Wystąpienie z Unii Europejskiej w świetle projektowanych zmian Konstytucji RP

The purpose of this article is to assess necessity and possible consequences of introducing into the Polish Constitution an explicit provision allowing Poland for withdrawal from the European Union. The new Article 50 of the European Union Treaty provides that a Member State may withdraw from the European Union after prior notification of its intention to the European Council and after carrying out obligatory negotiations to conclude an agreement on the arrangements for such withdrawal. The author summarizes crucial doctrinal theses referring to the questioned admissibility of unilateral renouncement of the Treaty not including a renouncement clause. He concludes that before the Lisbon Treaty has come into force, the withdrawal of a Member State from the European Union was possible; however it still remained much of a theoretical concept. Under the new European Union Treaty all previous doubts concerning this matter are no longer relevant; however there is still a question whether it shall be necessary to amend the Polish Constitution, which currently does not refer explicitly to the European Union, so that it would regulate the withdrawal procedure. The author finds seven substantial arguments against such necessity and emphasizes inter alia that a sovereign state does not have to confirm its competence as regards renouncement of international agreements.