The European Commission has said it has "no plan B" in the event that the UK chooses to leave the European Union, as Downing Street dismissed suggestions of a second referendum.
Speaking in Brussels on Monday, a European Commission spokesman said that the agreement between the UK and the EU reached on Friday night was “legally binding and legally sound”.
“As far as we are concerned, [Mr] Juncker made it very clear that it is a legally binding agreement which addresses the concerns of the UK and safeguards the value of the union.
“It’s both a legally binding agreement, and a legally sound agreement,” he said.
British prime minister David Cameron secured a landmark settlement with his 27 EU counterparts outlining a new relationship for the UK with the European Union during more than 40 hours of talks at an EU summit on Thursday and Friday.
Describing a decision to leave the EU as “a leap in the dark”, Mr Cameron said he would campaign vigorously to keep the UK inside the EU.
However, announcing his intention to back the "leave" campaign in the UK's forthcoming referendum on EU membership, London mayor Boris Johnson said he wanted the UK to have a better relationship with the EU.
Mr Johnson’s statement prompted speculation that the vote could lead to a second renegotiation attempt.
British government sources dismissed speculation that a “leave” vote could give Britain the opportunity to negotiate a better settlement.
While the UK’s exit from the EU would take place under the terms of Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, no mention of this possibility is included in the settlement agreed last week.
Should Britain vote to leave, the Article 50 clause could be invoked as early as June 24th, when an EU summit is scheduled to take place.
Asked about the European Commission’s position in the event that the UK decides to leave the EU, a commission official said:
“We will not take any part [in] speculation on . . . what might happen. This is not our job, not our role.
“There’s nothing else to be said from us. It’s for the UK government and the British people to decide.”
However, he confirmed that, should the UK choose to leave the EU, the agreement reached last week would lapse immediately.
This would mean that those countries hoping to curb child benefit payments for migrants from other EU countries would be unable to do so under the proposed legislation, as it would become void.
The commission declined to confirm if a separate EU-wide proposal would be initiated to allow for countries to index child benefit payments to reflect the cost of living in the country where the recipient child is living.
Brexit campaign
The European Commission also confirmed it will not campaign in the Brexit referendum, noting that the decision on June 23rd is a “matter for the UK government and the British people”,
While the agreement reached on Friday night was given unanimous approval by all 28 member states, it still needs to be approved by the European Parliament.
While parliament president Martin Schulz has previously indicated its willingness to work with Britain, he said there could be no guarantee that MEPs would endorse the deal.
There was no joint statement by the council and the parliament on Friday night following the summit.
The new proposals concerning curbs to benefit payments must be enacted through secondary legislation that must go to the European Parliament for approval under EU co-decision laws.
“The EU is a democracy and legislation is passed in a democratic way,” a senior EU official said.
“The commission makes a proposal and the council and parliament enact it.”
European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker is due to meet Mr Schulz on Monday evening.
