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The U.K. has to negotiate its future relationship with Europe. Formal negotiations for this will begin on March 3, 2020.

The bulk of these negotiations will focus on the U.K. – EU’s future trading relationship. The U.K. is leaving the EU customs union an common market, so the two sides have two work out a trade agreement, ideally with no tariffs and with minimal barriers.

The two sides also have to discuss

• Security and law enforcement cooperation


• Access to fishing waters


• Banking


• Aviation standards and safety


• Supplies of electricity and gas


• Licensing and regulation of medicines


• Data and intelligence sharing


• Manufacturing and a whole lot more.


• The border between Ireland (which is part of the EU) and Northern Ireland (which is a part of UK and leaving the EU) will remain open. But how to implement customs checks on this border will need to be worked out. 

 

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A transition period has begun immediately after Brexit day and is due to end on December 31, 2020. During this 11-month period, the U.K. will continue to follow EU rules. Britain’s trading relationship will remain the same and it will continue to pay into the EU budget. People travelling to EU member states will not be affected during the transition period. But the UK will no longer have any say in EU policies nor will it be able to attend any meeting of EU leaders.

The transition period is meant to give both sides some breathing space while a new free trade agreement is negotiated.

This is needed because the UK will leave the single market and customs union at the end of the transition. A free trade agreement will allow goods to move around the EU without checks or extra charges.

If a new one cannot be agreed in time, then the UK faces the prospect of having to trade with no deal in place. That would mean tariffs (taxes) on UK goods travelling to the EU and other trade barriers.

 

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David Cameron was the Prime Minister of the U.K. when the referendum took place. Personally, he supported staying within the EU. As the votes turned against his campaign, he stepped down as PM.

As leader of the Conservative Party, Theresa May took over from David Cameron in 2016. May promised to put Brexit into action. However, Brexit hit a roadblock for various reasons. Unable to get a Brexit divorce deal passed on Parliament, May stepped down on June 7, 2019, after a turbulent 3-year period as prime minister.

On July 23, 2019, Brexit hardliner Boris Johnson, former Mayor of London and British Foreign Minister, was elected Prime Minister. Johnson was keen on delivering Brexit by the October 31, 2019 deadline. However, Johnson needed a Brexit extension of his own after MPs failed to get the revised deal passed into law. This led to the new deadline of January 31, 2020.

 

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People in support of Brexit view the EU as exercising too much control over Britain, thereby halting its growth. One of the main areas of contention is immigration. They are against the EU’s main principle of ‘Free Movement’ within member states. ‘Leave’ supporters want more autonomy from the EU to control Britain’s border and to sign trade deals with any country without the interference of the EU. They also don’t want to come under the ambit of the EU court of justice.

Those who campaigned for Britain to stay in the EU argued that the immigrants would only boost economic growth. They were of the view that the EU membership would ensure security for the nation in times of crisis. Exports feel that remaining in the EU would have conferred several advantages on Britain such as free trade opportunities and easy mobility of goods and services among the EU member countries.

 

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The European Union (EU) is a group of 28 countries in the continent of Europe. (After Brexit, the membership now stands at 27). After World War II, some European countries came together to form a group to foster economic, social and political cooperation. They saw this as a means to stay united and not go to war with each other.

With France and Germany taking the initiative, four other nations namely Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, signed up to form the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1957. It was also called the common market.

The EU has its own currency (euro), own parliament, council and court of justice. It became a single market, allowing goods and people to move around as if they are one nation. The currency euro is being used by 19 member states.

 

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Brexit is now official: On January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom left the European Union. But not completely yet. The U.K. has entered into an 11-month transition period which will last till at least December 31, 2020. During this time, the U.K. and the EU will hold discussions and decide what their future relationship will be like.

The term is an portmanteau of the words ‘Britain’ and ‘exit.’ Britain had been a member of the EU since 1973 (The Union was then called the European Economic Community). But on June 23, 2016, the U.K. made a historic decision to withdraw its membership following a referendum. Of the total 33 million votes, 52% chose to leave the EU, while 48% wanted to stay on. (The U.K. Scotland and Northern Ireland. It is to be noted that the majority of the voters in Scotland and Northern Ireland chose to remain. However the whole of U.K. has left the EU.)

The exit did not happen immediately after the voting. It was a long journey from there – it took three-and-a-half years, three prime ministers and endless votes in Parliament before Britain finally became the first-ever country to leave the EU last month.

 

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