Brexit explained: What's next on the UK's road out of the EU

Article 50 was added as an afterthought in the mistaken belief that no member state would even consider leaving. Future political and economic events could overtake the whole negotiation process and premise behind the UK exit from the EU. I am not taking much notice of all the huffing and puffing in media.

The EU should have put more thought into article 50 when it was written.

Then there would be less uncertinty about the details of leaving.

Like if you leave, you get freetrade for 10 years but only if there is free movement of people for thoses 10 years.

and durring those 10 years trade deals and movement of people could then be worked out.

For the amount of stuff that needs to be worked out, 2 years seem short.

Trade deals with other countries also need to be worked out in those 2 years.

@Azzprin

The EU should have put more thought into article 50 when it was written

I don't think they could bring themselves to believe that anyone could be so pig-headed or self-crippling to leave. Chalk that one up to experience

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I believe Lord Kerr a Scottish peer who authored Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, when UK ambassador to the EU. I have read somewhere Kerr feels Article 50 is not written in stone, and can be withdrawn at any time after invoking.

David Davis in many respects does not inspire confidence, just as well there will be a legion of lawyers, analysts, and experts on hand to point him in the right direction.

those travelling north and south in Ireland will once again pass via a border without the free movement of pigs

Oh, there's a Gardai joke in there somewhere....

Also the Channel Islands and Gibraltar.

My money is on the whole fiasco unraveling before Christmas. Greece, Italian banking crisis, the EU budget, two more elections and Ted Malloch, Presidents Trump’s top choice for Chief US diplomat to the EU ....“I think there is probably - from an economist’s perspective - a very strong reason for Greece moving away from the euro”....And NATO contributions....All to the accompaniment of one diplomatic ding-dong after another.

The Ireland border issue is a nightmare waiting to happen, best left well alone, friction-less.

I always thought the most compelling arguments in favour of Brexit were a.) the EU was incapable of change and reform, and b.) the EU had transformed into something very different over the past 40 years. Of course, logic prevents both from being true but that never seemed to bother the Brexiteers who would repeat both in a single breath.

Article 50 was added as an afterthought in the mistaken belief that no member state would even consider leaving

That was also my first thought when I read the headline. To call it a 'road' out of the EU makes it sound overly optimistic and rather comfortable. Maybe 'plotting a trajectory' or 'or charting a course' would capture the lack of control and uncertainty a bit better.

It was interesting to see David Davis admit (or at least sort of admit) that the government hasn't undertaken any official assessment since the referendum of what the impact of no deal with the EU would be. I suspect this is another lie and they have done an assessment. It's undoubtedly a disaster (just as the economists predicted). But I guess sometimes it's better to look incompetent if the alternative is looking suicidal.

Hi M3,There is no predetermined legal structure or precedent for a member state to leave/exit the European Union.

I don't think either the EU or the UK can agree or decide on the protocols/agenda for how - order of importance items should be processed /negotiated. I hope that makes sense. Assets/Budget obligations will be of importance for both.

The crucial difference in comparison to past trade negotiating process say Canada/Japan/US is that items are being taken off the table or the likelihood of tariffs introduced. The UK contributions to EU budget?..

While all this is progressing there are the on going economic and political challenges to overcome.

and those travelling north and south in Ireland will once again pass via a border without the free movement of pigs and other goods

I'm not sure there was ever a border that restricted free movement, whether of people or other smelly beasts, except for those military road blocks during those times we don't like to talk about. This could be a first.

I always thought the EU was a mistaken idea. Removing an individual country's autonomy, and placing unelected representatives in a pseudo-parliament in Brussels was inviting disaster. Adding insult to injury, the free movement of people across what used to be national borders has developed into a social benefits nightmare that's mostly been paid for by the richer countries. Those are just simple facts that politicians like to ignore while they placate the masses with double-speak.

I, for one, hope Greece gets the hell out and goes broke again, France says to hell with it and concentrates on its pluralistic society and reinstating the franc, and that Germany comes to her senses and returns to the mark. After that, let the dominoes fall where they may.

"....without the free movement of pigs and other goods"

Like the Canada-US border? Yep, that border's controlled, and massive amounts of goods cross it every day. The cost of doing business in those two countries tends to be lower and arguably more efficient that in the British Isles, or the Eurozone for that matter.

"Free movement" is not a global norm, that's for sure. You'll not miss it when it's gone.