Original title:60 years of wind and rain, more than three years of stalemate: this moment, the United Kingdom finally Brexit!
Original author: Chen Shuang
Information picture. (Chart/New Net)
The highlight of the clock projected on the outside wall of 10 Downing Street at 11pm local time on January 31 and the most important historical moment in Britain, Brexit, was reported on February 1.
More than 1,300 days after the referendum on Brexit, the UK has finally left the EU from this moment, ending the`marriage` that has been around for 47 years.
"The most important thing tonight is that this is not the end, but the beginning. "Separate moment, Prime Minister Johnson, who led Britain out of the Brexit stalemate, hailed" the arrival of a new era."
60 Years of Anglo-European Relations: Cuts and Cuts
"I think we would be better off outside the EU. "
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
From Britain`s three-time "entry "in the 1960s to its determination to leave Europe, one cannot help but wonder: why has Britain and Europe been "entwined "for 60 years?
All this starts with the history of britain and europe`s mainland, which has been cut and cut.
In 1763, Britain had been pursuing a policy of "glorious isolation" and "offshore balance" towards Europe`s mainland after becoming a "sunless empire" through "seven years of war." However, World War II broke the European landscape, and the war-torn United Kingdom finally chose to join it in the face of the booming European Community (the predecessor of the European Union).
Soon after joining the League, Britain regretted it. Because of the different concepts of European integration, market regulation, tax standards and governance regulation, many policies in the European Union do not fully take into account the interests of the UK, the voices of Euroscepticism in the UK remain.
After entering the 21st century, the european debt crisis and the refugee crisis have erupted, and the british eurosceptic forces have reached a new level. On June 23,2016, after a referendum, the "black swan" of Brexit was eventually successfully released.
[A thousand days of hard work, a dream round, the British Brexit "the end of the play "? 】
"Brexit is like a black hole that devours energy, light and matter. There`s no other news, no other thinking, nothing but Brexit... "
- Politico website
After the referendum, the "divorce" drama in britain and europe was a bust. The Brexit deal has been rejected several times, the "divorce" date has been delayed three times, Cameron and Theresa`s two prime ministers have been "dragged down ", and British government officials have frequently" swapped blood "for "…… Over a thousand days and nights, Brexit has been deadlocked several times.
In July 2019, Brexiteer Prime Minister Johnson took office, ranging from complacency to talk of "no Brexit, no death," from forcing parliament to adjourn, to being forced to submit an extension to the EU... The Brexit process he directs is like being switched to a "suspense drama" mode, with back-to-back reversals.
Fortunately, through an early general election, Mr Johnson`s Conservatives won their biggest victory since Mrs Thatcher, clearing the way for a Brexit.
Brexit, the big picture is final.
It should be noted that although the UK has officially left Europe, it is only a notional "divorce" and the word "Brexit" will remain a high-frequency word in British life in the days to come.
However, more than three years of "break-up" negotiations have exhausted the UK and EU, and the task of defining the Anglo-European relationship is a huge challenge in just 11 months.
[How do you live after "divorce"? Trade negotiations become the key]
"There were times when it seemed as if we could never cross the finish line of Brexit, but now we have. "
B. British Prime Minister Johnson
Under the agreement, the Anglo-European relationship will be in transition until December 31,2020, and negotiations on a future relationship will begin.
For the UK, economic and trade agreements are a top priority in a series of negotiations, with the central demand that the UK withdraw from the single market and customs union, be able to establish a trade partnership with other countries in its own interest, and continue to enjoy the privileges of the European market, such as duty-free, quota-free, etc.
However, the EU will not allow Britain to achieve its goals easily. In the view of eu president von der ryan, the eu "cannot compromise" on protecting the "integrity" of the market.
There are predictions that the Anglo-European relationship could face three outcomes by the end of the Brexit transition by 2020:
First, Britain and Europe have not reached any agreement, and Johnson government is still reluctant to extend the transition period, and the UK has no deal to leave.
Second, by the end of 2020, the UK and the EU will conclude some form of free trade agreement and leave the outstanding issues to continue negotiations in the future.
Third, mr johnson agreed to extend the transition.
[In the post-Brexit era, did British parliament become a "second-rate role "? 】
"After Brexit [Britain] will become an outsider and a second-rate character. "
- Tusk, former President of the European Council
In Johnson`s view, the Brexit moment is a moment of real renewal and change for the UK and a "moment of beginning unity "... and he has said that the time to leave on schedule means that the UK can finally let go of the resentments and divisions of the past three years and begin to focus on a bright future.
There is no denying that the Tory government`s slogan of "leaving Europe" caters to the British people`s "Brexit boredom ", which has boosted market confidence in the short term, but in the medium to long term there are many social problems to be solved if the UK is to build a" bright future ".
First, the social rift created by Brexit is difficult to bridge. In britain, from ordinary citizens to parliament counculor, there is still no consensus on whether to leave or stay. Among the younger generation in particular, the "Remaining Powder" is relatively high or has an impact on the future of the UK.
Second, conflicts between britain`s regions have been intensified. Scotland is close to the EU economic relationship, with most Scottish voters backing "Remain" in the 2016 Brexit referendum.
The Scottish National Party has previously proposed that it would push for a "Brexit" referendum on Scotland if Brexit. Although the proposal was rejected by Johnson, the fire of the Scottish independence movement was not extinguished.
In addition, after the leave eu, the uk needs not only to completely restructure its external economic, social, political, and legal relationships, but also to find its own global positioning. In this process, how to ensure its global financial center status unwavering, international voice is not reduced, is also a major problem to be solved.
In any case, this "century-old divorce" is far from the end. How will the Anglo-European relationship develop in the post-Brexit era? How will Britain`s position in the world change? Though the Big Ben, standing on the banks of the Thames, did not ring, it silently witnessed the continuation of the Brexit story...
