[Info-vax] [OT] UK referendum, was: Re: London Stock Exchange in merger talks with Deutsche Börse

[Paul Sture]

On 2016-02-25, Paul Sture <nospam at sture.ch> wrote:
>
> Agreed, the referendum outcome will be largely driven by emotional
> issues, but the affects on businesses could be profound.
>

Supplementary information:

Apparently, the process of formally withdrawing from the EU starts when
the Prime Minister of a country invokes Article 50 of the Lisbon
Treaty.  When that starts, the leaving country has a period of up to 2
years to negotiate the terms of withdrawal.

That 2 year deadline can only be extended with the agreement of all EU
members. If no agreement is reached after 2 years, the country is simply
ejected from the EU.

But even that's not so clear cut:

<http://home.bt.com/news/news-extra/what-is-the-crucial-article-50-of-the-lisbon-treaty-11364042074517>

"Those who say that Article 50 is the only possible path are mistaken
about the history of the EU. It has consistently invented legal
mechanisms to solve political problems.

London Mayor Boris Johnson, who effectively put himself at the head of
the Leave campaign by declaring his support this weekend, has also
hinted that the first referendum result could be used to secure a better
membership deal.

However, Downing Street has dismissed the idea of a second EU referendum
on further revised membership terms."

Article 50 can be found here:

<http://www.lisbon-treaty.org/wcm/the-lisbon-treaty/treaty-on-european-union-and-comments/title-6-final-provisions/137-article-50.html>

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