In the wake of the Brexit vote the remaining 27 EU member states will have to reach an agreement on an unambiguous common approach to the style of the negotiations. The member states need to clarify their vision of the future of the European Union. Should it be more flexible? The realpolitik analysis suggests that the creation of a third and novel kind of status, which would need a seal of approval in the shape of a treaty amendment.
Sophia Becker is a former Parliamentary assistant to Norbert Röttgen and Affiliate Policy Fellow at the Jacques Delors Centre.