Does Brexit spell the end of the EU? By Manon

The term “Brexit” appeared for the first time on the 23^rd June 2016. But what does it mean? According to the Cambridge dictionary it is the abbreviation of “British exit”; it refers to the act of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union.

The EU is an economic and political association of 28 European countries including the UK.

Why have the majority of British people decided to leave the EU? And what are the views on Brexit today?

Ross Clark, a British journalist, said: “Brexit has led to a division in opinion in Britain”. In all the documents I have read, the main problem of British people seems to be the “EU’s handling of migration”: 77% of Britons think that illegal immigration is a serious problem (and that the EU is incapable of dealing with the problem).

According to the journalist Florentin Collomp the problem is global. There is the desire to regain the control on its population, a feeling of “enough already” exacerbated in England by the United Kingdom Independence Party. Indeed, it would seem that half of immigrants come from the European Union. The urge to reinstate national sovereignty is also present. For the British, the migrants, the integration of Greece in the EU, the EU’s restriction on agriculture and industry, etc. increased its wish to leave the EU. Brexit will be the way to bounce back economically… But what do other countries think of Brexit?

Many Europeans think that Brexit is a bad idea (28% in France and Spain, 24% in Germany and 23% in Italy. Asked if they think that future generations will be better off after Brexit, 52% of Germans, 58% of Spaniards, 62% of the French and 65% of Italians answered “no”. 41% Britons answered that their children would be worse off…

Only six countries tend to be confident in a post-Brexit future:  Luxembourg, Portugal, Malta, Ireland, Estonia and Hungary.

Will Britain’s departure make the European Union stronger or weaker? Across the 28 countries only 16 % said that Brexit will make the EU stronger against 43% think the opposite. Surprisingly, only 2% of Hungarian people believe that Brexit will strengthen the EU against 66%.

The British Ambassador estimated that there are about 55,000 Hungarians who work for British companies in Hungary. But now they have to sign up quickly to keep their work and to benefit from the agreement. Iain Lindsay said: “It is very important British nationals make sure they are correctly registered over the next year”.

But there aren’t only Hungarians who work for British companies or go to work in the UK and it will be very difficult to go there after Brexit. According to the article by Marc Zaffagni, journalist for Futura tech, England needs people to work in agriculture; there will be a shortage of seasonal foreign workers after Brexit. Some are hoping the use of robots will solve the problem…

To conclude, Brexit will weaken the European Union for sure because the UK (the world’s fifth economy) has a powerful position in it, and it has the right of veto in the United Nations. And Brexit might inspire other European Union countries such as Italy to leave too…

Webography :

> Article from LE FIGARO: Brexit cinq raisons pour lesquelles les Britanniques veulent nous quitter

> Article from FUTURA TECH: Robotique, l'effet inattendu du Brexit
> Article from THE SPECTATOR: Brexit, immigration, future prosperity: the view from abroad

> Article from EXPAT PRESS Hungary: Post-Brexit in Hungary: Keep Calm and Carry On?

> Video from euronews: Hungarians see Brexit as lost opportunity for travel & work

> Articles from Courrier International: Brexit