Britain's exit from the European Union, Brexit (from Britain + exit) represents the termination of the UK membership in the European Union and the procedure associated with it.
Great Britain left the European Union on January 31, 2020 at 23:00 London time. The reason for the exit was the result of a consultative referendum on June 23, 2016, when 51.9% of voters supported the British exit from the European Union.
Of the 10 largest trading partners of the UK, 7 are EU countries. In everyday life, the British did not notice how many benefits are associated with access to a common market. Brexit forced the numbers to be calculated. It turned out that access to a common market and common game rules was a valuable blessing. Leaving the general market made the British pay for this access.
Even when talking about migration, the real costs became visible only when they got down to business. Migration reduces the cost of production and leads to lower prices, that is, makes citizens richer. Freedom of movement of labor is not only the right of citizens from EU countries to come to the UK, but also the right of the British to work in Europe without financial losses. This may be a small gain for one person, but a serious relief for large international corporations, or a big loss if refused.
The decision to withdraw from the EU was supposed, as its supporters stated, to free the British economy from pan-European restrictions and allow it to develop faster. In the meantime, Brexit has given the opposite effect. The Bank of England, which was expected to start raising interest rates after the US Federal Reserve, now looks more like the European Central Bank. It is going to lower them and, possibly, buy up assets to stimulate the economy. Its growth rates, as well as government bond yields, now tend to zero, and investors and companies are faced with economic and political uncertainty, which may last more than one year. Shares of British banks fell by tens of percent - like their competitors from the continent, raising concerns that banks would have problems with capital adequacy.
The growth rate of the British economy has long been higher than in the eurozone, but in the near future it is threatened, at best, with stagnation, or even recession. In 2011-2015, in the eurozone, GDP growth ranged from -0.9 to 1.7%, and in the UK - from 1.2 to 2.9%. Now, out of all the German companies with subsidiaries in the UK, 35% plan to reduce investments and 26% - employees. Only 7% intend to increase their investment.
Still, Brexit will allow Great Britain to turn its glance outwards and move towards the wider world. Now, it can freely create new ties with fast-developing countries and emerging markets. This means the UK will be able to conquer new horizons and expand its export to new places.
Now that Brexit has happened, the UK is free to become both a strong, global leader, as well as a country with an increasingly uncertain and volatile future.
