Think tank on ruling that UK can change its mind on Brexit

(10 Dec 2018) The deputy director of European think tank Bruegel said on Monday that it was unlikely that a ruling by the EU's top court that Britain can change its mind over Brexit would help UK Prime Minister Theresa May renegotiate withdrawal terms with the European Union. The European Court of Justice ruled on Monday that when an EU member country has notified the bloc of its intent to leave, "that member state is free to revoke unilaterally that notification". Maria Demertzis of Bruegel said the delay was a "tool to buy time" and might possibly help May in terms of "uniting the country behind one position", but that this was unlikely. Britain invoked Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty in March 2017, triggering a two-year exit process. But Scottish legislators had asked the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to rule on whether the UK could pull out of the withdrawal procedure on its own. The Luxembourg-based ECJ said that, given the absence of any exit provision in Article 50, countries are able to change their mind in line with their own constitutional arrangements. Later on Monday, May postponed Parliament's vote on her European Union divorce deal to avoid a shattering defeat - a decision that throws her Brexit plans into chaos. All signs had pointed to a big defeat for the prime minister in the vote planned for Tuesday. But postponing the vote is a fresh humiliation for May, who became prime minister after Britain's 2016 decision to leave the EU. May said her Brexit divorce deal with the European Union is still "the best deal that is negotiable," as she aimed to win Parliament's support. She later told lawmakers that government was stepping up its preparations for a no-deal Brexit. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...