Rex Fowler and Chance Trammell
Staff Writer
British citizens voted 52% in favor of the British exiting the European Union, also known as Brexit. Britain wanted Brexit because they were tired of following the European Union (EU) regulations with trade, immigration, and customs. There is no final plan, but British Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to leave the EU on Oct. 31. The European Commission said that there is progress but problems still remained. With only a few days left Johnson is scrambling to complete his plans.
A big controversy is about what is going to happen with the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is part of the UK and Ireland is not.
As of now, there are no border posts, physical barriers or checks on people and goods crossing between Northern Ireland and Ireland. Boris Johnson is designing his plan to ensure that continues after the UK leaves the EU. The EU will only permit it if a “comprehensive free trade deal” is agreed on by the UK. Doing so “would keep the UK effectively inside the EU's customs union but with Northern Ireland also conforming to some rules of the [European] single market.”(BBC News)
The European Single Market is made up of the countries in the EU trading with each other without restrictions or tariffs. The UK wants to leave this, but they have to make Northern Ireland stay in order to keep the border as open as it is now. No one is certain the UK will be able to leave the EU by Oct. 31. Many skeptics say that the UK will not be able to finalize a plan and be able to strike a deal with the EU by the deadline. On the other hand, Boris Johnson is confident that they will leave at midnight on that day.
There are mainly two different scenarios that can happen with Brexit. The first is if no agreement is concluded (‘no deal’ scenario). If Boris Johnson is unable to make a deal with the EU, then the UK will either not go through with Brexit or postpone the exit to a further date.
The best-case scenario for Boris Johnson is a transition period once the agreement is approved. If a deal is struck, the UK will leave the EU no later than Nov. 1, 2019. Once the UK has left, there is a one-year transition period lasting until Dec. 31, 2020. During this time, all EU rules and regulations will apply to the UK. Almost nothing will change for businesses or for the public. The transition period could be extended once by two years if necessary. If everything in the transition goes to plan, then the UK will officially abandon the EU by January 1, 2021. Only after Brexit can the EU and the UK start discussing the details of their new relationship. There will be more clarity on the new relationship between the EU and the UK only once this phase of the negotiations has been completed.
The Prime Minister is going to pull the Brexit bill if the timeline is not approved.
AS WE WENT TO PRINT THESE ARE THE LATEST CHANGES
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/15/world/europe/brexit-deal-boris-johnson-eu.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49909309
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32810887
https://www.government.nl/topics/brexit/brexit-where-do-we-stand
