The United Kingdom is to hold the rotating EU Council Presidency from July to December 2017, that is if Britain is still part of the EU. Whether a Brexit will happen is still a big question.
EU Council Pres. Tusk and UK PM Cameron met prior to the summit
EU leaders plan to discuss Prime Minister Cameron’s proposed reforms during the next EU Council summit meeting scheduled for the 18th of February.
A 01 of February Fortune Magazine site headline read,
“How the EU and the U.K. Are Working to Avoid a Brexit”
However, DW (Deutsche Welle) ran a story on the 03 of February with the headline,
“European Parliament divided on deal to avoid ‘Brexit‘”
28 Yeses or Else
Apparently the EU decision must be unanimous for the reforms to pass.
A EurActiv article dated 02 of February does say that,
“A UK government source confirmed that the deal on the table did not reopen the treaties or trigger the lengthy ratification process in all 28 member states that that would require.”
Hurdle Two
If an agreement can be reached at the meeting, June is rumored to be the UK Prime Minister’s preferred time for UK’s referendum. He agreed that UK voters would get to decide by the end of 2017 at the latest.
Many in Britain, including some businesses, remain convinced a Brexit would be a good economic move for the UK. Many others, in and out of the UK, predict financial catastrophe for Britain plus a probable loss of Scotland and Northern Ireland, should she vote to leave.
Photo credit: January 31st meeting courtesy of Number 10; License: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
