Analysts at Westpac noted that the UK and International Press have informed that PM May is about to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty as a means to begin the official departure process for UK to leave the European Union, which UK voted by referendum to join (it then being The European Economic Community) in 1973.
Key Quotes:
"Around midday on 29th March 2017, PM May will tell the UK Parliament that the UK Government has delivered a letter to Donald Tusk, European Council President, to formally notify the EU of Britain’s intention to leave EU.
What is The Treaty of Lisbon?
The EU has evolved through many acronyms and formats and as it expanded from the six original countries (TEEC) that signed the Treaty of Rome 60 years ago (25th of March 1957). The Lisbon Treaty (signed in Dec 2007, enacted in Dec 2009 and published in consolidated version in March 2010 - some 410 pages).
This treaty brought together previous laws, agreements and protocols to form the constitutional basis of the EU.
What is Article 50?
It had often been stated that there was not a policy for leaving the EU because its founders did not want such an option to be available. This is untrue.
Article 50 provides the outlines for a State leaving the EU: “Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own Constitutional requirements.”
It provides a brief 5 point outline of this process, including the two year exit period unless the European Council “unanimously decides to extend this period”.
So briefly, there you have it – Article 50 is the official announcement, under constitutional requirements (and so the need for the UK to pass a bill to allow this), to leave.
What if it was a mistake?
It should also be noted that this same Article 50 also outlines that a State can re-join under the terms of the preceding Article 49 – so there you have it again, it is not irrevocable, and it would just be a huge legal and procedural pain for all involved."
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