ARTICLE 50 (BREXIT)

Dec. 6, 2018

A senior legal adviser to the European court of justice (ECJ), told the court that he believed the UK could revoke article 50 independently, without needing the permission of every other EU member state so as to stop the process of exiting the EU.

About:

Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union sets out how an EU country might voluntarily leave the union. It says: “Any member state may decide to withdraw from the union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements.”
Features:
- It specifies that a leaver should notify the European council of its intention, negotiate a deal on its withdrawal and establish legal grounds for a future relationship with the EU.
- On the European side, the agreement needs a qualified majority of member states and consent of the European parliament.
- It gives negotiators two years from the date of article 50 notification to conclude new arrangements.
- Failure to do so results in the exiting state falling out of the EU with no new provisions in place, unless every one of the remaining EU states agrees to extend the negotiations.
Brexit: The Government of the United Kingdom triggered Article 50 to begin the UK's withdrawal from the EU in March 2017 following a referendum, and the withdrawal is scheduled to occur on 29 March 2019.