PhD in Governance

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG In Brüssel und London bereitet man sich auf die Verhandlungen über den Brexit vor. Derzeit plant die britische Regierung bis spätestens Ende März 2017 den Austritt zu erklären. Zuvor soll dem Parlament ein Brexit-Plan vorgelegt werden. Nach der formellen Austrittserklärung Großbritanniens, bleiben laut Artikel 50 EUV genau zwei Jahre Zeit, bevor die EU-Mitgliedschaft automatisch endet. Für den Zeitplan der Verhandlungen gibt es sowohl rechtliche als auch politische Vorgaben. Innerhalb der Zwei-Jahres-Frist müssen die EU-Mitgliedstaaten, das Europäische Parlament und Großbritannien dem Austrittsabkommen zustimmen, damit es zeitgleich mit dem Ende der britischen EU-Mitgliedschaft in Kraft tritt. EU-Chefunterhändler Michel Barnier nannte Oktober 2018 als den Zeitpunkt, zu dem die Verhandlungen abgeschlossen sein müssten. Ende März 2019 würde dann der geordnete Austritt erfolgen, im Mai 2019 wür-den die nächsten Wahlen zum Europäischen Parlament stattfinden-dann bereits ohne Großbritannien. Dieses Policy Paper systematisiert die nächsten Verfahrensschritte in den Verhandlungen über den Brexit und arbeitet die einzelnen Verfahrensvoraussetzungen heraus, um den rechtlich-institutionellen Kontext genauer zu untersuchen.

Brussels and London are gearing up for the Brexit negotiations. By the end of March 2017, the British government is planning to declare that the UK intends to leave the EU. On 24 January 2017 the UK's Supreme Court ruled that the government must get approval from parliament before beginning the formal withdrawal process. After the formal declaration of withdrawal by the United Kingdom, its EU membership, as Article 50 TEU stipulates, will automatically come to an end exactly two years later or at the date specified in the withdrawal agreement. The schedule of the negotiations is governed by legal and political provisions. Within the two-year period EU member states, the European Parliament and the United Kingdom will have to give their consent to the withdrawal agreement so that it can enter into force when the British EU membership comes to an end. Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator, said that the negotiations should be completed by October 2018. The orderly withdrawal from the EU would follow at the end of March 2019, and the next elections to the European Parliament in May 2019 (without the United Kingdom). After Prime Minister Theresa May outlined her approach in her Lancaster House speech on 17 January 2017, the objective of this Policy Paper is to systematize the next procedural steps in the Brexit negotiations. It identifies the various procedural preconditions in order to examine the legal and institutional context in a more precise manner. From a European point of view a distinction needs to be made between three negotiating tracks: • The withdrawal negotiations of Article 50 TEU (" the withdrawal ") • Negotiations on the shape of the future relationship between the EU and the United Kingdom (" the future ") • The reconfiguration of the EU Treaties (" the rest ") It is possible to imagine different scenarios. Already the withdrawal negotiations might well be characterized by repeated crises or by pragmatism. It is to be expected that certain patterns in the withdrawal negotiations will be repeated in the negotiations on the shape of the future relationship. The two negotiating tracks are closely connected. And finally, the reconfiguration of the EU Treaties depends on the results emanating from the two preceding processes.