All 28 members of the EU are part of the bloc, as well as Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. The legal challenge has been started with the Administrative Court, which sits within London's High Court, a spokesman for the judiciary told AFP. A single judge will consider the claim and decide whether it can proceed to a hearing. The spokesman was unable to confirm the number of claimants, which was put at four by the Guardian newspaper. The claim joined a case already brought by pro-EU think-tank British Influence, a spokesman for Britain's Brexit department told AFP.
British Influence announced its decision last month to challenge the government, arguing there was a "strong chance" Downing Street would be acting unlawfully if it took the UK out of the EEA as well as the EU. "We need judicial clarification," British Influence said in November. But Prime Minister Theresa May's spokeswoman then told reporters: "Once we leave the EU, we will automatically cease to be a member of the EEA." May has set a March 31 deadline to kick-start Brexit negotiations, a two-year process which begins once a member state triggers Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty.
The High Court ruled in November that the government does not have the power to unilaterally begin divorce proceedings, raising the prospect of a parliamentary vote. The decision was appealed by the government and the Supreme Court's 11 judges are due to announce their decision on the landmark case in January. May has said she will also give a speech next month with more details of the government's plans. The June 23 referendum on Britain's EU membership saw 52 percent vote to leave the bloc.