UK Can Reverse Brexit Unilaterally

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After the winding management of Brexit, the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg have opened a window for the UK to decide remain in the European Union in the end. The high court announced on Monday that Britain is free to revoke its so-called Article 50 notice any time before it’s due to leave the bloc on March 29., with no penalty.

As reported by Reuters, the timing of the ruling on the eve of the British parliamentary vote was not a coincidence: the court said it had ruled with unprecedented haste to ensure that British lawmakers would understand their options.

According to Bloomberg, the ruling will be seized on by Remainers, who must now decide whether to push an amendment to that effect. At the very least, they can now argue with more force that staying in the EU should be included in a second referendum to end the gridlock if May’s deal is voted down in Parliament.

There are clear implications for Brexiteers, too. Ever since lawmakers moved to give themselves more power over the Brexit endgame in a vote last week, concern has been growing among euroskeptics that Parliament will seek a softer withdrawal or even attempt to stop Brexit entirely. On that basis, it could make sense to vote for May’s deal — which they dislike because it retains closer ties to the bloc than they want – rather than risk no Brexit at all.

Campaigners hoping to stop Brexit have been buoyed in recent weeks as May herself warned that if her deal was defeated then the United Kingdom could face either a no deal Brexit or no Brexit at all.

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The Corner
The Corner has a team of on-the-ground reporters in capital cities ranging from New York to Beijing. Their stories are edited by the teams at the Spanish magazine Consejeros (for members of companies’ boards of directors) and at the stock market news site Consenso Del Mercado (market consensus). They have worked in economics and communication for over 25 years.