Connie Liu
Let’s get one thing straight. The British people voted for Brexit in an unofficial referendum run by a political party hoping to consolidate power, and no one expected the result that followed.
The British people were told that Brexit would help their economy by allowing them to abandon restrictive European Union (EU) regulations and other prohibitive fees, that it would keep them safe by letting them evade EU mandates on accepting refugees from Africa and the Middle East, [and] that the British people should stand up for their own national interests and proudly proclaim that Britain is for the British to live in, work in and to shape their own futures in.
Unfortunately, Brexit is not just a British problem, and the goals of Brexit are unattainable. Britain, along with France and Germany, serves as a cornerstone member of the EU, and any action it takes can have massive ramifications for the international community.
The fact that every far right candidate throughout Europe, from Italy to Austria, suddenly adopted a desire to escape the EU after Brexit, , is very telling. By following through with Brexit, the British would destabilize an EU that is already weakened by the migrant crisis and Greek Recession. This would be disastrous for maintaining a strong, centralized European political bloc. Now that he North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has been weakened by American policy, no other European organization has the resources and ability to oppose Russian influence. Just look at what happened to conspicuously non-EU member Ukraine.
Brexit would also be an economic disaster for Britain. Despite the claims of escaping restrictive EU regulations and fees, a large portion of the British economy is fundamentally based on their EU membership. Why do companies have European branch offices? It’s to facilitate working with the massive market that is the EU.
“Any actions they take can have massive ramifications for the international community”
Massive companies have centered their European operations in Britain, bringing countless jobs and opportunities into the country. By leaving the EU, Britain would cause many companies to migrate to different European countries, like Ireland with its generous tax law, or Germany for its industrious, well-educated workforce. Furthermore, fully British companies who based their model on easy economic or logistical access to the rest of Europe will suffer when a non-EU Britain is suddenly subjected to the complications of trade present throughout the rest of the world.
Britain can try to retain some of its economic privileges with the EU, but this will come at a heavy cost. To keep other countries from following Britain’s example, the EU must ensure that Britain has a difficult negotiation, which is what has already happened — talks between the EU and Britain have broken down time and time again because Britain can’t have its cake and eat it too.
If the British want full autonomy, they must give up the advantages that come with an EU membership. If they want the benefits of being an EU member, they will have to stay a member. Even if they enter into a simple economic pact with the EU without being a full member (like Norway), they still have to respect a vast majority of EU regulations. Even worse, they would have no say in the EU’s governing body.
Free economic access to Europe is not all that the British get from the EU. It also comes with open borders between member countries. It might not seem like a big deal, but this has given countless Brits the opportunity to live, work and be educated anywhere in Europe. Suddenly ending the process would be a catastrophic upheaval. EU members in Britain and Brits in the EU will have their lives dramatically altered because their futures have been sabotaged by the selfish interests of one nation.
“If Britain does leave the EU, that peace is jeopardized because it would once again divide Ireland”
Open borders are important because of the situation in Ireland. Before the Good Friday Agreement opened the borders between British controlled Northern Ireland and the rest of Ireland, it was a hotbed of violent terrorism as groups, such as the Irish Republican Army, fought over whether the British should control Northern Ireland. A deal that cemented Northern Ireland as British, and its people as both British and Irish finally ended the bloodshed. People from both countries were free to live and work where they chose, and the border checkpoints that were often a target for bombings were torn down. If Britain does leave the EU, that peace is jeopardized because it would once again divide Ireland.
Some may claim that it irrelevant because the main purpose of Brexit is to allow Britain to control its own borders and fight against immigration. If so, boy do I have an amazing idea for you: Build the wall. It’s just as economically disastrous, wildly impractical, diplomatically reprehensible and morally disgusting, so why not?
