THE ROAD TO BREXIT: TEN UK PROCEDURES TOWARDS LEAVING THE EU

How does the process of withdrawal of the European Union function according to Art. 50 TEU? This paper will response to this question by going through the different steps of the procedure of withdrawal, taking into account the existing legal framework lying behind Art. 50 TEU. The analysis will be illustrated by the case of Brexit. It will provide the reader with a better understanding of the conductance of a withdrawal process of the European Union. First, The paper will start by introducing the reasons behind the United Kingdom’s referendum that led to a notification of withdrawal from the EU. Secondly, the paper will discuss the right to withdraw of the European Union granted to Member States. Thirdly, the paper will explain the different steps of the withdrawal according to Art. 50 TEU and develop on the current state of withdrawal of the UK according to Art. 50 TEU. Finally, the conclusion will reiterate the main legal steps lying behind the withdrawal process in order to explain the key aspects of its functioning.

The issue of the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union (the so-called Brexit) means a turning point both in the history of the European integration, and also of the United Kingdom.The 51% of the British electorate voted in favor of leaving the EU, which raised up uncountable legal, political and economic questions to be answered. The legal questions raised by the Brexit could be categorized into some groups. I follow the categorization of Takis Tridimas in this article. There are open procedural, institutional and administrative issues of the withdrawal, which organize the ‘know how’ of the process; but we could talk about the future relationship forms between the United Kingdom and European Union; and the future of the European integration paradigm; or about the development and changes of the European Union’s and United Kingdom’s legal system due to the Brexit. In this paper, I analyze the European Union law rules of the withdrawal, highlighting the legal gaps waiting to be filled by the interpretation of the European Court of Justice. The elaboration of the treaty of withdrawal should rely on the interpretation and opinion of the European Court of Justice in relation to the problematic issues of the European Law, namely the Article 50 of the Treaty on the European Union. In addition, I analyze the Brittish constitutional law rules in subject to the Brexit.

Introduction My final year dissertation at Leeds was inspired by David Cameron’s 2013 Bloomberg speech where he promised a EU membership referendum should the Conservatives win the next election. Fascinated by the implications, I went on to assess the possibility of a unilateral withdrawal in my final year dissertation, analysing the potential of a British withdrawal from the European Union and the various alternatives that are now being fervently examined in the prelude to the referendum. Abstract The introduction of an unprecedented legal framework for unilateral withdrawal by Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty challenged the long-standing conception of the EU as ‘an ever closer union of unlimited duration’. This paper shall endeavour to examine the impact of Article 50 by firstly undertaking a case study of the United Kingdom as a Member State contemplating withdrawal. Secondly, the extent of Article 50’s impact for the EU shall be evaluated by comparing the pre and post-Lisbon positions on withdrawal. Thirdly, the paper discusses several of the more important issues that it considers the ‘divorce’ agreement should address. Finally, having evaluated the EU difficulties of the UK, the potentially unpredictable impact of the new right and the practical difficulties that await both the Union and a potential withdrawing State should Article 50 be invoked, this paper would then attempt to infer why the new right has been introduced into the Union’s legal order.

2017

Brussels and London are gearing up for the Brexit negotiations. By the end of March 2017, the British government is planning to declare that the UK intends to leave the EU. On 24 January 2017 the UK's Supreme Court ruled that the government must get approval from parliament before beginning the formal withdrawal process. After the formal declaration of withdrawal by the United Kingdom, its EU membership, as Article 50 TEU stipulates, will automatically come to an end exactly two years later or at the date specified in the withdrawal agreement. The schedule of the negotiations is governed by legal and political provisions. Within the two-year period EU member states, the European Parliament and the United Kingdom will have to give their consent to the withdrawal agreement so that it can enter into force when the British EU membership comes to an end. Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator, said that the negotiations should be completed by October 2018. The orderly withdrawal from the EU would follow at the end of March 2019, and the next elections to the European Parliament in May 2019 (without the United Kingdom). After Prime Minister Theresa May outlined her approach in her Lancaster House speech on 17 January 2017, the objective of this Policy Paper is to systematize the next procedural steps in the Brexit negotiations. It identifies the various procedural preconditions in order to examine the legal and institutional context in a more precise manner. From a European point of view a distinction needs to be made between three negotiating tracks: • The withdrawal negotiations of Article 50 TEU (" the withdrawal ") • Negotiations on the shape of the future relationship between the EU and the United Kingdom (" the future ") • The reconfiguration of the EU Treaties (" the rest ") It is possible to imagine different scenarios. Already the withdrawal negotiations might well be characterized by repeated crises or by pragmatism. It is to be expected that certain patterns in the withdrawal negotiations will be repeated in the negotiations on the shape of the future relationship. The two negotiating tracks are closely connected. And finally, the reconfiguration of the EU Treaties depends on the results emanating from the two preceding processes.

2020

Summary: 1. Introduction. – 2. The origins of Brexit and the outcome, so far, of the negotiations. – 3. Brexit and the European Parliament elections of May 2019. – 4. The UK after Brexit. – 5. The EU after Brexit. – 6. Concluding remarks.

The latest development of the brexit case seems to suggest that once again the folk has been influenced/pushed/brainwashed in such a way that instead of taking a slow, premeditated and evidence based decision, it was more of a quick, thoughtless vote based on twisted facts and lies. However, as if that wasn´t sufficient, even after the brexit referendum took place, the saga continues and we are still facing series of rash statements and decisions as regards the future prospects of the UK EU relationship. The objective of this post is to take a step back, take a deep breath a see whether there might be some rational answer, or at least a hint on how to deal with current situation form the point of view of the Treaties and the very frequently mentioned Article 50 TEU.

European Constitutional Law Review, 2020

Brexit – Withdrawal Agreement – Article 50 TEU – Negotiations – Legal character of agreement – Transition period – ‘New legal order’ – ‘Due regard’ – ECJ jurisdiction – Governance – Enforcement and supervision – Dispute settlement – Future relations

Oxford Review of Economic Policy