BREXIT AT A BREAKING POINT

Dec 11, 2018 Editorial

Two and a half years ago, a referendum was held in Britain on June 23, 2016, in which 51.9 percent of Brits voted to leave the European Union (EU). Since then, progress has been slow and both sides seem frustrated over unresolved issues.
Among them is the demand by the EU for Britain to pay billions of pounds to the EU. Then there is the border problem between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The EU has refused to discuss trade until the Irish border issue is resolved, because any trade deal without a settlement of the border will allow Britain to have the same benefits as being in the EU.
If there is no agreement on the border issue, trade would be based on the rules of the World Trade Organization.
And then there is the status and rights of the 1.2 million British people living in Europe and the 3.2 million Europeans living in the United Kingdom (UK), of which 80 percent of them will be eligible for permanent residence by the 2019 exit date.
Britain’s withdrawal from the EU is mired in uncertainty because it is the first country to leave the bloc, which means that the process is untested. Meanwhile, as the negotiations proceed, the economic growth rate in the UK has deteriorated, its currency (pound) has dropped and the financial sector is haemorrhaging. Experts have predicted that Brexit could erode the role of London as a premier international financial centre and catapult the world’s fifth largest economy into crisis with the loss of jobs, taxes and other revenue.
Recent polls in the UK have shown that the majority of citizens are now opposed to Britain leaving the EU. Several people, including former Prime Minister Tony Blair, have suggested that the UK could change its position and remain in the EU. His opinion has gained popular support, as the public became aware of the cost and difficulties of Brexit.
Yesterday Theresa May ruled out abandoning Brexit after the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that the UK could stop the Article 50 process without seeking EU approval.
According to The Guardian, “The court in Luxembourg delighted remain campaigners by issuing an emergency ruling on Monday (yesterday) morning that under EU law, the UK was able to unilaterally halt the Article 50 process – fuelling renewed calls for a second referendum.
Speaking to MPs later as she fought to defend her decision to delay a Commons vote on her deal, the prime minister admitted the ECJ’s ruling meant she was able to revoke Article 50 – a decision her government had bitterly opposed.
May was challenged by MP Liz Saville Roberts, who said the European court ruling meant it was in the prime minister’s gift to personally take Brexit off the table.
The prime minister indicated that was true but made clear that she had no plans to do such a thing. It would be a short-term fix, she said, but would betray voters who won the 2016 referendum. “Revoking Article 50 would mean going back on the vote of the referendum and remaining in the EU,” May said.
The pro-Brexit environment secretary, Michael Gove, played down the significance of the ECJ decision.
“We voted very clearly – 17.4 million people sent a clear message that they wanted to leave the European Union. And that also means leaving the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice,” he said. “So this case is all very well, but it doesn’t alter either the referendum vote or the clear intention of the government to make sure that we leave on 29 March.”
While the UK could abandon Brexit before 29 March, the date on which its withdrawal from the EU under Article 50 takes effect, staging a second referendum would require the EU’s agreement to extend Article 50 beyond its normal two-year time limit.

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