The United Kingdom’s referendum vote to leave the European Union has opened a Pandora’s box of options for their future relationship. Most of them look distinctly uncomfortable.
Whatever happens, the negotiations between the UK and its partners to disentangle 43 years of ever-closer integration in the institutions of the EU are going to be very complicated, prolonged, and potentially fractious. They could well bring most other strategic decision-making in London and Brussels to a standstill for years on end. With each passing day, lawyers and civil servants are discovering new subjects that will have to be agreed – by 28 different countries – just for Britain to leave the EU, before it can formally begin to negotiate future economic and trade relations.
