24 April 2017, 20:03 GMT
BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — On April 19, the UK House of Commons backed UK Prime Minister Theresa May's bid for an early general election on June 8. May said the snap election was aimed at overcoming divisions in parliament, succeeding in Brexit negotiations with the European Union, and ensuring stability in the country.
"This is a pre-election argument, which I can understand, but it will have no influence on the European Union, because the basis, [EU's] principles and goals are already fixed. The principles will be chosen by the negotiators," Hollande told reporters ahead of the EU summit on Brexit, asked if the UK election could influence the position of EU member states in negotiations.
On Saturday, EU leaders met in Brussels at Special European Council to adopt the Brexit guidelines, a month after May triggered Article 50 and began the withdrawal process by handing a formal letter to European Council President Donald Tusk.
London is expected to finish Brexit negotiations by the end of March, 2019.
