Top EU legal adviser wants to hand Britain a get-out-of-Brexit-free card

Britain gears up for vote on Brexit proposal
(Image credit: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

On Tuesday, a top legal adviser to the European Union's highest court counseled that if Britain chooses, it can change its mind about Brexit without input from the other 27 EU member states. A multi-party group of Scottish lawmakers had requested guidance on that question from the EU's European Court of Justice, and Advocate General Manuel Campos Sanchez-Bordona handed down his non-binding legal opinion just as Britain's Parliament started five days of debate over whether to approve Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit proposal.

The ECJ often but not always concurs with the advice of the advocate general, and the full court is expected to hand down its judgment within weeks. The British government had opposed the Scottish appeal to the European Court, arguing that whether it can un-invoke the EU charter's Article 50 is a useless hypothetical question because "the U.K. does not intend to revoke its notification."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.