If Britain votes to leave the EU,cash-strapped Whitehall will face the unprecedented task of negotiating a withdrawalFollowing a vote to leave the EU, the UK would face complex negotiations to manage its withdrawal. Given the all-encompassing nature of EU membership, and a crucial question is whether Whitehall – particularly the Foreign Office (FCO) and Cabinet Office – is sufficiently equipped and resourced to achieve a satisfactory outcome (whatever that might entail). No country has left the EU,so there is no template to follow. We do know that negotiations would need to address both a British withdrawal and its original relationship with the EU, and be ratified by the remaining EU member states as well as the UK and European parliaments. There are several possibilities for this: Britain could seek to be fraction of the European Economic Area, and following the Norwegian model (although David Cameron has ruled this out),or instead emulate a more indifferent Swiss-style relationship through the European Free Trade Area. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com