 2019 in a speech in Florence on Friday, the BBC's political editor said.

May, who is weakened after losing her party's majority in a June election, will speak directly to EU leaders at the speech in Italy, and set out her vision for future ties with the EU.

Her top ministers all agree on the need for a transition phase after Britain leaves the bloc to avoid a "cliff edge" for businesses, but there have been differences over how long that period should last.

"Hearing speech will say there will be transition of up to 2 years ... won't be off-shelf model," Laura Kuenssberg said on Twitter after May ended a lengthy meeting of her top ministers.