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Brexit Renegotiation Claims 'Fantasy' and 'Absurd' - Top EU Law Expert

© REUTERS / Neil HallLeader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) Nigel Farage holds his passport as he speaks at pro Brexit event in London, Britain June 3, 2016.
Leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) Nigel Farage holds his passport as he speaks at pro Brexit event in London, Britain June 3, 2016. - Sputnik International
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A leading expert of European Union law has told Sputnik that claims that the UK could easily negotiate a new deal with the EU following a decision to leave the union in referendum on June 23 are "fantasy" and "absurd."

Professor Panos Koutrakos, Jean Monnet Professor of European Law at City University London, told Sputnik that any renegotiation of the UK's relationship with the EU in the event of a Brexit would be fraught with practical and legal difficulties.

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At the referendum on June 23, he told Sputnik: "[People] will be voting to get out of an association of sovereign states where, in certain areas, they pool resources and do things together. The European Union does not have powers to do things in every single area of activity where states are free to do things. In certain areas, it has no powers at all.In southern countries, shops are closed on Sundays. In [Britain] they are open. There is no European law that says there should be common laws on everything.

"They will also be voting on whether they want to stay in an area, where there are — mostly — common rules when it comes to trade and goods, persons, services and capital. If you decide to produce toys in [Britain], then it would be much easier for you to sell them in another EU member state, because your toys will comply with rules that are common.

"If you want to sell them in France, the French authorities, would not have the right to restrict the import and sale of your product, unless there is a very important reason to do so, which will have nothing to do with economics. They will have to show that imposing a restriction is necessary and proportionate. If you feel you have a problem with this, you could sue them before the French courts," he said.

Back to the Old Days?

Professor Koutrakos, who is joint editor of European Law Review, said it was not possible to wind the clock back to the time before the Maastricht treaty of 1992 — which created the EU as we know it now — and go back to the time when the UK was part of the European Economic Area.

"You could not, in the sense that what we've got now is much more advanced than what we had before. One of the most vocal advocates of the single market, which entered force in 1992 was the government of Margaret Thatcher. The whole idea was that, if we had a single market, it would be easier to trade, easier for workers to move around, easier to provide services in other countries. There would be more economic activity, it would be cheaper and consumers would have more choice."

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He said renegotiating the UK's place in the EU — its relations with the Commission, the Council and countless EU agencies would be enormously difficult, legally. "It would be extremely difficult, both in legal terms and in practical terms. 

"In legal terms, there are two things that would need to be done. One is an agreement about the divorce between the UK and the EU. Second, there needs to be an agreement about the future relationship. European law tells us that the divorce arrangement will take two years — which could be extended, but all member states have to agree to this.

"For the future arrangement, there is no deadline. The idea that the future arrangements could be roughed out very quickly is simply fantasy. In practical terms, the idea the UK would be able to pick the best parts of doing business with the EU and put them all into an agreement which would be negotiated fast, to which the other states would agree, is simply absurd," he told Sputnik.

"In addition to negotiating a divorce arrangement with the EU and an agreement about its future relationship with the EU, the UK would also have to negotiate trade treaties with the rest of the world.

"This is a task of staggering complexity in itself."

He said the CETA trade agreement for a trade agreement between the EU and Canada began in 2009 and has still not entered into force. The legal and practical difficulties of negotiating a separate agreement between the EU and the UK would be "enormous."

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