Leaving the EU

At midnight on 28th March 2019 the United Kingdom will become the second sovereign state to leave the EEC/EU. The first state to leave was the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, in 1962.

It is often forgotten that Algeria was not a French colony, but an integral part of France. Her departure from the EEC followed her attainment of ‘independence’, although in practice she became a German client-state.

The second country to leave was Greenland. As with the UK, there was something of a gap between the vote and the actual departure – over five years, in fact. There was no second referendum. Once the people of Greenland voted to leave the process proved unstoppable.

Greenland, although she enjoyed Home Rule, was not a sovereign state. Under the 1953 Danish Constitution she was and remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Greenland Head of State is Her Danish Majesty Queen Margrethe II, who is also Commander-in-Chief of the Danish Armed Forces.

Having regard to events in Catalonia it is just possible that the UK may be the third sovereign state to leave, not the second. However the Catalonians have made rather a hash of things, no offence intended, and it does not appear that there will be a second Spanish civil war. Catalonia’s declaration of independence has not been recognised and the region remains part of Spain.

That may change, of course, if the Spanish carry through with their covert plan to invade Gibraltar in retaliation for Brexit. Such a move would lead, inevitably, to general hostilities between Her Majesty and His Catholic Majesty the King of Spain, the least popular Spanish monarch in this country since Philip II.

In accordance with our strategic doctrine when dealing with aggressors, we would insist upon Spain’s unconditional surrender. The Spanish armed forces have not engaged in general hostilities since being hammered by the United States in 1898 during the Spanish-American War, after the Spanish mined the armoured cruiser USS Maine (ACR-1) in Havana Harbour. It is likely that Spain would be defeated once again and the state would be broken up. Each of her constituent parts (probably three, including Catalonia) would leave the EU, but I do not anticipate a war before 2019.

Leaving Prior To Lisbon

You may well ask, since journalists have endlessly opined that Article 50 is the only way to leave the EU, how it is that two countries have already left. The answer is that it was done by agreement.

That is not the whole story, however. In 1975, Parliament accepted the possibility of leaving the EU and enacted the Referendum Act 1975. Both the government of the day and Parliament accepted that the UK could unilaterally denounce the Treaty of Rome. This could easily have been done under international treaty law, later codified in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, provided that reasonable notice was given.

I know that journalists and Remainers have repeatedly stated that Article 50 is the only lawful means of exit from the EU, but they’re wrong. Repeating a mistake doesn’t make it right – the same idiots have repeatedly asserted that a clean Brexit is not in our economic interests.

Article 50 Does Not Require Agreement

Some sillier commentators have deluded themselves into believing that when the UK/EU negotiations break down (in practice they have already done so), the result will be that we remain in the EU. No. Article 50 is quite clear – denunciation of the Treaty on European Union takes effect two years after service.

As Martin Howe QC has so eloquently argued elsewhere, there is no provision in Article 50 for transitional arrangements. Such arrangements would almost certainly need an amendment to the TEU. Only permanent agreements are envisaged by Article 50 as it stands.

Without agreement on a new relationship, we will default to trading with the EU enemy on WTO terms. It is highly unlikely that Anglo-European flights would be suspended. Aside from anything else, European airlines use our airspace to reach the Atlantic. If they do not permit our flights to land in Europe we will not permit theirs to land in Britain, nor would we permit violations of our airspace by European aircraft.

Unilateral Withdrawal of the Article 50 Notice

In desperation, some of the more unhinged Remoaners have resorted to the argument that the Prime Minister could simply withdraw the notice. Again, no. Under international treaty law, unilateral revocation of a notice of denunciation is not permitted, unless there is specific provision for it.  It’s not like sacking your cook. You need to get the other side’s agreement.

There is no provision in Article 50 for notice to be withdrawn once given. The better view is that withdrawal would require the agreement of all 27 member states, which might not be forthcoming. It would be politically impossible without a second referendum, for which there is no appetite, or a civil war, for which the Remoaners have made no more provision than the Catalans.

Author’s Note: Well done to UKIP Daily for not caving in to the campaign of abuse directed at me after my September 16 article! Ad hominem attacks are the weakest form of argument, usually resorted to by losers.

Resorting to citing my 2014 convictions was pathetic. I have never tried to hide them. The Bad Guys have not yet been made to pay for setting me up, but they will. The prosecutions involved the commission of serious offences by police officers and civil servants.  

Before calling in the police on the absurd bomb hoax allegation civil servants systematically destroyed every single piece of evidence in their possession recording what I had actually said. Enough about me, however. I am on the attack and enjoying it!