Since the appearance of the European Communities, the United Kingdom was in doubt whether to join them or not. The desire to be a leading power, as it always has, pushed the UK to sustain the formation of EFTA (an organization composed of Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland, and Switzerland), where it could have a decisional power.

EFTA was meant to be a rival organization to compete with the European Communities, but it became nothing more than an international organization where the national states put their political interests ahead of the economic advantages.

Meanwhile, the European Communities were moving forward, gaining economic advantages and recovering after World War II. Between 1950 and 1960, the European Communities started to offer great economic opportunities to their members: a large common market and the four freedoms (free movement of persons, capital, goods, and labor). In return, the states gave a part of their decisional power to the European Communities that made policies and regulations for the whole community in order to reach higher standards of living.

Step by step, the members of the European Communities strengthened to better economies. This aspect pushed the United Kingdom to start a dialog with the Communities in 1961 and to join them in 1973 together with the Republic of Ireland and Denmark. Since this moment, the UK had permanent doubts about remaining in the Union.

UK referendums for EU exit

In 1975 the UK organized its first referendum on staying in the European Communities. The votes registered 67.23% on staying and 32.77% on leaving.

Forty-one years later, the same referendum was organized to decide on staying or leaving the EU, but the results were different: 48,11% voted to stay and 51,89% to leave.

The results of this last referendum caused the Brexit.

How does Brexit affect the UK and the EU citizens?

Although initiated and debated largely at the political level, the main impact of Brexit is on citizens. That is why it comes with a transition period, which gives the UK and EU citizens time to adapt to the new regulations. After this transition period comes the real impact:

The UK citizens will not be able to live and work in the EU- each citizen will have to conform to the immigration rules of the country he lives or works in; the working qualifications of the citizens willing to work in the EU will be checked; for movement in the EU the citizens will need passports, will pass through verification procedures and register with local authorities; to drive in the EU, they may need a green card for their car; for the consumers, the variety of products may be reduced, and the prices for the import products may increase.

The EU citizens will have similar difficulties: to remain in the UK they will have to apply for a new legal status; to travel in the UK, the EU citizens will need passports and will pass through the verification procedures too; some of the UK products may disappear from the common market, the prices of other products may increase, depending on the commercial agreements, etc. (Institute for Government, 2020).

In the end, both the EU and UK citizens will deal with changes that will affect their lives as citizens, consumers, and tourists. Thus, if the impact of Brexit is so negative on the citizens, why has the UK continued the ‘divorce’?

The reasons the UK chose leaving:

One of the reasons the UK wanted to leave the EU is the difference between the member contribution and the received funds.

The UK has always been one of the greatest contributors to the EU budget. In 2018, it was the second contributor after Germany. Since 2003, the UK net contribution raised from 3.6 to 8.6 million pounds in 2013. The problems appeared when the UK registered more financial losses than revenues from European funds. In 2017 it was followed only by Germany in this financial loss. At the same time, Poland was the most advantaged country and gained a lot more money than its member contribution. Thus, the financial aspect was one of the first government reasons to organize the referendum.

Besides the financial contribution, there are the treaty obligations that compelled the UK to apply the EU policies and to comply with its decisions. The UK had no power to change these according to its needs except through alliances in the EU Council and European Parliament.

Moreover, because it was not a member of the Eurozone, the United Kingdom had no decision-making power. This was a sensitive subject, as the monetary union decisions had an impact on all the EU economies despite the different currencies.

The waves of migration were another reason why Britain wanted Brexit. The migrants were looking for a better life and chose the UK for welfare benefits.

Thus, we conclude that Brexit was not about the citizens but about the decision-making power of the United Kingdom. The struggle between the advantages of the common market and the reaffirmation as an international power highlighted the state’s interest in political power first and then in its citizens. The UK separation from the EU does not guarantee a better life for the citizens; on the contrary, at this moment it complicates their lives while ensuring the freedom of the British political power that follows no rules other than its own.

Sources:

European Commission apud Buchholz K. (2020, 01 13). EU Budget. Which Countries are EU Contributors and Beneficiaries? Retrieved 02 25, 2020, from Statista: https://www.statista.com/chart/18794/net-contributors-to-eu-budget/

European Commission apud Kovacevic T. (2019, 05 28). EU budget: Who pays most in and who gets most back? Retrieved 02 26, 2020, from BBC News: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-48256318

HM Treasury apud McCarthy N. (2014, 10 28). A decade of UK contributions to the European budget. Retrieved 02 23, 2020, from Statista: https://www.statista.com/chart/2880/uk-contributions-to-the-eu-budget/

Institute for Government. (2020, 02 06). British citizens in Europe after Brexit. Retrieved 02 25, 2020, from Institute for Government: https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explain ers/british-citizens-europe-after-brexit

Statista Research Department. (2019, 09 12). Results of the EEC membership referendum of 1975 in the United Kingdom. Retrieved 02 25, 2020, from Statista: https://www.statista. com/statistics/1043098/eec-referendum-result/

Statista Research Department. (2019, 09 26). Results of the United Kingdom’s European Union membership referendum on June 23, 2016. Retrieved 02 25, 2020, from Statista: https://www.statista.com/statistics/570118/eu-referendum-results/