Britain’s exit from the European Union is scheduled to take place in March 2019. After months of negotiations between UK and EU leaders, it looks as though a deal is finally in sight.
One major impediment to negotiations has been the uncertainty surrounding the fate of Northern Ireland. European Union leaders are opposed to drawing a hard border between Northern Ireland, a country in the UK, and the Republic of Ireland, an independent member country of the EU. Currently, the single market and customs union prevents customs inspections and tariffs on goods being transported between member-states.
However, Prime Minister Theresa May has repeatedly rebuffed attempts to keep only Northern Ireland in these institutions, which would prevent import tariffs and enable free trade throughout Ireland. She has denounced it as a “constitutional dislocation” of the UK and proposed that the entirety of the UK remain in the customs union until a better plan can be initiated.
Additionally, the future of Gibraltar, a British territory bordering Spain which voted to remain in the EU, has been a primary concern. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has repeatedly threatened to veto the deal, concerned that Brexit would create a hard border between Spain and Gibraltar. However, Sanchez has announced that he will indeed vote to pass the deal, after May agreed to negotiate directly with Spain concerning Gibraltar instead of going through the EU. Many of May’s critics have expressed concern that this gives Spain too much power over the territory, and will transform it into a satellite state.
The uncertainties surrounding Brexit have many in both the EU and UK concerned, making it extremely important that a deal is reached. As part of the UK-EU separation deal, the UK has agreed to pay at least 39 billion pounds to the EU. However, with a no-deal exit, the EU would lose this sum of money, which would plunge it into economic instability.
Moreover, the millions of EU citizens living in the UK and UK citizens living in the EU could be forced to relocate if no deal is reached. Furthermore, tariffs between the EU and UK would be imposed, as well as customs payments. The resulting economic uncertainty of Brexit is expected to cause many businesses to leave the UK and relocate to EU countries, which would increase unemployment levels in the UK. For these reasons, the EU and UK have finally agreed to a deal. However, it still remains to be seen whether the UK Parliament will approve the deal.
Article by MoCo Student staff writer Kennedy Salamat of Montgomery Blair High School