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Here’s What to Expect if Britain Votes to Leave the E.U.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/expect-britain-votes-leave-e-111842886.htmlA sense of denial permeates the corridors of power in Brussels as the June 23 referendum on British membership of the European Union (EU) nears. Communications staff are rumored to have been banned from using the word “Brexit” – the common neologism for a ‘leave’ vote. Ask any official about contingency plans for such an outcome, and the answer is unequivocal: there is no Plan B....
Here is what we do know: in the event of a ‘leave’ vote, Britain must promptly notify the E.U. Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty – the equivalent of the E.U’s constitution – allows for a two-year period in which the terms of the leaver’s exit are negotiated. During this time Britain would no longer be able to take part in any E.U. decision-making, and any exit agreements must be approved by all 27 remaining E.U. nations and the European Parliament. Then after Britain’s formal exit, fresh negotiations could begin on any new trade deals....
“It has never happened before so nobody would be able to rely on any precedent,” says Chris Bickerton, a lecturer at Britain’s Cambridge University and author of The European Union: A Citizen’s Guide. “The Treaty of Lisbon was drafted with the idea that (Article 50) would not be used, and to make it pretty hard to exit in a smooth way… it simply has not been done before so things will be made up as they go along.”
In the days after a ‘leave’ vote, the European Parliament and ministers from other major E.U. powers would probably meet to formulate their response to the biggest blow yet to the union. A summit of E.U. leaders is already scheduled for June 28/29, five days after the vote, and they would be looking to minimize the impact on financial markets and the risk of contagion to other Euroskeptic countries.
Here is what we do know: in the event of a ‘leave’ vote, Britain must promptly notify the E.U. Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty – the equivalent of the E.U’s constitution – allows for a two-year period in which the terms of the leaver’s exit are negotiated. During this time Britain would no longer be able to take part in any E.U. decision-making, and any exit agreements must be approved by all 27 remaining E.U. nations and the European Parliament. Then after Britain’s formal exit, fresh negotiations could begin on any new trade deals....
“It has never happened before so nobody would be able to rely on any precedent,” says Chris Bickerton, a lecturer at Britain’s Cambridge University and author of The European Union: A Citizen’s Guide. “The Treaty of Lisbon was drafted with the idea that (Article 50) would not be used, and to make it pretty hard to exit in a smooth way… it simply has not been done before so things will be made up as they go along.”
In the days after a ‘leave’ vote, the European Parliament and ministers from other major E.U. powers would probably meet to formulate their response to the biggest blow yet to the union. A summit of E.U. leaders is already scheduled for June 28/29, five days after the vote, and they would be looking to minimize the impact on financial markets and the risk of contagion to other Euroskeptic countries.
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