"Only the UK can trigger Article 50, and in my judgement we should only do that when there is a clear view about what new arrangement we are seeking with our European neighbours," Osborne said in a statement.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron gave the United Kingdom time to decide what relations the country wanted to have with the European Union by delaying the decision to invoke Article 50 until new prime minister came to power this fall, the chancellor noted.
According to the Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, each EU member state can leave the bloc. Aiming to start the process of leaving the European Union, a member state must formally inform Brussels about its intention and, then, launch negotiations on abandoning the bloc. All EU treaties become rendered void when a final agreement is achieved or – if not – two years after the country’s notification. A country that left the European Union may join it again through the same procedures as other candidates.
