Leaving the Euro

A collective 'right of expulsion’ from the EU or EMU?

The recognition of a unilateral right of secession by the drafters of the Lisbon Treaty inevitably prompts the following question: if Member States are to have the right to secede voluntarily, should there not be a possibility for their fellow Member States to expel them from the EU if their participation were to be deemed undesirable or prejudicial by their partners and if the latter were to fail to persuade them to withdraw from the EU or EMU voluntarily? Under what conditions and following what procedures could such a right of expulsion be exercised? The prospect of expulsion came to the fore in June 2008, when Irish voters rejected the Lisbon Treaty, an event that was to trigger one of the most acute crises in the recent history of the EU. This Part examines the existence of a right of expulsion from the EU and EMU, the possible rationale for its introduction (assuming that such a right does not already exist) and the extent to which the lack of such a right would be an obstacle to a Member State being left behind by its partners.