Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2018:978
Date: 2018-12-04
Language of the case: English
Subject matter: General provisions
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: United Kingdom

Summary sheet of proposals for amendments concerning Union membership: Draft Articles relating to Title X of Part One (Articles 43 to 46), http://european-convention.europa.eu/pdf/reg/en/03/cv00/cv00672.en03.pdf. 89 In the case of the United Kingdom, since the notification of withdrawal was carried out by means of a letter from the British Prime Minister, a similar instrument would suffice to communicate the revocation to the European Council. 90 See footnote 5. 91 Benrath, D., ‘Bona fide and revocation of withdrawal: how Article 50 TEU handles the potential abuse of a unilateral revocation of withdrawal’, European Law Review, 2018, No 2, pp. 243 to 245. 92 In accordance with the principle of sincere cooperation, enshrined in the first paragraph of Article 4(3) TEU, the European Union and the Member States are, in full mutual respect, to assist each other in carrying out tasks which flow from the Treaties (judgments of 6 September 2016, Petruhhin, C-182/15, EU:C:2016:630, paragraph 42, and of 25 July 2018, Generalstaatsanwaltschaft (Conditions of detention in Hungary), C-220/18 PPU, EU:C:2018:589, paragraph 109). According to the Court, ‘that principle does not authorise a Member State to circumvent the obligations that are imposed upon it by EU law’ (judgment of 18 October 2016, Nikiforidis, C-135/15, EU:C:2016:774, paragraph 54). 93 See, inter alia, judgment of 22 November 2017, Cussens and Others (C-251/16, EU:C:2017:881), paragraph 27. 94 The academic literature has, in general, been favourable to accepting the agreed revocation of the intention to withdraw, when agreed between the notifying State and the other Member States of the European Union. See, inter alia, Edward, D., Jacobs, F., Lever, J., Mountfield, H., and Facenna, G., op. cit. in footnote 32, p. 19.