LONDON — The British government said on Monday that it intended to formally notify the European Union on March 29 of its intention to leave the bloc, putting the country on track to complete a withdrawal by early 2019.

David Davis, the cabinet minister responsible for negotiating the exit, said that Britain would send notice next week to start a two-year negotiated exit, commonly referred to as “Brexit,” under Article 50 of the European Union’s treaty.

Shortly after the announcement, Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, said in a post on Twitter that he would present draft guidelines for the British withdrawal to the other 27 member states within 48 hours of Britain formally giving its notice.

Prime Minister Theresa May, who had promised to begin the process of negotiating a withdrawal by the end of March, is apparently hoping that the end of the negotiations will conclude before the next elections to the European Parliament in summer 2019 and the next general election in Britain, expected to take place in 2020.