In this video, we'll describe it. Important current event called Brexit. If you don't know, Brexit is a contraction of the words British exit, the term Brexit summarizes the ongoing efforts of the United Kingdom or UK determinate it's 25-year long membership in the European Union. Brexit has large implications for the UK and for the European Union, as we'll describe. Here's a quick history of Brexit. UK citizens voted in June of 2016 to leave the EU. The vote passed with a 51.9 percent majority to leave. The vote was unexpected. The UK government thought that citizens would vote to stay in the EU and call for a vote to settle the issue. Well, it was settled.So now what happens? The UK will leave the European Union by the end of 2020. There will be new UK EU customs and travel borders. This will eliminate the free flow of goods and people between the EU and the UK. UK travel rules to fault that WTO rules, that's World Trade Organization rules, until the UK can negotiate new trade deals with the EU and other countries of the world. The transition period is from March 2019 to December 2020. During this period, the UK will continue to abide by EU rules. But then we'll formally leave the EU on December 31st of 2020, unless, of course, there are further extensions. Why did Britain decide to leave the EU? Many in the UK were unhappy with the European Union. Member countries of the EU give up some of their sovereignty to the EU bureaucracy. This loss of sovereignty, golf many in the UK. Membership in the UK means the EU citizens can travel, work [inaudible] anywhere in the EU without restrictions. Pretty nice deal. After joining the EU, the UK experienced rapid immigration from Poland and other Eastern European countries, which some UK citizens found to be challenging. Some of the EU regulations were found to be burdensome. EU administration is well-known for being overbearing and bureaucratic, and it is often made decisions that do not take into account local customs and history. Finally, the cost of supporting the EU is not insignificant. EU taxes its members to support its administration and its operations. Many in Britain believed it would be cheaper to do it themselves rather than paying a distant bureaucracy. Cultural issues also played a role. As an island nation, Britain had ambivalent attitudes toward mainland Europe. Breaking away from the EU would protect UK values and interests, many felt. Britain has a long history of nationalism and independence. The physical separation of the UK from mainland Europe has long served as a defensive barrier to European aggression. From the Spanish Armada through the aspirations and Napoleon and against the plans of Nazi Germany. Finally, Britain had great pride in its history. It is a royal democracy with its royalty in its democratic parliament. All of these facts, emotions, and sentiments came together in the vote to leave the EU. So what happens once the UK leaves the EU? UK citizens will need a passport to enter the EU, where before they could enter freely, they will need work permits to take jobs in the EU. [inaudible] the longer have the automatic right to live anywhere in the EU and they'll lose EU citizen chips with all its rights and obligations. After Brexit, the UK government will control immigration into the UK. Issue foreign work permits, and will write its own rules and regulations without influence from the EU, and it will pay billions to the EU to unwind its obligations there. Brexit will have some important business challenges as well. UK will need to renegotiate new trade deals with the EU and other countries. It will need to set up customs and transit port, like transit control borders were none now exist. UK businesses will probably need to cope with slower supply chains due to custom controls, higher material prices due to new terrace, and border controls, limited labor supply due to lower immigration, and loss of easy access to the 500 million person market in the EU. Not insignificant. In addition to business and political challenges, there are existential challenges that Brexit will bring. Perhaps the largest challenge is Ireland. The island of Ireland comprises two countries, the Irish Republican, the South, which is a sovereign nation that's not part of the UK, but as a member of the European Union, it of course, did not participate in the Brexit vote because it's not part of the UK. The second nation is Northern Ireland and the Northeast. Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom, and it did participate in the Brexit vote, since it's part of the UK. In the Brexit vote, 58 percent of Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU rather, not to leave. But since this part of the UK, Northern Ireland is scheduled to leave the EU at the end of 2020 with the rest of the UK. So what will happen? Will there be a new land, customs and transit borders between the Irish Republican Northern Ireland? Or will the border be the Irish Sea, meaning that Northern Ireland behaves it though is it's still part of the EU. Or perhaps Northern Ireland will vote to leave the EU and joined the Irish Republic to form a single nation on the island. All these possibilities are currently under deliberation by different parties is Brexit approaches. Then there is Scotland. Scotland is part of the UK. It voted in the Brexit election. In that election, 62 percent voted to remain in the EU. Many Scots won independence and there had been close votes in the past to leave the UK. Then the question arises, can the UK remain united? If Northern Ireland leaves the UK to join the Irish Republic, and Scotland votes to leave the UK to remain in the European Union, then the UK is reduced to England and Wales. Perhaps an unintended consequence of the Brexit vote. In summary, Brexit raises many questions for the UK and Europe. What new trade deals can be struck with Europe? What about trade deals with non EU countries? Will there be freedom of movement between the European Union and the UK? Must European workers leave the UK? Must UK workers leave the European Union? Will there be a land border in Ireland? Will Ireland vote to combine? Will Scotland vote for independence? Will the UK hang together? Many questions, few answers.
