It was June 23, 2016 when 17 million British voters voted in favor of Brexit, narrowly outnumbering (51.89 percent) voters in favor of staying in the EU.
In nearly four years, the process has been marked by postponements, uncertainties and colorful twists and turns in the traditionally compassed British political scene, fueled by the amount of negotiating and legislative work required to resolve the complex relationships that bind the European Union to one of its member states.
In November 2018, an interim agreement was reached between the European Union and the United Kingdom that was neither approved by the British Parliament nor ratified by the two sides for many months.
For this reason, the Brexit, initially scheduled for the end of March 2019, was postponed to April/May 2019, October 2019 and finally to January 31, 2020.
The process accelerated at the end of the year: in October the Brexit deal was amended, and on December 12 the general election gave a large majority to the Conservative Party. Thus the new agreement finally received initial approval from the House of Commons (Dec. 20), and a vote in the House of Lords is expected later this month.
January 2020 thus looks decisive: it is very likely (though not yet a foregone conclusion) that Brexit will kick off on January 31. The exit process will obviously be complex and gradual and will last several years, with an initial transitional phase.
Let us prepare for this eventuality by putting together the available information!
We propose in particular:
- A small historical note: the words-symbols of British Euroscepticism (we want to get our own money back!) date back to the now distant 1979. We replay them in this video and archival document. Since then, many steps have been taken to ensure maximum transparency of the community budget and its use in the various member states!
- An effective infographic from the European Council, capturing the main stages of nearly four years of debates and negotiations;
- Pages devoted to publications on Brexit produced by the various EU institutions (impact studies, short- and long-term effects, future prospects, and practical implications) and by the UK Parliament services;
- A collection of the legal documents (agreements, declarations and decisions) related to Brexit;
- A detailed explanation of the first draft of the agreement (October 2018) and an in-depth analysis of the rationale behind its amendment (November 2019), by the services of the European Parliament and the House of Commons;
- The web pages of the British government and the European Commission dedicated to the topic and how citizens, businesses and organizations can prepare for Brexit.
We will return to the topic of Brexit soon with new information related to European projects.
In the meantime… enjoy your reading!
