Breaking up is hard to do. The British people voted to leave the European Union, yet how that departure might happen is unclear. Once we’ve sorted out who will negotiate for us, and a new Prime Minister is in place, a further dilemma, seemingly overlooked, awaits: will the remaining member states give us what we want?
Even spelling out what we want is not straightforward. The “best of all worlds” scenario is clear enough: freedom of movement, full access to the single market, lighter regulation and more border controls. But it will not be down just to us.
One thing that has been made clear is that the other EU member states intend to deal with Brexit using Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. Any hopes the “Leave” camp had of chatting amicably and informally with our partners on key issues before opening formal negotiations have vanished. While differing over the pace of negotiations, both Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, and Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission, have said that there will be no informal talks. This position was formally adopted at a meeting of the 27 heads of state and government once David Cameron had left the EU summit which took place immediately after the referendum. Article 50 will be the basis of any deal. No negotiations can take place until the UK has formally notified its partners of its intention to trigger it.