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Britain exited the European Union because it wanted to reclaim its sovereignty. Learning from Norway’s EU experience, Britain must be cognisant of the limits on its autonomy, even as a non-member, write Johanne Døhlie Saltnes, Merethe Dotterud Leiren, Arild Aurvåg Farsund, Jarle Trondal, John Erik Fossum and Christopher Lord.
Almost seven years on from the Brexit referendum, there remains uncertainty over the future UK-EU relationship. Reflecting on the lessons from the last seven years, Neil Kinnock argues there remains a clear case for the UK being an economic, political, social, scientific and cultural part of the Europe of the future.
It’s high time politicians got real about the EU and single market, extinguished the bonfire of lies and told the truth.
Six years post-Brexit, Britain remains haunted by the EU in a neurosis that is not reciprocated in Brussels or other capitals.
Ministers are portraying themselves as victims of a deal they created for Northern Ireland. A classic blame-shifting strategy.
'Any economic gains are likely to be small compared to the cost of leaving the customs union and single market.'
As expected, the UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, and his Australian counterpart, Scott Morrison, have now agreed “in principle” to a free trade agreement. The fine details are still not out in the open, but the political and economic significance of the deal is becoming clearer.
Even the keenest Brexiteer must feel that the process has been tortuously long. / That has been, in large part, because successive British governments have refused to accept the trade-off between untrammelled sovereignty and friction-free access to the EU’s single market, a refusal that shapes today’s increasingly testy relationship.
It is increasingly clear that Brexit has cost not saved money, encumbered not liberated trade, inhibited not enhanced our sovereignty, and threatens to break up the UK. In fact, argues Nick Westcott, it is nothing more than a political Ponzi scheme – and it is still going on.
So far, in the first two months of Brexit, the following industries have indicated that they have been harmed: Aerospace; Airlines; Architecture; Art and Antiques; Beer; Bees; Cattle and horse breeding; Charities; Cheese; Chemicals; Cars; Classic Cars; Construction; Cosmetics and Perfume; e-Commerce; Fabrics; Fashion; Ferry services; Film and TV production; Financial Services; ...
It was Boris Johnson’s choice to prioritise “sovereignty” over the economy – and Britain is already paying the price.
Since Brexit happened, those who campaigned for it have shown little attachment to and only the faintest memory of the benefits promised. The one exception is ‘Reclaiming our sovereignty’.
Now that it’s a reality, can an esteemed historian produce convincing arguments for the UK’s departure from the EU?
We have traded real influence for an empty husk of sovereignty.
UK’s recent narrow understanding of sovereignty belongs to a receding Trumpian world.
If not, and the vote is to exit, it will be no good saying afterwards that “we didn’t understand what we were voting for” – the repeated complaint made by eurosceptics about the 1975 Referendum. By then it will be too late.
How will the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union impact the ongoing sovereignty dispute with Argentina over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas)?