Boost for anti-Brexit campaigners as top EU lawyer says UK could cancel process
3 min read
Britain could rip up its plan to leave the EU without having to get the approval of other member states, a top European legal adviser has said, in a major boost for anti-Brexit campaigners.
A group of Scottish politicians had asked the European Court of Justice to rule on whether Britain could unilaterally revoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which kicked off talks on a set two-year deadline for quitting the bloc.
The European Council had argued against Britain being able to cancel the process alone, while the UK government had called for the case to be thrown out.
But in an opinion published on Tuesday, the ECJ's Advocate General Manuel Campos Sánchez-Bordona said the dispute was "genuine" and that the right for a country to withdraw from an international treaty was "a manifestation of its sovereignty".
The legal opinion comes just days before MPs vote on Theresa May's Brexit agreement, and is likely to provide fresh ammunition for those arguing that the process of quitting the EU can be reversed.
Although the opinion from the top judge is non-binding, it is seen as giving a major indication of how the full court will rule.
Mr Campos Sánchez-Bordona added: "In answer to the question from the Scottish court, the Advocate General proposes that the Court of Justice should, in its future judgment, declare that Article 50 TEU allows the unilateral revocation of the notification of the intention to withdraw from the EU, until such time as the withdrawal agreement is formally concluded, provided that the revocation has been decided upon in accordance with the Member State’s constitutional requirements, is formally notified to the European Council and does not involve an abusive practice."
The case was brought by a cross-party group of Scottish politicians, including Labour MEPs David Martin and Catherine Stihler and SNP MP Joanna Cherry.
Reacting to the opinion handed down by the top judge, Ms Cherry - who is also a QC - said she was "optimistic the full court will follow this ruling".
Conservative former attorney general Dominic Grieve - a prominent Remain campaigner - meanwhile told Radio Four's Today programme: "It's clearly significant. It reinforces something I personally thought was always the case."
He added: "It's helpful because it removes one of the arguments [against halting Brexit], which is they would never allow us to change our mind."
Labour MP Tulip Siddiq MP, of the pro-EU Best for Britain campaign, said: "This judgment makes it unthinkable that the Government will pursue a path of constitutional and economic chaos, or to suggest their deal is the only game in town.
"Article 50 can be revoked and this self-inflicted mess can be unilaterally ended. All options must now be firmly on the table, and that includes a people’s vote."
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
