1946 In September, in the face of Europe dying after World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill proposed the establishment of a "United States of Europe". Although this idea was put forward from a bystander's point of view, it does indicate the trend of European integration in the future. In 1950s, European integration was gradually put on the agenda. From the establishment of European coal and steel joint venture to the establishment of European economic isomorphism, and then to the merger of European isomorphism in 1965, the trend of integration within the European continent is becoming increasingly obvious. Seeing the accelerated pace of European integration, and forced by the grim situation brought by the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, Britain is gearing up to cross the threshold of joining the European Union. Britain first applied to join the European Union in 196 1. However, due to the serious differences between Britain and France on the issues of Commonwealth interests and British agricultural interests, the talks continued until 1963. With the gap between Britain's economic growth rate in Europe and France gradually widening, Britain's position is becoming more and more marginalized, and the country's own interests and people's voices are demanding that Britain accelerate its entry into Europe.
In the following governments, the British mentor compromised step by step and gave up many additional conditions, which coincided with the pessimistic and open Pompeii's succession to the French president. Finally, in 1973, Britain became a member of the European Union.
In the following decades, the European Union, whose integration level has been improved from time to time, has shown great advantages in economic development and political discourse power, and has also brought unprecedented opportunities for Britain's own development, making it reap great benefits in foreign trade, tariffs, agriculture, fisheries and many other aspects. However, just under the appearance of the prosperity of the EU, the "crisis" of Britain's withdrawal from the EU gradually emerged.
Looking at Britain's exit from the EU, it can be said that it has experienced many ups and downs. The first British Brexit and referendum was put forward by former Prime Minister David Cameron in 20 13, which attracted numerous debates at home and abroad.
In 20 16, Britain held a referendum. Contrary to various predictions before the referendum, Britain's exit from the EU won with a support rate of 52% to 48%. Perhaps Cameron did not expect this result and announced his resignation after expressing his support for staying in Europe.
However, Britain's process of leaving the EU has not stopped, and theresa may, who has always been low-key, was elected with this arduous task. After taking office, she faced double pressure from inside and outside the party. Not only does the opposition party voice opposition from time to time, but there are also many differences within the radical party. The basic reason is that Britain's withdrawal from the EU has affected the interests of too many people.
20 19 In April, with the failure of the fourth negotiation on Britain's withdrawal from the EU in the British Parliament, Iraq and the United States announced their resignation as Prime Minister.
From 2065438 to July 2009, Boris Johnson won the election of British Prime Minister as the representative of Britain's withdrawal from the European Union. At the same time, he made a promise to the people under the slogan of "making a new and better agreement for Britain to leave the EU".
After sending three letters to the EU to postpone the deadline for Britain to leave the EU, Johnson had to gamble on the general election to end the uncertain domestic situation as soon as possible. Fortunately, the Radical Party won the early general election in June 5438+February 65438+February, and the agreement on Britain's leaving the EU was finally passed in the House of Commons, and the process of Britain's leaving the EU stopped in disorder in the next month or so.
On June 365438+1October 3 1 day, 2020, the EU officially passed the resolution of Britain's withdrawal from the EU, and Britain gained independence from the EU. Then, after a transition period of nearly 1 1 month, on the basis of the new Britain-Europe trade agreement, Britain finally settled down after leaving the EU. After three prime ministers, five years of negotiations and a 2000-page agreement, the road to Britain's exit from the EU is not smooth. What makes Britain, a 47-year-old member of the European Union, part ways with the EU?
The first is the ideological tradition of glory and isolation. The astronomical position of an island country in Britain makes it have a very special relationship with the European continent.
Since the Renaissance, this trend of "soul to soul" has become more and more obvious. Since the Middle Ages, the tradition of freedom has given Britain a strong national body, and the melee conquest on the European continent has further strengthened Britain's idea of independence and arrogance.
Since the policy of "glorious isolation" was implemented in the late19th century, it has not only existed as a foreign policy, but also gradually penetrated into the hearts of the British people. Therefore, when Churchill put forward the slogan of "European integration", Britain still practiced "three-ring diplomacy" centered on Britain and the United States, as he himself said: "We are together with Europe, but we are not a part of it; We are interested in it and communicate with it, but we cannot be integrated or alienated. "
At the same time, joining the EU means giving up sovereignty, which the British can't afford. Among the usual supporters of Britain leaving the EU, fighting for sovereign independence is just one of their slogans.
Secondly, the conflict between the EU and Britain's economic and social development has intensified. On the one hand, since the financial crisis, the downward pressure on the British economy has gradually increased, and it is facing unprecedented challenges in the new century in terms of fiscal deficit, employment and currency issuance. However, this phenomenon has not been improved by the European Union, so that under the influence of the European debt crisis, the British government had to pay a large sum of money to help debtor countries such as Greece, which greatly worried the British people whose economic development was already facing a crisis.
On the other hand, since joining the European Union, social inequality in Britain has been further aggravated. Statistics show that by 20 15, the income of the poorest class in Britain has even decreased by 12%. As long as the concept of the upper class benefiting from the EU has been surging in recent years, some scholars directly attribute the success of Britain's withdrawal from the EU in the referendum to the result of populism.
In addition to the above historical reasons, although the partisan struggle of politicians such as Cameron is somewhat dramatic, it cannot be admitted that it does reflect the true thoughts of the British people.
20 13 radical party leader Cameron boldly promised to hold a referendum in order to win re-election. From the outside world, the referendum is likely to be purely a political weight for him, but in fact this resolution coincides with the wishes of the people.
Britain's withdrawal from the EU caused a great shock. Today, what does Britain's withdrawal from the EU bring to Britain?
On June 365438+1October 3 1 day, 2020, when the European Parliament passed the Agreement on Britain's Leaving the EU, a light show was immediately staged at Downing Street 10. People gathered in Parliament Square in London were very happy. They waved the national flag to celebrate this historic achievement.
After Britain's agreement to leave the EU was reached, British Prime Minister Johnson said happily: "Britain will become a brand-new and truly independent country." The two former prime ministers also sent congratulatory messages, saying that the Agreement on Britain's Withdrawal from the EU was a major victory.
Naturally, it has been seven years since the issue of Britain's withdrawal from the EU was put forward, which is a difficult period for the British government and ordinary people. If this problem can be handled well, it will undoubtedly become the achievements of a group of politicians such as Johnson.
Britain's withdrawal from the EU has a long history, and the relationship between Britain and the EU has already been put on the agenda in practice. According to the current situation, Britain's withdrawal from the EU has many advantages. From the way of view, Britain has regained control of its own currency, borders, laws, trade and other aspects, and is no longer dependent on the EU.
It can be said that the agreement on Britain's withdrawal from the EU is a historic agreement, which has maintained the integrity and independence of the British market, and also slowed down the negative effects brought by the EU to the British economy in recent years to a certain extent, and Britain has controlled my fate in its own hands.
However, with the great changes in European economic and social structure, Britain's withdrawal from the EU will inevitably lead to short-term vacillation. Many people commented that "the road to Brexit is easy, but the essence of Brexit is difficult". While regaining the autonomy of development, the relationship between Britain and the EU has to be re-examined.
Britain and Europe are important partners in economic and trade cooperation, and the two sides have great differences in economic and political aspects. The most direct impact of Britain's withdrawal from the EU is to increase the trade cost between the two sides and restrict the free movement of goods, services, capital and personnel. Since the referendum on Britain's withdrawal from the EU, with the continuous fermentation of the unstable situation of Britain's withdrawal from the EU, Britain's domestic demand, foreign trade, foreign direct investment inflow and net immigration have all declined to varying degrees.
At present, Britain is facing challenges in terms of employment stability and trade growth, and the spread of COVID-19 epidemic has aggravated the risk of economic recession in Britain. Judging from the economic situation after the outbreak of generate in 2020, by May, the double blow of Britain's withdrawal from the EU and the epidemic had caused Britain's GDP to shrink by nearly one-fifth. Under the severe economic situation, the people's living burden is aggravated, and the shrinking labor market directly leads to nearly 650,000 people losing their jobs from March to June.
Naturally, the British government should be responsible for this phenomenon first. However, Britain's withdrawal from the EU once led to a decrease in government revenue, and huge subsidies increased the expenditure burden. It can be said that the proportion of British government debt to GDP exceeds 100%, far exceeding the warning line of the European Union.
As far as the impact on the British economy is concerned, in the short term, due to the pattern change and large-scale adjustment of demand brought about by Britain's withdrawal from the EU, Britain's trade and finance have indeed been negatively affected. In other words, the uncertainty brought by Britain's withdrawal from the EU has increased the downward pressure on the British economy. Although there has been abnormal growth in the short term, on the whole, at least so far, the impact of Britain's withdrawal from the EU on the British economy is negative.
Not only is the overall economic situation of the country bad, but people's lives are also greatly affected, which is first manifested in the most fundamental population activities. After Britain left the EU, Britain parted ways with the EU countries, and the British in the latter territory became "outsiders". According to the regulations, foreign tourists are not allowed to bring meat and dairy products into the EU, so when the EU waters are open, you can often see British people who have been confiscated of their food sighing.
British artists who go to European countries to perform also need to go through various procedures such as work visas and performance commitments. You know, this did not exist at all in the past, and the cumbersome procedures made the stars collectively complain.
Not only the British, but also their language English has become the goal of the European Union. Before Britain joined the European Union, France and Germany were the big brothers of the European family. French played a major role in the European Union, both in terms of the number of French speakers and the status of French-speaking countries. However, the entry of Britain has changed this situation, making the proportion of people who use English rise to 50% and become the most popular language.
So after Britain left the EU, French Minister of European Affairs Bona asked the EU to lower its English status, calling it "swearing", which shows that Britain's status has declined, and even its wording has been severely hit.
Another point that must be mentioned is that Britain's withdrawal from the EU may aggravate the existing domestic territorial and sovereignty problems. As we all know, today's Northern Ireland in Britain originally belonged to the Kingdom of Ireland, and this area can be placed under Britain, which is not unrelated to surrender by force.
Britain's withdrawal from the EU has become a reality, and the border issue has once again been put on the agenda. Coupled with the impact of the epidemic on Northern Ireland, the quality of life of local people plummeted and internal struggles intensified. So in April this year, there was a fierce confrontation between the * * * faction and the alliance faction, which led to street violence.
The problem doesn't stop there, and Scotland is not peaceful. Its main industry is fishing. Britain's withdrawal from the European Union re-restricted Scotland's fishing scope and fishery import and export volume, which directly led to the loss of fishermen's interests. Coupled with complex old grievances such as history, nationality and religion, Scotland's awareness of independence has risen again. The confusion between history and ideals has troubled the British government.
At the press conference of 65438 on February 24th, 2020, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said: "It's time to turn the page and look forward to the future. The end is another beginning."
In fact, Britain's withdrawal from the EU is only an episode in the unpredictable international political pattern for thousands of years. Before Britain left the EU, some people supported it and some opposed it. After leaving the European Union, several families have mixed feelings. Now that we have taken the step of leaving the European Union, the British government and people have to consider how to take this road. After all, there is no regret medicine in the world, and dealing with problems is the only way out.