Friday, July 4, 2008

The options for a Europe without a script

Can a country be excluded from membership of the European Union? The answer is no. Does a non-ratification of a treaty by a single member state prevent a treaty from entering into force?...
My own hunch is that they will try to find a way to enforce the Lisbon treaty without the non-ratifiers....
As a first step, they will try to offer the No-sayers a quit-and-rejoin deal. It would be the least divisive option of all, but unfortunately, it may also be one of the least realistic. It would obviously require their consent, which is far from assured. In Ireland's case it may require a referendum to get out and another one to get back in.

If this is not possible, there are several other options involving varying degrees of involuntary separation.
Read more: The options for a Europe without a script

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