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Signed by European Union (EU) member states in December 2007, and entered into force in December 2009, the Lisbon Treaty was an update to the Maastricht Treaty from 1993 and amended the two treaties which formed the constitutional basis of the EU. Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty is a five-point plan devised should any nation decide to leave the EU – hence its relevance here. It sets out a two-year exit process, during which time it will be constantly negotiated with the 27 other members of the EU.- A member state may withdraw from the EU “in accordance with its own constitutional requirements”
- It must notify the European Council of this plan, after which it will negotiate and conclude an agreement on the terms of withdrawal
- The treaties formally governing the member state no longer remain applicable to the exiting nation from the date of entry into force or the withdrawal agreement or two years after notification
- The leaving country’s European Council representative does not participate in any meetings or discussions concerning its exit process
- Should a country which has exited the EU decide it wants to rejoin, procedures from Article 49 are consulted
How Brexit is likely to alter UK employment law
The process of enacting Article 50 has never been tested, as membership of the EU has so far been one way traffic. From the founding members, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, through Britain, Ireland and Denmark’s admittance in 1973, to the newest member in the shape of Croatia, the EU has only ever become bigger.- Four EU business laws that have a dubious future after Brexit
- “Half-hearted ambivalence” from Jeremy Corbyn as Angela Eagle also quits
- Mark Carney shows now is the time for stable thinking
A 500-word summary of the short and long-term Brexit business implications
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