You may have recently heard a political news story–that, for once, had nothing to do with Donald Trump–saying the United Kingdom has decided to leave the European Union. It is safe to bet that a vast majority of the Cat Talk readership is American, so this recent event may seem a bit confusing to many of you. But this story is less complex than papers like The New York Times have made it seem. So here is the American’s guide to the United Kingdom’s leaving the European Union.
After the end of World War II, the European Union was formed to aid in economic and political cooperation between twenty-eight European nations; the belief was that if they worked as a unit in economic affairs, wars within Europe would decline. What began as as a monetary agreement soon developed into a single market, causing it to basically act as a single country.
Because the European Union acts as a single market and has few regulations, trading within the twenty-eight countries is trouble-free and productive. It also resulted in forty percent of company headquarters located in Europe to reside in London. In addition to that, employees and citizens are able to move within the nations without a VISA requirement.
So with all of these benefits, what would make the United Kingdom want to leave? The main concern has to do with the migrants.Great Britain’s high employment rate has drawn many citizens from places like Poland or Lithuania to migrate to the United Kingdom. This upsets many Britons that want stricter border control. This was what caused 51.9% of voters to decide to leave the European Union.
What does this decision mean for the United Kingdom? Trading is now more costly and difficult with increased regulations, and many headquarters will begin to move into cities other than London, causing job losses within England. Prime minister David Cameron, has concluded his premiership by resigning as a result of the recent event.
The Brexit, or British exit, will not only have effects on Britain, but on the rest of the world. It will require Great Britain to create new trade agreements. This process will be very tedious and stressful, and because the United Kingdom is America’s seventh largest trading partner, this will push a large amount of stress onto our country. There are also speculations that the downfall in the United Kingdom’s economy and its inevitable recession could have a domino effect on the rest of Europe and the United States.
Whether this decision made by Great Britain will cause other EU nations to follow in its footsteps, or rather cause the EU to unify even more, the world will definitely have a close eye on Europe’s economic state.