Brexit-Britain's Big Mistake
Brexit-Britain's Big Mistake
Brexit-Britain's Big Mistake
According to the EU, the complete exit would take about five years or more, simply because
the EU is particular about making the conditions for exit really difficult to discourage other
states from following suit.
Another important issue this referendum has thrown up is that of migration or immigration
to the UK. It is evident that a majority of Brits who voted to leave felt very strongly about
this issue. In recent years, immigration to the UK has grown exponentially. After the global
financial crisis in 2008 followed by the eurozone crisis, many EU countries including Spain,
Italy, Greece and Portugal started to face huge employment issues and people from these
countries started to look to other EU nations and the UK for employment opportunities,
affecting employment prospects of local Brits.
For instance, Poland is now the second-largest source of immigrants to the UK, just behind
India. By 2015, the total number of immigrants to the UK from within the EU reached nearly
3 million. It also resulted in the EU becoming inextricably linked with immigration in the
minds of a lot of Brits. This mass immigration made the British population very unhappy
about the state of affairs in Britain. They werent used to mass immigration, but since joining
the EU, theyve been getting a whole lot of it. This led to euro scepticism, and the Brits
began to realise that there was no solution to this problem of immigration unless Britain
exits from the EU, so they put pressure on the government, ultimately leading to a
referendum. The UK was also worried about Turkey becoming a member of the EU, further
adding to the problem.
From an Indian perspective, it would be difficult for Indians based in the UK to do business
with the EU. They would lose all the advantages of free movement of goods and personnel,
affecting their business. All the trade deals would need to be reworked, which will take
years. In fact, this could also further delay the India-EU FTA, as India might look to sign a
separate FTA with the UK. There are a lot of questions about the next steps as the treaty of
Lisbon is fairly new and never implemented before.
In addition, the EU is upset with the British leadership led by Cameron for agreeing to a
referendum when it was not a constitutional requirement. The EU is of the opinion that after
creating the mess, Prime Minister Cameron, by stepping down, expects others to clean up
the mess. Moreover, Scotland voted to remain in the EU, and will begin to prepare for a new
referendum to exit from the UK and then go on to become a part of the EU. So, it is a double
loss for the UK. It is clear that the UK is now trying to buy time, but the EU is firm and does
not see any reason why the activation of Article 50 should be delayed.
In sum, both the EU and the UK have a long and arduous road ahead. The future of the UK is
certainly bleak at the moment, with financial markets in turmoil and stocks plummeting, but
the nation is confident it is only a matter of time before it regains its lost glory.
Only time will tell whether the decision of the UK voter was worth it. The referendum has
exposed deep divisions within the UK, which has to be put together somehow. It is a selfinflicted wound and takes the nation back several years and a lot of paperwork and
negotiations in the next few years at the cost of growth. Moreover, it certainly is not good to
see one of the largest free trade zones in the world crumbling with the exit of one of its
largest members.