The results of the referendum which was held in Britain on 23 June 2016 came out in favour of leaving the EU. Therefore, "Brexit" was added to the other existential crises which are testing the integrity of the EU such as the refugee crisis, the Eurozone crisis, and the enduring threat of terrorism. Britain, by leaving the EU will require a negotiations process which would in effect lead to a new relationship with the EU to emerge. This specific publication will analyse the possible results of the referendum which turns out to be in favour of leaving the EU for candidate countries like Turkey while examining it from the perspective of the EU and Britain respectively.

Since there were no countries which left the EU before, Britain’s process of leaving the EU is indeed unprecedented. The way the process will be handled depends on the negotiations between the EU and Britain. Considering the intense trade, economic and social relations between the EU and Britain, a close relationship should be formed after the period of being a Member State. It is clear that the impact upon the future of the EU as a result of a country like Britain leaving the Union, which is a leading country in the EU in political and economic terms will be important. The EU can come out as empowering its unity and integrity from this process yet this decision, affecting the other European countries dependence to the union negatively, stands in the face of the EU as an important risk.

In either case, the high level of interdependence between EU countries requires obligatory institutional commitment like the EU. The close observation of this process is extremely important for an EU candidate country like Turkey; also it is possible to draw conclusions with respect to the enduring relations between Turkey and the EU.