The Scottish Parliament has passed a vote supporting Nicola Sturgeon's call for a second independent referendum. The landmark vote that could witness Scotland leaving the UK, was postponed to Tuesday, following the attacks on Westminster.
May will now be meeting Sturgeon but has no idea on the stand to take on Wales. Sturgeon, in the meanwhile has said that Brexit has unleashed a nationalism that has impaired the EU for good.
Theresa May has ruled out holding a second referendum till the end of Brexit negotiations, stating that the focus should be on the negotiations with EU and not on another vote.
With the triggering of Article 50 and the Brexit negotiations in the anvil, many commentators are wary that concluding negotiations within the current timeframe could be unrealistic, and risky.
Realistically, formal dialogue may not begin before the June French and the September German elections. It would also need to be ratified by 27 countries of the European Union. UK might find an interim way of signing-off a transitional deal, but Britain will be subject to EU regulations and will not have the time to replace European bodies with a new British regulatory rules before two years.
While Article 50 lays the foundations for a retraction from the agreement, the article was designed to avoid any member states from triggering it. Economists feel UK could risk seeing huge disruptions in their trade policies if they forcefully try to conclude agreements to prove that Brexit works.
Activist Gina Miller said to The Independent as we went to press that “people like myself, calling for a transparent, scrutinised Brexit negotiation process, are accused of wanting to tie the Prime Minister's hands. But it is the Eurosceptic Conservative MPs pushing for a clean break without any safety nets that are constraining her.”
There's an undercurrent that the EU is in crisis and is creaking as it turns 60. The Pope Francis told leaders gathered at the 60th Anniversary summit that the EU faces a “vacuum of values” and a loss in the sense of direction. In a special feature at The Economist, John Peet argued that “the European Union is in a poor shape. It needs more flexibility to rejuvenate itself.”
