Goodbye Great Britain!

Great Britain left the European Union

The European Union (EU for short) is a network of currently 28 Member States. Among the objectives of the European Union is u. a. “to promote peace, its values and the well-being of its peoples.” Great Britain (GB for short) has been a member of the EU since 1973. On 23 June 2016, the British decided in a referendum whether the United Kingdom should remain a member of the European Union or withdraw from the European Union.
51.9% voted in favor of Brexit.
However, the referendum alone was not decisive. The two chambers of the British Parliament also voted in favor of the government’s Brexit bill.

What happened next?

On 29 March 2017, the UK submitted its withdrawal request to the EU. From then on, the British Government and the EU had two years to agree on the terms of Brexit. The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020. The transition period that was in place – during which nothing changed – ended on 31 December 2020. The rules governing the new relationship between the EU and UK took effect on 1 January 2021.

What happens after Brexit?

To leave the EU, the UK went through the procedure set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). Article 50 regulates how the EU has to shape its side of the negotiations and prescribes the voting modalities for an agreement (qualified majority) or for extending the deadline (unanimity).
Although the article decides on the framework for the separation, the details of future trade relations between the UK and the EU must be regulated in a further agreement. The quality of an agreement stands and falls with its effective implementation. This means that the implementation of the exit agreement required measures both at the EU level and at the level of the Member States.  Some areas were particularly labor -intensive from January 1, 2021.

The following questions are of particular priority:

How high is the Brexit bill?

The EU former Commission President Juncker said that leaving the EU should cost the British “at least 60 billion euros”. This Brexit bill, the so-called “exit bill”, is not a punishment from the EU’s point of view, but rather an unavoidable balance of accounts, as the EU is planning its budget at a rate of 7 years. As a result, the London government is required to spend more than its March 2019 exit date.
Representatives of the European Parliament emphasize that Britain has to pay for jointly agreed projects until at least 2023. In addition, the EU Commission refers to pensions of former EU officials, which also have to be paid by the British. At the moment, however, it is not yet possible to conclude how high the Brexit bill will turn out in the end.

From January 2021, the estimated bill was around 30 billion euros left to pay by 2057, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), almost 20 billion euros of which should be paid in the first five years.

What about the civil rights?

A special feature of the EU is that every EU citizen may live in another EU country without further authorization.
According to official statistics, about 3 million EU foreigners live and work in the UK. In return, about 1 million Britons live and work in other EU countries. These groups fear Brexit restrictions on their right to work and to stay.

What does the new EU external border look like?

The Brexit creates a new EU external border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Today, 30,000 commuters cross the border every day. As a result of Brexit, the approximately 500 km long border could flare up the civil war conflict in the region.

The United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU, the Single Market and the Customs Union, created barriers to trade and cross-border exchanges that did not exist prior to 1 January 2021. The Brexit raises many questions that are not bein answerd yet