Brexit Without Tears, Norway-Style

"No cherry-picking," German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned the U.K. on Tuesday: As far as the European Union's informal leader is concerned, the renegade shouldn't get any special deal that lets it keep the advantages of being an EU member without the responsibilities. It's premature to assume, though, that the leading advocate for Brexit, Boris Johnson, wants to negotiate anything special. There is a path of least resistance that wouldn't reverse the referendum vote but would essentially neuter the result.

There are a limited number of models for the U.K. to follow once it finds the resolve to start the secession talks. In March, the U.K. government published an analysis of five options: no deal with the EU at all and a relationship based on membership in the World Trade Organization; a Turkey-style customs union; a deal like the EU's free-trade agreement with Canada, still being negotiated; a series of bilateral agreements like those the EU has with Switzerland; and the so-called Norway option -- membership in the European Economic Area but not in the union.