The European Union is possibly the most powerful bloc in the world. But it is about to lose the United Kingdom, one of its largest members. How and when the United Kingdom leaves the European Union will have implications that will spread throughout the world. Brexit (Great Britain + exit) refers to the idea of the British leaving the European Union, something that seemed unthinkable a few years ago; but in a surprising result, the UK voted to do just that in a referendum in June 2016. Since then, there have been many conversations, disputes and threats about it. Great Britain has much to lose on many fronts if they end up leaving the European Union. Just under half of the country's exports go to the EU; little more than half of its imports come from the other 27 nations of the bloc. At the same time, the European Union would lose one of its most important members since that country has always been a great help in all aspects related to diplomacy. The United Kingdom is the fifth largest national economy in the world, so its exit from the European Union would cause serious instability in the markets of different countries, which would lead to potential economic crisis in these states. Apart from economic instability, the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union could have great consequences for the unity of the EU. The UK would be the first country to leave the Union and this can serve as a precedent for other nations. When the UK leaves the EU, other countries may also start thinking about leaving this organization. This could have enormous consequences for the economy and stability.
The 2016 referendum was not entirely new in the United Kingdom. In 1975 the UK held its first ever national referendum on whether to remain a member of the European Economic Community or not. The results of the vote were in favour of staying, Roy Jenkins, the Home Secretary at the time, said that the result put an end to a time of uncertainty and that thereafter the role of the United Kingdom in the European Union would be active and enthusiastic. It is true that the United Kingdom has played an active role as a member of the European Union during these years, but has never been enthusiastic in the way that Jenkins claimed.
In the early 1990s the debate about whether to remain as a member of the EU or not was reactivated and since then it has become much more strident. This is probably a result of how many Britons have long doubted the idea of ´Europe´, and many have never nearly understood what Europe means. As soon as the debt crisis broke in Greece and in other countries of the EU in 2009 the debate of staying or leaving became more popular. This essay will explore bla bla bla … BREXIT SUCKS.
The idea of European integration is one of the fundamental pillars on which the European Union stands. European integration is based on several political objectives, more or less explicit, which have been replaced as time passed. Some of these objectives, key to stability, are preventing the resumption of war against European soil, favouring the reconstruction of everything destroyed in World War II, establishing a barrier to Soviet expansionism, defending against American economic aggression, establishing itself as a third global economic power. The European Union has already overcome the three initial degrees of integration, which are: creating a free trade area, a customs union and a common market. The benefits and achievements of European integration are many, even though Britain has always been something of an outliner in the story of Europe. The term Euroscepticism began to appear in the mid-1980s, when the conservative governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major resisted European initiatives ranging from the Schengen Agreement on open borders to adoption of the euro, and Britain earned itself the label of ´awkward partner´.
The debate on whether there should be a second referendum is a matter of care because there were some sets of distractions that compromised the democratic qualities of the vote. The referendum was held in a moment in which the UK independence party was going through a rise , what symbolizes not just a criticism toward the EU but also a broader protest against elitism, political exclusion and politics as usual. At the same time there is a pessimism that attends most British assessments of Europe’s possibilities. This is probably a result of how the problems of Europe deepened as the debt crisis was joined by an immigration crisis and these led to an increase on the supports for populist and anti-democratic political parties. Furthermore the lack of courage of the political leaders of United Kingdom when it comes to decision making because of the fear of sparking a nationalist backflash for being way too European, may had alter the results of the referendum. At the same time, and in my personal point of view the most troublesome distraction, is how little the Britons know about the European Union. Half of the Britons admit that they do not understand how the EU works. This is a worrying fact because as the polls have reveal, the sense of being a citizen of the EU is greatest among the young, among the better educated and among professionals and the self-employed. These means that the older generation are deciding the future of the younger ones.
If Brexit happens to happen, the United Kingdom would lose many of the benefits that has as a member of it. As the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker declared, if the UK leaves the European Union they will no longer be part of the single market , as Theresa May tried to did with the proposal of the “Chequer´s agreement”. This will represent a really big lost for the UK , because the EU is not the biggest market place when it comes to population , but it is the biggest in terms of disposable wealth and overall economic production. Combined, the EU has a greater income than the United States and within the borders if the EU live more than half a billion of the wealthiest consumers of the world. The marketplace of the European Union has brought many benefits to the UK economy as its businesses have access to bigger marketplace, it is also easier for foreign companies to invest in the UK, there are no problems with border crossing within the Union and the regulations have been considerably reduced. The post-war economic situation of Britain would have been very different if they would not have become part of the European Economic Union. If they leave the Union their continental market will be more restricted and this is especially important for London. London is one of the world’s greatest financial centres and this is in many ways thanks to the membership of the EU. The bigger economies (such as India) are much more interested in the EU market than in the British market.
Leaving the European Union would also lead into a loose of “voice” for the United Kingdom. Many years ago Britain was one the greatest powers around the world and it had an empire, but nowadays it is just a reduced player on the global state. Even though Britain still takes part in some of the most important international fora as the United Nations Security Council and the G7 but there are growing competitors as China or India. The political and the military influence of the UK has fallen during the past years and if they leave the European Union they will find it so much harder to maintain their global position. Right now , the European Union is probably the most effective way that Britain has to be heard by the International Organizations. Furthermore if Britain leaves the Union they will have to deal by themselves with the United States and the Commonwealth. As it has been argued by many critics there is a special relationship between the United States and the UK but even if there are historical links , the United States is much less interested in the UK by itself than as a member of the EU.