The term Brexit corresponds to Britain Exit – an expression that means British Exit and which gained wide worldwide repercussion with the result of the plebiscite of June 23, 2016, after the victory of the yes by 51.9% of the votes, as a result of the option of population by leaving the United Kingdom, mainly England, from the European Union .
Brexit Causes
The victory of Brexit occurred mainly in England and can be attributed to the wave of immigrants or refugees that has been hitting the European continent in recent years, coming from the Mediterranean routes and coming from North Africa and the Middle East, with emphasis on the Syrians .
The growing presence of immigrants served as the main nationalist banner of Eurosceptics and xenophobic groups for Brexit approval, highlighting the UKIP (UK Independence Party) party, which spread xenophobia among voters.
Other factors also influenced, such as
- Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which provides for the freedom of a member to leave the bloc voluntarily and unilaterally;
- the non-cohesion of the Labor Party against Brexit;
- the large participation in the plebiscite of the most conservative and elderly population;
- the skepticism of part of the population that did not feel the economic benefits of the European Union, mainly in England;
- the fact that the country’s financial contribution to the bloc is greater than the bloc’s spending on the United Kingdom;
- greater control of borders and national sovereignty in the face of decisions to be taken;
- the nationalist sentiment very present in British territory when not joining the euro and only adopting minimal aspects of the Schengen Area, as in police and judicial cooperation;
- the Schengen Information System.
Schengen Area
The Schengen Area was created in 1985 and integrated into the European Union in 1997 by the Amsterdam Treaty, aiming to guarantee the free movement of people and to abolish internal borders in favor of a single external border, which the British did not like.
With its creation, it was possible to adopt common procedures and rules on visas for short stays, asylum applications, controls at external borders, cooperation and coordination between police services and judicial authorities as a way of guaranteeing security.
Consequences of Brexit
The first and important consequence of the Brexit victory was the fall of Prime Minister David Cameron, who agreed to hold the popular consultation when he was on an election campaign, even though he was a defender of No.
Cameron was replaced by Thereza May, a defender of Brexit, both of whom are members of the Conservative Party. The Prime Minister is the one who was leading the process of withdrawing the United Kingdom from the European Union. However, on January 24, 2017, Thereza May suffered a major defeat in the face of the Supreme Court’s decision that Parliament, rather than the government, should conduct the Brexit process. Emphasizing that the Kingdom has a right to two years to leave the economic bloc.
Other consequences are relevant, such as:
- the country’s political and economic sovereignty in the face of international relations;
- greater border control and expulsion of immigrants or refugees;
- difficulty for citizens of the United Kingdom and the European Union to circulate mutually between countries, mainly workers;
- Scotland’s intention to hold a new referendum to decide whether to remain in the UK as it did in 2014, when independence was rejected by 55.3% of voters;
- possible crisis in the world economy in view of the uncertainties of the markets with the future of the United Kingdom and the European Union;
- possible UK non-compliance with the political, economic and environmental agreements entered into as a member of the bloc;
- serve as propaganda for members of the bloc’s Eurosceptic and xenophobic parties, such as the National Front of Marine Le Pen, in France;
- greater financial and public administration independence in relation to the European Central Bank.
With the formalization of Brexit, the United Kingdom will remain outside the large consumer market of the economic bloc, which will have 27 members and which allows the free movement of goods and people. Therefore, it will have to negotiate new trade agreements with the European Union and with the other countries with which the economic bloc has preferential agreements.
The outflow of investment and skilled labor from the UK are also negative consequences for the country. Another context is that the country will leave the European Parliament, where it occupies 73 seats out of a total of 751 deputies, as well as will no longer contribute to the European Union.
However, Brexit-defending economists argue that the UK will become stronger with sovereignty over its economic-financial and trade policies, and can fully exercise the right to enter into trade agreements with anyone it wishes without the bloc’s control or decisions, such as with countries. emerging agricultural exporters suffering from some kind of impediment on the part of the European Union.
Other important points to note are that the United Kingdom has important reserves of natural gas and oil exploited in the North Sea, in addition to being an important war nation and a member of NATO.
