Withdrawal from EU Legal Perspective

Article 50 and Withdrawal The European Union is not an indissoluble Federal state. Although the United States was formed as and to a large extent remains, a union of autonomous states, the result of the 1861 -5 Civil ...

Withdrawal from the UK Perspecitive

UK Legal Aspects It is the departing state’s system of law which defines the terms on which the decision to leave is made. The European Union Referendum Act 2015 extended the franchise to those who ordinarily voted ...

May Government Triggers Brexit

New UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced his resignation at 8:30 AM the day following the referendum vote to leave the European Union. The forerunners to succeed him appeared to be Boris Johnson who had been ...

Negotiations Begin

EU Negotiation Guidelines On 19th April 2017, the EU Council (excluding the UK) adopted guidelines setting out its position on the negotiations with the UK in relation to its withdrawal from the EU. The guidelines ...

Negotiations People and Money

Withdrawal Agreement Matters Brexit negotiations related to two agreements or sets of agreements, broadly a Withdrawal Agreement and later, a new trade agreement(s) between the EU and the United Kingdom. The ...

Joint Declaration

In early December 2017, the EU Council president requested Prime Minister to make a final offer and resolve the Northern Ireland land border issue by fourth December so as to allow the EU Council later that month to ...

The Second Phase of Negotiations

The European Council (Art. 50) on 15 December 2017 adopted guidelines for the second phase of the Brexit negotiations. The European Council welcomes the progress achieved during the first phase of negotiations as ...

Chequers to Withdrawal Agreement

On 6 July 2018, Theresa May summoned her cabinet to the Prime Minister’s country residence at Chequers to agree on White Paper proposals on the UK’s negotiation position on a future relationship. Famously, she ...

Johnston Government

On the eve of May 2019 European Union elections, Theresa May announced further proposals seeking to appeal to the various factions of her own party and the Labour Party. It promised conclusion of a trade deal ...

Amended Withdrawal Agreement Passed

To the surprise of most observers, Boris Johnson and Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar emerged from a meeting on the Wirral on 10 October 2019 and announced that they could see a pathway to a deal. The UK had conceded ...

Reluctant Joiners

Post-War Initiatives The United Kingdom has had a significantly different history and experience to that of its close European neighbours. In contrast to the latter’s experience in the First and Second World War, it ...

First Referendum and Aftermath

Economic Crisis After World War II, the UK GDP per capita exceeded that of France and West Germany. The period from the early 1950s to the mid-1970s saw very high economic growth throughout the Western world in ...

Labour and Europe 1992-2010

Labour Switches to Supporting EU The Labour Party converted to a pro-European policy during the 1990s under the leadership of Neil Kinnock and then John Smith. Neil Kinnock favoured membership of the EEC and later ...

Path to the Referendum

Conservative and opposition parties The Conservative party toyed with euro scepticism during its 13 years in opposition from 1997 and 2010. William Hague was elected leader in 1997 at the age of 36, defeating ...

Causes of the Vote

Causes of the “Leave” Vote A range of factors have been put forward to explain the vote in favour of leave. Several books have been written about the subject. The loss of sovereignty and lack of democratic control ...

Sovereignty

Historical Relationship Britain’s relationship with the European Union and its predecessors has been described as ambivalent and half-hearted. It had an imperial past and a relationship with Commonwealth countries. ...

Immigration

Immigration and EU Expansion A Lord Ashcroft referendum day poll of over 10,000 voters found that one-third of the voters said their main reason for voting leave was that it offered the best chance for the UK to ...

Populism and Nationalism

Populism The notion that Brexit brakes were part of a wave of populism in the Western world has been widely highlighted. 2016 saw the election of Donald Trump in the United States. Marine Le Pen leader of French ...

Globalisation and Austerity

Globalisation Standard economic theory dating back to Adam Smith in the 18th century appears to hold that international trade is always a win-win for each country. Although some countries lose in some sectors, this ...

Migrant Crisis

Migrant Crisis in 2015/2016 The dramatic rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and elsewhere and other conflicts led to a dramatic increase in the numbers seeking asylum in Europe. Many others seeking asylum also came ...

Economics and the Eurozone Crisis

Economic arguments Many in the United Kingdom have argued that EU regulation has become burdensome and unreasonable. While an EU correspondent for The Telegraph in the 1990s, Boris Johnson criticised regulation ...

Countdown to the Referendum

The UK Prime Minister David Cameron promised in January 2013 that should the Conservative Party  win the 2015 general election, that the UK government would  negotiate more favourable terms for continuing membership ...

Background to the EEC

Background to the European communities The nation-state had blossomed in the 19th century. Many new nations were formed in Europe with the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and the ...

The EEC 1957 to 1985

The European Economic Community In Western Europe, the experience of the depression the Second World War, the development of post-war cooperation and institutions and the efforts of notable individuals including ...

Treaty Reform 1985 to 2004

The Single European Act The European Communities were revitalised in the 1980s.  With the support of the UK French and German governments under Margaret Thatcher, Francois Mitterrand and Helmut Kohl and dynamic ...
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