Reasonable article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...d=ss_fb-bottom
Highlights are:
That bloody veto again.
Highlights are:
If (as is likely) Britain leaves, it will then have to approach the E.U. as a non-member seeking an association agreement to regain access to E.U. markets. It is not going to be in a position to demand a good deal.
First of all, it will face the E.U.’s unanimity requirements. All the E.U. member states will have to agree to any deal before it goes forward. This means that just one member state can block the agreement. Before the referendum, Britain could count on the help of other governments that were sympathetic to it. Now, any deal will effectively be shaped by the single government most unsympathetic to Britain’s case, and most eager to punish it, since all other member states will need that state’s assent. If one or several remaining member states want to make the establishment of an association agreement very costly for Britain, the British will find themselves in a very weak bargaining position.
First of all, it will face the E.U.’s unanimity requirements. All the E.U. member states will have to agree to any deal before it goes forward. This means that just one member state can block the agreement. Before the referendum, Britain could count on the help of other governments that were sympathetic to it. Now, any deal will effectively be shaped by the single government most unsympathetic to Britain’s case, and most eager to punish it, since all other member states will need that state’s assent. If one or several remaining member states want to make the establishment of an association agreement very costly for Britain, the British will find themselves in a very weak bargaining position.
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