Brexit. Why do Brits want Out of the EU?

@Walter Hinteler,

Walter Hinteler wrote:

The EU was established with the Maastricht Treaty.
There were other treaties before (notably Rome) and afterwards (Lisbon being the one mostly noted).
Each member state signed and ratified them.

Whether you or someone else agrees or disagrees, nothing of that changes the contractual obligations of the partners in the union.

What do you do when you want out of a contract?

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@livinglava,

Article 50.

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@Olivier5,

Olivier5 wrote:

Article 50.

Have you ever had a contract that stipulates conditions for exiting the contract, and then those conditions are used to obstruct you from exiting the contract?

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@livinglava,

The Lisbon Treaty became law in December 2009. (Ratification in the UK on on 16 July 2008, Royal Assent by the Queen on 19 June 2008.)

You may asked them, if they had such before.

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@livinglava,

Have you ever tried to leave a hotel without checking out and paying for your room?

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Right now, the UK is officially two days away from leaving the EU without a deal. But this afternoon Theresa May will head to Brussels to seek an extension to Brexit. She wants a delay of no more than 30 June. But the EU27, mindful that the PM has nothing meaningfully new to offer them, after cross-party talks with Labour broke up until Thursday, seem minded to seek a year.

Billy Cash, MP, has sent a letter to Tusk, saying that any decision by the Prime Minister to accept a long extension to Article 50 is likely to be challenged in the UK courts. (Bill Cash on twitter) That letter is based on the legal belief of some members of the European Research Group (ERG) of Brexiter Tories that because parliament voted to leave the EU, the government is now bound by that.

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@Walter Hinteler,

A Brexit-related quote from the Belgian prime minister, Charles Michel,more gnomic side of things

Quote:

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said it remained unclear whether Britain would receive an extension on the deadline for its withdrawal from the bloc ahead of a meeting of EU leaders on Wednesday to discuss Brexit.

“It is not certain there will be a delay,” Michel told reporters in Brussels. “And it is not certain what that would mean.”

Reuters

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@Walter Hinteler,

This is what Theresa May said as she arrived at the summit. She said:

The purpose of this summit is to agree an extension, which gives us more time to agree a deal to enable us to leave the EU in that smooth and orderly way.
What matters, I think, is I have asked for an extension to June 30 but what is important is that any extension enables us to leave at the point at which we ratify a withdrawal agreement.
So we could leave on May 22 and start to build our brighter future.

Before, she was asked by reporters, and refused to say if she will resign if UK remains in EU beyond 30 June.

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@Walter Hinteler,

France and Germany are understood to be at loggerheads over both the length of the extension and the conditions that the EU should put on a delay to Brexit.

Merkel, is arguing that a short extension to 30 June is unlikely to provide enough time for the impasse in Westminster to be broken, and Berlin is seeking an extension until 31 December.
Germany believes that the biggest incentive for Conservative MPs to back the Brexit deal is the threat of holding European elections.

Macron, meanwhile, is understood to looking at a very short extension, possibly up until before the European elections, sources have said. There could be a further extension if the UK signs up to stringent conditions, Macron has said.

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@Walter Hinteler,

According to RTE, no EU leader has spoken against extending Brexit - so far at least. Long extension are favoured but duration is yet to be agreed.

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@Walter Hinteler,

Sunday Times’ Andrew Byrne tweeted

Quote:

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@Walter Hinteler,

The EU has again postponed Brexit - this time until 31 October at the latest.
Theresa May agreed to the October Brexit as Donald Tusk warns that the UK 'don't waste this time'. The UK also has zje option to leave in June if the PM can secure Commons' support for the deal.

Whether there will be enough time for the British to finally reach an agreement among themselves is by no means certain.

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@Walter Hinteler,

Quote:

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Following is the text of an EU summit agreement on Thursday giving Britain more time to complete its withdrawal from the European Union.

1. The European Council takes note of the letter of Prime Minister Theresa May of 5 April 2019 asking for a further extension of the period referred to in Article 50(3) TEU.

2. In response, the European Council agrees to an extension to allow for the ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement. Such an extension should last only as long as necessary and, in any event, no longer than 31 October 2019. If the Withdrawal Agreement is ratified by both parties before this date, the withdrawal will take place on the first day of the following month.

3. The European Council underlines that the extension cannot be allowed to undermine the regular functioning of the Union and its institutions. If the UK is still a Member of the EU on 23-26 May 2019 and if it has not ratified the Withdrawal Agreement by 22 May 2019, it must hold the elections to the European Parliament in accordance with Union law. If the United Kingdom fails to live up to this obligation, the withdrawal will take place on 1 June 2019.

4. The European Council reiterates that there can be no opening of the Withdrawal Agreement, and that any unilateral commitment, statement or other act should be compatible with the letter and the spirit of the Withdrawal Agreement and must not hamper its implementation.

5. The European Council stresses that such an extension cannot be used to start negotiations on the future relationship. However, if the position of the United Kingdom were to evolve, the European Council is prepared to reconsider the Political Declaration on the future relationship in accordance with the positions and principles stated in its guidelines and statements, including as regards the territorial scope of the future relationship.

6. The European Council notes that, during the extension, the United Kingdom will remain a Member State with full rights and obligations in accordance with Article 50 TEU, and that the United Kingdom has a right to revoke its notification at any time.

7. The European Council takes note of the commitment by the United Kingdom to act in a constructive and responsible manner throughout the extension in accordance with the duty of sincere cooperation and expects the United Kingdom to fulfill this commitment and Treaty obligation in a manner that reflects its situation as a withdrawing Member State. To this effect, the United Kingdom shall facilitate the achievement of the Union’s tasks and refrain from any measure which could jeopardize the attainment of the Union’s objectives, in particular when participating in the decision-making processes of the Union.

8. In addition to meetings under Article 50 TEU, the 27 Member States and the Commission, where appropriate together with other institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union, will continue to meet separately at all levels to discuss matters related to the situation after the withdrawal of the United Kingdom.

9. The European Council will remain seized of the matter and will review progress at its meeting in June 2019.

Reuters

In my opinion, it's already clear that if in doubt, there will be another extension at the end of October, as the EU does not want to be responsible for a hard Brexit under any circumstances.

The only neat solution without too much absurdity would have been for the British government to revoke Article 50. Then, the UK, as a full member state, would have had all the time in the world to sort itself out, make a new attempt and negotiate another withdrawal agreement with the EU.

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@Walter Hinteler,

A confusing contribution from Donald Trump to the Brexit discussions

Quote:

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@Walter Hinteler,

Well, I guess the EU has 'punished' the UK again... tsk tsk tsk.
:-)

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@Olivier5,

Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry

Quote:

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@Walter Hinteler,

Thank you, Carolyn for these words of wisdom.

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The thumb monkey is back. Anyone's got a banana to spare?

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@Olivier5,

The has been put up by the government to put a brave face on the extension.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Brexit minister Kwasi Kwarteng insisted the "extension is long enough to get a deal through. Ideally we would like to get the deal through by 22 May."

He added: "It is not a secret that it is a difficult negotiation" and accepted the UK would have to hold European elections on 23 May.
He pointed out that if the UK hadn’t agreed a deal by then it was legally obliged to hold the elections. "Do I want this to happen? No."

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@Walter Hinteler,

I might be totally wrong about this but I wonder if the longer extension pushed by Merkel isn't an attempt at reverse psychology, a form of "prescribing the symptom" à la Gregory Bateson. It could be taken as meaning: "we don't trust you to make up your mind quickly", thus enticing the Brits to get the job done without procrastinating any further, if only to prove the EU wrong... Do you see what I mean?

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Brexit. Why do Brits want Out of the EU?

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