Written by Joey Slusher
Brexit is something everyone has heard of, but a lot of people, particularly us Americans, don’t know a lot about. Brexit refers to The United Kindoms vote to exit the European Union which is a supranational organization that unifies 28 member countries (including but not limited to Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and for now the UK) in one single European market. That means when other countries want to trade with a country in the EU they aren’t making a deal with that country, but with the entirety of the EU. Since 1999 many EU member states have also been using one currency called the Euro which is something the UK opted not to do.
So, Brexit is the British Exit from the EU. The British people voted to leave in 2017 and were given two years to work out a plan with the EU because if they didn’t it would be bad for both parties in a lot of ways. Fast forward to 2019 the year of the deadline for the EU and the UK to figure everything out, and it isn’t looking too good. The EU and the current Prime Minister of the Uk agreed to a plan, and that plan was rejected by the Parliament of the UK, and the EU said that the deal they agreed to was the only deal they would accept and that there would be no negotiations. With that response, the UK voted on a few things. First, they voted whether or not to accept the deal again and Parliament said no, then they voted whether they would accept a No Deal Brexit(meaning they would have to create a new trade deal with the EU over a long period of time costing the UK trillions of dollars and possibly hurting the public), and finally to extend the negotiations process. This is happening all while the opposite party to the Prime Minister’s is trying to undermine everything and hold a new people’s referendum and make Brexit not happen at all.
What do I think is the UK’s best option? Well, and I’m not an economist, and I’m still working on my degree in Poli Sci and IR, but I think they should hold the referendum. Millions of voters back in 2017 didn’t understand the consequences of the vote, and how it would really affect them. With that in mind and the fact, the EU is refusing to budge on negotiations it seems like the UK has been painted into a corner, and can’t find a way out. Even if they could negotiate a deal though, I’m not sure it would hold half the benefits that being in the EU has. Those who voted to leave cited economic and political freedom from EU institutions many of which the UK helped create and held a lot of power over. If they leave the EU it seems to me that the UK would be bending to the will of the EU now more than ever, and could limit their freedom on a much harsher level due to a lack of resources. The coming weeks will make clear where they’re headed, and I have a feeling that whatever happens will set a precedent for future events.
