Brexit

[Tobi]

Does one member state have the right to veto a proposed member if all others agree to it?

Currently, yes, it requires all member states to agree. It wouldn't surprise me if that doesn't change at some point in the future though, as Turkey knows that the Greek veto would always mean it could never join the EU.

Unless they already have private health insurance (and i am sure most don't), age is likely to mean most of these people will have to return to the UK.

I don't think many will even think of returning to the UK. After all, expats in Thailand and elsewhere in the world have to buy medical insurance, don't they? It's also a lot easier to return to the UK for treatment if you're in Spain. Long term expats might also decide to apply for dual nationality, adding Spanish citizenship to their mix. The UK Government might even be willing to agree to continue to finance EHIC.

Again, with the flights, huge numbers of expats live a lot further away than Spain, with much more difficult travel arrangements. I can't believe there won't be flights from the major cities, all of which are within a few hours reach, or that the ferries will stop just because we left the EU. The flights rely much more on British tourism for their existence than expats.

[Up2U]

There are liars and then there’s Boris Johnson and Michael Gove
Nick Cohen
Saturday 25 June 2016
Where was the champagne at the Vote Leave headquarters? The happy tears and whoops of joy? If you believed Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, the Brexit vote was a moment of national liberation, a day that Nigel Farage said our grateful children would celebrate with an annual bank holiday.... (read more)....
https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...P=share_btn_tw

[Up2U]

'No need to write, David,' impatient EU tells Cameron
BRUSSELS | BY ALASTAIR MACDONALD
REUTERS
Britain need not send a formal letter to the European Union to trigger a two-year countdown to its exit from the bloc, EU officials said, implying British Prime Minister David Cameron could start the process when he speaks at a summit on Tuesday.

"'Triggering' ... could either be a letter to the president of the European Council or an official statement at a meeting of the European Council duly noted in the official records of the meeting," a spokesman for the council of EU leaders said.

A second EU official, asked about mounting frustration among leaders with the British prime minister's delay in delivering the formal notification required to launch divorce proceedings, said: "It doesn't have to be written. He can just say it."... (read more)... http://www.reuters.com/article/us-br...-idUSKCN0ZB0YK

[Tobi]

A second EU official, asked about mounting frustration among leaders with the British prime minister's delay in delivering the formal notification required to launch divorce proceedings...

Mrs Merkel added that she was not in favour of pushing for a speedy withdrawal. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36632579

[a447]

So, could someone please tell me who the winners are in this situation?

I can't find any long-term winners from where I'm sitting.

[fountainhall]

I don't think many will even think of returning to the UK. After all, expats in Thailand and elsewhere in the world have to buy medical insurance, don't they? It's also a lot easier to return to the UK for treatment if you're in Spain.

i cannot provide any evidence, but I suspect a great many are aged over 65 who sought retirement in the sun. British citizens actually benefit from virtually free Union-wide medical coverage. That will disappear. Getting private medical insurance after you reach 65 is all but impossible. And, yes, the UK is only a short flight away. But that's not much good if you have just suffered a stroke, heart attack or other major illness requiring immediate treatment. Besides, after you have lived outside the UK for a certain number of years, you lose your automatic access to the NHS - as I know too well - if you have not been paying UK taxes. Just paying the National Insurance contributions is no longer enough, thanks to changes made by the first Blair government.

[Tobi]

So, could someone please tell me who the winners are in this situation?

I don't think anyone can, only time will tell. If, as many believe, the European Project really is a house of cards and will collapse shortly anyway, then exiting now was probably a good idea, albeit we may have hastened the end by doing so.

[Tobi]

Just paying the National Insurance contributions is no longer enough, thanks to changes made by the first Blair government.

Yup, as it is completely ridiculous that if you're resident in Thailand your state pension is fixed but if you're in the Philippines it isn't. I think EHIC in some form might well survive, it'll depend on the government of the day, but anyone who retires to a country abroad accepts certain risks. It's certainly a lot easier to get back to the UK from Spain and France, you don't have to fly for example. If you declare you're returning for good, you have immediate access to care on the NHS, whether or not you do actually end up staying. I don't think medical care will be the cause of droves of expats returning to the UK, many who retired to Greece for example have always said that Greek state-based medical care was worse than useless, and it certainly hasn't got any better.

[cdnmatt]

How difficult would it be for the UK to call a snap referendum for a revote? From what I'm seeing, if that is a legal possibility, there's a chance it could happen, it would be voted to remain, and this whole ordeal would just go down as one huge cock-up.

[scottish-guy]

How difficult would it be for the UK to call a snap referendum for a revote? From what I'm seeing, if that is a legal possibility, there's a chance it could happen, it would be voted to remain, and this whole ordeal would just go down as one huge cock-up.

Legally, nothing to stop it but politically it would open up a huge can of worms:

Quite apart from it meaning ignoring the democratically expressed will of the people, if the UK Govt were to say it's ok to have another referendum within days of just having had one, where would that leave Tobi's/UK Unionists argument about the UK Govt being able to deny Indyref2? Answer: in tatters.

Won't/Can't happen.

Arsenal's front-runner for PM - Michael Gove - has just said that he won't stand for the job.

Utter chaos - what a fucking bunch of incompetents to have running the country