LONDON — British Prime Minister Theresa May said her “Brexit Bill” will become law in the “coming days” and she is on track to trigger European Union (EU) divorce talks by the end of this month.

After passing through Parliament, the draft legislation requires the approval of Queen Elizabeth II in a final step known as the royal assent. That could happen in the coming days and will likely be announced by House of Commons Speaker John Bercow in London.

Mrs May, who was appointed Prime Minister shortly after Britain voted to leave the EU last June, faced down attempts in both the Lower and Upper Houses of Parliament to add conditions to the Bill giving her right to launch the divorce.

She now has the right to begin what could be Britain’s most complex negotiations since World War Two. But beyond saying she will begin the formal process later this month, the Premier has yet to answer the question of exactly when, and end nine months of guesswork as to how her government will approach the uncharted territory of leaving the EU.

“We remain on track with the timetable I set out six months ago,” Mrs May told parliament last night, referring to her promise to trigger Article 50 by the end of March.

“I will return to this House before the end of this month to notify when I have formally triggered Article 50 and begun the process through which the United Kingdom will leave the European Union ... This will be a defining moment for our whole country.”

Mrs May hopes to negotiate terms that keep ties with the other 27 member states as close as possible but also satisfy eurosceptics in her ruling Conservative party.

But after Britain’s vote to leave the EU at the referendum deepened geographical and social divisions, she will now be forced to seek a deal that defuses threats by Scottish and Irish nationalists calling for independence votes.

The Prime Minister appeared to be caught off guard Monday when Scotland’s nationalist government announced plans for a second referendum on breaking from the United Kingdom. She has revealed little of her strategy for Brexit negotiations but has a long wish list — wanting to win a free trade deal, maintain security cooperation, regain control over immigration and restore sovereignty over British laws. The Parliament will need to pass at least seven Bills to prepare for life outside the EU on controversial issues such as immigration, taxes and agriculture.

The EU has balked at London’s demands, saying they amount to “having your cake and eating it”, and the British government acknowledges it is a bold opening position.

While the government has signalled areas for compromise and is keen to remind EU leaders of the benefits of cooperation, it is also preparing for the possibility of crashing out of the bloc with no deal.

An aide at one department said last month there was a backlog at Mrs May’s office as her team scrutinises all departmental reports, leading some to question whether her team is ready for the talks which could soon get bogged down.

Britain’s commitments to pay into the EU budget — which officials in the bloc estimate to reach around ¤60 billion (S$90 billion) — are shaping up to be one of the first, and possibly the most contentious parts, of the divorce talks.

“There will be a lot of different issues jostling for attention, so I think what will happen is we will get into a bit of a holding pattern,” said Mr Anand Menon, director of the UK in a Changing Europe think-tank.

“I don’t know for how long, but I can’t see this being resolved in the two years.” AGENCIES