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Brexit, the breakup between the United Kingdom (U.K.) and The European Union (EU), is official.
After three and a half years of negotiations and multiple delays, the U.K. formally left the EU Friday, Jan. 31., becoming the first country to leave the EU since its inception in 1957, then called the European Economic Community.
In June 2016 in the U.K., a referendum narrowly won in favor of leaving the EU, with 52 percent of the vote, according to the BBC. While most of England and Wales supported Brexit, Scotland, Northern Ireland and London voted in favor of remaining in the EU.
Supporters of Brexit cited the desire to create their own laws and regulations without needing to follow the EU’s rules as a primary reason to leave.
However, leaving the EU would mean losing many benefits EU member countries enjoy, such as effectively borderless travel and trade between the member countries, more job opportunities and increased security.
Now that the U.K. has left, there are still a number of unresolved issues that will be discussed in upcoming negotiations between the U.K. and the EU. During the transition period over the next 11 months, the U.K. will continue following the EU’s regulations and rules while the groups decide on agreements on free trade, security, safety and health standards and more.
After 47 years of membership, the economy of the U.K. is strongly tied to the EU — in 2016, 54 percent of Britain’s imports and 43 percent of its exports were accounted for by the EU, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Another topic that has to be discussed is how trade along the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which remains part of the EU, will be handled. According to the BBC, the current arrangement will create a customs border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K., but it is not yet clear how this plan will be implemented.
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said he will not extend the transition period, but reaching an agreement in only 11 months would require a very fast pace of negotiation — a similar trade deal between Canada and the EU took seven years to negotiate, according to The New York Times.
Reaching an agreement on Brexit is vital; a “no deal” scenario in which no agreement is reached is likely to cause food, medicine, electricity and gas shortages in the U.K., according to the BBC.
