Given the Obstacles, How can Great Britain Exit the European Union?

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For months, Great Britain has been talking about withdrawing from the European Union (EU). The matter is up for full debate, and shall be put to a referendum. This has left many to ask how the British could exit (or “Brexit”) the European Union? Would it be legally possible? After all, no other nation has left the EU. 


For months, Great Britain has been talking about withdrawing from the European Union (EU). The matter is up for full debate, and shall be put to a referendum. This has left many to ask how the British could exit (or “Brexit”) the European Union? Would it be legally possible? After all, no other nation has left the EU. 

From a strictly legal standpoint, it appears that, yes, the British could withdraw from the EU. Article 50 of the 2009 Lisbon Treaty creates a process that would allow a member nation to withdraw from the EU, though it has never been used. If the British referendum resulted in approval for the plan to leave the EU, the British Prime Minister would then notify the European Council of Britain’s plan to withdraw.

A negotiation would determine the exact terms of the nation’s withdrawal, and new agreements would have to be reached regarding how Great Britain would be allowed to interact with the remaining 27 EU member states. After all, a benefit of membership in the EU was smoother international trade between members, so if Britain leaves, should it continue to enjoy similarly advantageous trade terms with its neighbors?  

Once terms were reached between the parties, the deal would have to be voted on by the remaining EU leaders and could only pass by a qualified majority vote, and a vote of the European Parliament. Depending on the terms of the agreement, it could also require ratifying votes by the parliaments of some or all of the 27 EU member states. 

Existing treaty arrangements between Britain and its European neighbors would have to be amended to account for Britain’s new free agent status. Similarly, Britain would have to enact a number of new laws to replace policies it had inherited and followed from the EU. 

The process could take as much as two years of negotiating. Per the Lisbon Treaty, if two years elapses with no agreement, all 27 remaining EU member either states have to unanimously agree to extend the negotiation period or Great Britain simply exits the EU with no deals in place. While negotiations continue, EU laws would remain in full effect in Britain.

According to Fortune, those who are campaigning for “Brexit” are suggesting that Britain should pursue free trade deals with the EU and / or its members rather than continue as a member. They point to the European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA) and the recently created free trade agreement between the EU and Canada, the latter of which removed 99 percent of customs duties. These advocates believe such relationships would be far more beneficial to Great Britain than the EU was. 

On the other hand, those opposing “Brexit” fear other nations could use strong economic shunning as a means of forcing Great Britain to rejoin the European Union. They also point out that negotiating fair trade deals take a very long time — far longer than the two years contemplated by the Lisbon Treaty. As such, the British economy could languish for the better part of a decade before new trade agreements could take effect.

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