Prawne możliwości wystąpienia, wykluczenia oraz zawieszenia państwa członkowskiego Unii Europejskiej

In accordance with Art. 50 of the Treaty on the European Union, each member-state is entitled to the right to withdraw from the Union. The Treaty defines also the procedure for states wishing to leave this governmental organization. Nevertheless, before the Treaty of Lisbon came into life, none of the European treaties had contained decisions on this matter, and the right to withdraw was derived from the essence of state sovereignty. On the other hand, the institution of exclusion of a member-state from the European Union had never before been the subject of decisions of European treaties. Norms of the international law, provided there arise suitable premises, admit, however, the possibility of excluding a member-state from an international governmental organization. The procedure of suspending a member-state, contrary to that of exclusion, has been described in the Union’s treaties. The Lisbon Treaty is not a breakthrough in this respect. In accordance with the Treaty on the European Union, suspension of certain rights of a member-state is possible, yet none of the European treaties allows suspending all of its entitlements.