Not being smart about Article 50: the strategic considerations of an early 2017 notification

Theresa May has recently announced that negotiations for exiting the EU will begin by March 2017. What this means is that the composition of the Council of Ministers at that time is known – and it does not look likely that it will draw up a negotiating mandate that meets the UK’s main demands: lowering immigration and preserving market access. A late-2017 notification, however, following key elections across the EU, might have been a better alternative, writes Kim Kaivanto