Brexit is a term coined by the media in the wake of the meaning of Grexit, in vogue last summer, a term that indicated the exit of Greece from the EU.
The meaning of Brexit and the consequences of the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union is still unknown to many so I decided to do some research to know something more about something so important.
The British people voted in a referendum about two years ago and decided to have the United Kingdom ‘divorce’ from Europe.
First of all I learnt that the UK's exit from the European Union has an impact not only on the British economy but on the global economy as a whole.
The signal launched by the English people calls into question the project Europe and its functioning and gives new life to all the ‘Eurosceptic’ political parties.
The now former Prime Minister David Cameron was convinced to fight the superpower of the European Union and to call for more commercial and monetary rights to protect the United Kingdom, disadvantaged because not a member of the monetary union.
Unfortunately, the pound has plummeted the day after that referendum and it still remains at a loss of around 15% against the dollar and 10% against the euro but it is said that the British economy is estimated to grow after Brexit becomes effective in 2019.
All we British residents know is that inflation rose and reached the highest rate in the past three and a half years, and unemployment is on the rise to decline, according to official data.
Current Prime Minister Theresa May believes that leaving the EU without any agreement would be better than signing a disadvantageous agreement because, without a trade agreement, the United Kingdom would operate under the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, which could mean customs controls and tariffs.
Some argue that it would make little difference, because the UK's business partners in the EU do not want to start a trade war, while others say it will mean higher costs for UK companies in buying and selling goods overseas.
There are also doubts about what will happen to Britain's position as a global financial centre without access to the single markets.
Some believe that the British living abroad in Europe may lose their right of residence and access to free emergency health care.
In Scotland and Northern Ireland the majority of the population voted to stay, but the aggregate vote still won the ‘exit’.
This aggravated further the desire of Scotland and Northern Ireland to separate themselves to the UK but it seems that their will won’t prevail.
Recently, they have been talking about a new referendum but it seems it would be too late for a reconsideration anyhow.
Apparently it is taking so long because changing over 40 years of treaties and agreements involves thousands of different amendments and it is not a simple task.
Everything is further complicated by the fact that it has never been done before and negotiators, to a certain extent, know what to do only by doing it.
An agreement on post-Brexit trade is likely to be the most complex part of the negotiation because it needs the unanimous approval of more than 30 national and regional parliaments across Europe, some of which may wish to hold a referendum.
With Theresa May's Brexit speech in January, we learned that the UK does not intend to remain in the EU single market.
Otherwise, the United Kingdom should continue to be under the guidance of the European Court of Justice and allow unlimited EU immigration.
On my hand, as a foreign resident, I’m worried to lose some privileges here in the UK even though I was granted to keep my job.
The government has refused to give a guarantee on the status of EU citizens currently living in the UK, saying that this is not possible without a mutual commitment from the other EU members about the millions of British citizens living in the continent.
EU citizens with a permanent right of residence, which is granted after having lived in the UK for five years, should not be affected by their rights.
Brexit Secretary David Davis has suggested that European migrants arriving in the UK at this time in the context of Brexit may not have the right to stay.
Once the Brexit is official, the Great Repeal Bill will come into force, ending the supremacy of EU law over the legislation of Great Britain.
The phrase by May “Brexit means Brexit” has now become a cliché and we have not yet confirmed whether the United Kingdom will cooperate with the EU at any level or not but all we understand is that there will be political, financial, economic and commercial consequences to this decision.
U.K. and England flags
