Brexit: More Than Meets the Eye

#0919610

Beatriz Vigilanza

Fathoming Britain

Final Essay

April 1st, 2016

Brexit: More than Meets the Eye

Roughly a month ago (February 20th 2016), Britain’s Prime Minister, David Cameron, set June 23rd as the date to hold a referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union. “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union” is in fact the referendum question that has unraveled a large list of infinite implications and polarization among government ministers across the state. The announcement of a possible Brexit, the shorthand way of referring to the UK’s exit from the EU (results from the merging of the words “Britain” and “exit”), was followed by a protracted renegotiation of changes to the UK’s membership of the EU at a summit in Brussels that same month. Although Prime Minister Cameron has strongly voiced the benefits of continued EU membership, a list of high-profile members of parliament (including London’s major Boris Johnson) have pledged support for the “out” campaigners and further reiterated the impression that Brexit is gaining momentum among Britons. Along with a migration crisis and an interminable euro mess, the European economy is left at complete odds with regards to this “leap into the unknown” of the UK and whether or not the decision will have irreconcilable repercussions to the world as whole. A vote to remain in the EU is essentially a vote to maintain the status quo; the UK’s current economic as well as political relations with Europe would remain largely unchanged. But what happens in the aftermath of a vote to leave? This paper will therefore take up this scenario (Brexit has taken place) and analyze some of the main areas in which the UK government and the EU would need to make decisions on. Furthermore, some of the implications to consider will also be addressed in terms of the decision-process concerning these main areas.

Assuming that a majority of Britons vote for the UK’s exit from the EU, the first thing to address would be the impact this exit would have on both UK businesses as well as the two million UK citizens that are resident in the EU. Furthermore, what would happen to the other three million EU citizens that are resident in the UK? Could Britons living or working in the EU retain their current rights or would they be in fact treated like migrants from outside the EU? The same question also applies for migrants from the EU that currently reside in the UK; would they have the right to stay in the country? Under international law, when treaty rights have been executed, those rights remain unaltered even after a withdrawal from the treaty. If we interpret this law, the suggestion is that individuals as well as businesses can continue to take advantage of the “Single Market” or integrated European economy that arises from membership of the EU. That is, individuals as well as businesses could continue to enjoy of the economic freedom that such partnership entails. However, such outcome is not certain and must be addressed in this withdrawal agreement; people and businesses should be informed of their rights and whether or not these are subject to change with Brexit.