UK Parliament Committee Finds Brexit Could be 'Complex and Daunting'

Britain's exit from the European Union would be "complex and daunting" for the country, a UK parliamentary committee found on Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Supporters and opponents of the so-called Brexit referendum scheduled to take place on June 23 have staked their arguments on economic and national security grounds. Wednesday’s report released by the upper house of UK Parliament’s EU Select Committee focuses on the withdrawal process should the Leave campaign prevail.

"One of the most important aspects of the withdrawal negotiations would be determining the acquired rights of the two million or so UK citizens living in other Member States, and equally of EU citizens living in the UK. This would be a complex and daunting task," the committee said in a report.

Drawing on witness testimony, the committee concluded that Article 50 of the Treaty on the European Union "provided the only means of withdrawing from the EU consistent with the UK’s obligations under international law."

It clarified that negotiations on withdrawal and a new relationship "would take several years" despite Article 50 establishing a two-year exit period. The committee further stressed that the United Kingdom’s credibility as an EU member during the withdrawal negotiations "would be severely undermined."

EU member states would retain "significant control" over withdrawal negotiations and the European Parliament's right not to consent to adopting the withdrawal agreement would give it "considerable influence," the select committee added.

Opinion polls ahead of the Brexit referendum have fluctuated this month, with the latest ICM online survey giving the Leave campaign a 3-percent edge over the Remain camp.