OT It could be even worse then you thought possible

[Adrian Caspersz]

The press have an in-grained interest in starting civil war to watch it with paid ring-side seats and ice cream.

"Tomorrow never dies"

[Michael Chare]

RTFM:

[Tim Streater]

This points us at Article 218(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Got a reference for that? Article 50 itself doesn't say of lot.

[John Rumm]

Negotiation is a two way process - especially when you are negotiating with a club that can't dangle withdrawing your membership as stick to beat you with, and to whom you are a nett payer of fees rather than a nett receiver.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Merkel has just said she hopes the UK will re-join the EU in the future. So wants terms which would encourage that. Something only a bit worse than now, but bad enough to make it sensible to re-join.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Right. So not only do you claim to speak for the entire UK, but the people of Europe too.

Have you even thought how ridiculous that is?

[T i m]

I wonder if this is a big 'Ooops' on Tims behalf ... assuming the 'small print' will work in his favour? ;-(

Cheers, T i m

[Tim Streater]

What *are* you talking about?

[Tim Streater]

I keep thinking how ridiculous you are, maundering on ad nauseam.

[T i m]

Keep up pops. ;-)

We are waiting for you to show us exactly how much exit negotiation we are involved in with the EU?

Cheers, T i m

[Tim Streater]

Why are you asking me? I haven't offered to do that. I just pointed out that as with any negotiation, you don't have to accept the terms first offered. I was then pointed at the above link, the content of which doesn't help us much, but which points us further on (I mentioned that in another post). So we're all waiting for Michael to provide us with a link to that.

[T i m]

As long as someone does as how else can we start to guess at what will happen if / when we trigger article 50. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[dennis]

Nobody knows!

[Cursitor Doom]

Wot a load of s**te.

[Cursitor Doom]

They might *like* to make it ugly for us, but the truth is they cannot afford to - and they know it. WE actually hold all the cards and the Germans especially are well aware of it!

[Andrew]

err, do you mean like 1976 ?.

[Capitol]

In her dreams! It has taken 43 years to get out. She'll be dead in another 43 years!

[Capitol]

It's normal for a losing, remain socialist!

[Capitol]

He's a loser, what else do you expect?

[Charlie]

It isn't possible for the EU to treat Britain like Greece, because Britain isn't asking the EU for billions to bail it out of the mess that it has got itself into economically.

Yes.

There is no way for the EU to do that. If Britain chooses to invoke Article 50, it gets to decide for itself when to do that and then the EU is stuck with the 2 year time that that provides for. The only way that the EU could get Britain to leave very quickly is to make it clear that if it invoked Article 50 it would agree to the most important things that Britain wanted like no longer the free movement of EU citizens into Britain and no more money from Britain to the EU and there is no way the EU would ever agree to that because that would see quite a few of the other net contributors to the EU also leaving the EU to get the same result.

The EU has no capacity to do that. The most it can ever do is refuse to agree to anything Britain wants and even that can't be done quickly given the 2 year provision in Article 50.

And Britain is free to make an obscene gesture in the general direction of the EU and trade under the WTO rules, just like all of the US, China, India, Taiwan, Canada, Australia etc all do right now.

Fantasy. The EU has no capacity to do anything like that to Britain.

They voted for something else entirely, and will get that, you watch.

And likely will see the EU do what you listed too.