The outcome of the recent referendum was clear, and should be respected. Nevertheless, the future is shrouded in uncertainty.  As no Member State has ever withdrawn from the EU, there are no relevant precedents. This is uncharted territory; these are interesting times.

Article 50 TEU, introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon, provides the mechanism for withdrawal from the EU.

It makes several things clear. A Member State may decide to withdraw ‘in accordance with its own constitutional arrangements’. In the UK, that decision is taken under prerogative powers by the Prime Minister of the day. Thus, it is for the Prime Minister to decide when to notify the European Council. The European Commission appears to have accepted over the weekend that it cannot (legally, at any rate) oblige the UK to trigger Article 50. The UK appears to be waiting until there is a new Prime Minister in place. There are suggestions that it might decide to wait until after the elections in France and Germany in 2017.

But, Article 50 is silent on one crucial question. What if the UK activates Article 50, but then has second thoughts about the decision to leave the EU? If the Article 50 process is stopped, what is the UK’s status? It is this question that Dr. Phil Syrpis focuses on in the full blog.