So what is Article 50? Article 50 states: "Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements. Story highlights Article 50 of Lisbon Treaty paves way for formal negotiations between EU and BritainOnce invoked, agreement on UK-EU relations has two-year deadline(CNN) British voters opted out of the European Union in last year`s historic referendum, but Brexit can`t actually get underway until Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty is triggered. Within the Lisbon Treaty lies a 250-word, five-point framework, which outlines voluntary departure from the European Union. "The article specifies that the exiting state must notify the European Council of its intent so formal negotiations for a withdrawal agreement can begin.

The group, which brings together France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus and Malta, was reminded this week of their economic vulnerabilities as bond yields surged to one-year highs in Italy, Portugal and France. LISBON Southern European leaders meet on Saturday in Lisbon to discuss growing challenges, from the refugee crisis to rising borrowing costs and low economic growth, at a time when rising populism has increased political uncertainty in Europe. Greece, Italy and Portugal have the biggest debt loads in Europe. At the first meeting of the group in September in Athens, the group called for European measures to boost flagging growth. "But there will be little progress on these issues because of elections in France and probably Italy," he said.