| Topic: | For Guy: "...the Treaty also sets out a specific right and procedure for member states to leave" | |
| Posted by: | Fraser Pearce | |
| Date/Time: | 13/03/08 20:13:00 |
| Guy wrote: "I have read elsewhere that the Treaty also sets out a specific right and procedure for member states to leave the EU. I don't know if this is correct but if it is it makes some of the rubbish put about (including briefly on this website) by the likes of EUTruth even more laughable." - Spot on, Article 50 does have an exit clause. Any country, however, was free to leave the EU before the Lisbon treaty anyway (Greenland did it in 1985). The point is though that Lisbon puts terms on such an exit that weren't there before... On joining the EEC, Britain sacrificed its fishing industry as a price for membership (De Gaulle called it a "dowry"). Post-Lisbon, anyone care to guess what would penalties would be imposed if a country chose to leave the Union? Article 50 also effectively blocks opportunities for Member States to renegotiate their membership terms - you're either fully in or you pay onerous penalties to get out. This is likely to make it more difficult, for example, for Spain, Greece or Italy to renegotiate Eurozone terms when in recession. Don't believe the Conservatives either if they claim they'll renegotiate entry terms on winning the election - they won't be able to. |