Before you read this, just in case you didn’t know, BREXIT refers to the possibility of Great Britain (aka the United Kingdom) leaving the European Union after the referendum in June 2016. It’s a play on the words Britain and Exit. In this post, I am going to try and explain the Brexit debate, however, please know that thelegalknow is wholly against BREXIT. I will therefore TRY to be as neutral as possible in this post.

What is a referendum?

A referendum is a general vote by the electorate on a single political question which has been referred to them for a direct decision. In the UK, David  Cameron, the current Prime Minister has approved a referendum asking the British public whether or not it thinks that Britain should remain in the European Union. The big day is Thursday 23 June 2016.

The exact question will be “Should the UK remain a member of the EU or leave the EU”?

What is the European Union?

Five years after World War II ended, France and Germany came up with a plan to ensure that their two countries would never go to war against each other again. The result was a deal signed by six nations to pool their coal and steel resources in 1950. Seven years later a treaty signed in Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC) – the foundations of today’s European Union. The UK was one of three new members to join in the first wave of expansion in 1973. Today the EU has 28 member states with a total population of more than 500 million.

At the heart of the EU are laws designed to allow most goods, services, money and people to move freely within EU member states.

The four key institutions which work together to run the EU are as follows:

• the European Commission – the EU’s administrative arm – is responsible for proposing and drafting EU legislation;
• the European Parliament – represents EU citizens – is responsible for approving draft proposals, together with the European Council, from the European Commission and making them law;
• the European Council – represents member states – is responsible for approving draft proposals, together with the European Parliament, from the European Commission and making them law; and
• the European Court of Justice – is responsible for upholding EU law in member states to make sure EU law is applied in the same way in all EU member states. It also settles legal disputes between national governments and EU institutions. Member states are required to comply with the court’s rulings and may be fined if they do not do so. This is completely separate from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights, the EU has its own Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Each member state effectively appoints representatives to each of these institutions.

Why is there a referendum?

The British government promised to hold a referendum on EU membership before the end of 2017. There have been growing calls for a vote on whether to stay or leave the union, as it has allegedly become more powerful and expensive. The BREXIT campaign worries that the UK is paying more in membership fees but gaining little in return other than increasing immigration.

Why does Brexit matter?

The Brexit campaign maintains that by breaking free from the EU, the UK could reduce taxes for its citizens and reduce the burden of immigration. However, those campaigning to stay in the EU contend that if the UK should decide to go off on its own, the move could create widespread job losses and economic uncertainty. Currently, the EU is the UK’s largest trading partner. If enterprises in the new EU are reluctant to do business with British companies, British companies could face substantial setbacks.

Additionally, if Brexit occurs, the UK, just like Norway and Switzerland, will still have to comply with EU rules without having any influence over them. The UK’s exports would be subject to EU export tariffs and they would have to meet EU production standards. It could be even more costly for UK exporters if they face EU legal arguments against UK standards – there could be a lot more court cases (LAWYERS will get richer, YAY). There is therefore a feeling that the UK is always likely to be better positioned to secure beneficial trade deals as a member of the EU than as an individual and isolated player.

What will be the impact on the EU if Brexit occurs?

The potential implications of Brexit are complex, as they hinge largely on what economic actions the UK takes after splitting off from the rest of the EU and how the rest of the world reacts to such a move. The impact would be widespread and drawn-out. The actual process of the UK leaving the partnership and establishing new agreements with remaining EU countries would take years. Many businesses would face immense uncertainty during this time.

In order to reduce this uncertainty, Brexit advocates are weighing potential options. They’re considering either supporting a second referendum on which model to pursue or making an effort to create a consensus behind what the UK’s trade deals would look like after the nation’s exit. Sounds like a political mess to me!

So there you have it. BREXIT in a nutshell. You should hopefully now have a vague idea of what’s going on. I tried to stay neutral but I love and care about business and the arguments to STAY in the EU make economic sense to me. The pennies we would save in domestic tax pail in comparison to the billions we could lose in trade with the EU and the world (President Obama made America’s view very clear). If you are a UK business owner/entrepreneur reading this, please make sure that you VOTE and vote for what you think will be GOOD for UK BUSINESS not UK AESTHETICS.

Please like and please share. Comment below if you disagree! I’m happy to be educated.