The
term “Brexit,” is a term that has been used to describe the UK’s attempt to be
able to get out of the European Union. Before
going into close detail regarding, “Brexit,” it is first important to
understand the mechanism by which the European Union functions. There are several concepts by which this
entity is put into process. These are supranationalism,
intergovernmentalism and multi- level governance[1]. Supranationalism
is the idea that EU laws supersedes national law. EU law therefore, has precedence of British
law. Next, Intergovernmentalism is the
concept by which national interest is considered. And lastly, multi- level governance is the
idea wherein power is dispersed territorially to various regions and political actors. These concepts emerged from the idea of neofunctionalism
wherein the member states realized it was in their interest to pool their sovereignty
and have interdependent laws[2].
The
beginning of the EU emerged from the Schamen Plan where several states decided
to join their steel and coal resources[3]. It was the Treaty of Rome that created the
European Economic Community wherein policy was enacted to remove trade barriers
allowing for free trade. Lastly the Mastrict
Treaty changed the EEC to the EU by which it is known today. Through this treaty, the EU’s power was
formalized and its authority became supranational[4]. Furthermore, the EU’s executive, legislative
and judicial branches were created. As
mentioned, these branches have power over national laws and these compel states
to act.
EU
laws are drafted in the European Commission, the executive branch. This is where directorate generals propose
regulation, legislation and directives for state implementation. The Council of the European Union receives
these drafts wherein it is then decided how the European Union should proceed. The European Parliament has the ability to
exercise judicial review[5]. This serves as a check and balance. If states, people or corporations do not
comply, they will be answerable to the European Court of Justice. This body has the ability to impose sanctions
for non- compliance.
The
UK has been contemplating leaving the EU for some time. This could be traced to Teresa May, David
Cameron then Boris Johnson. In fact, on
June 2016, a vote was taken in the UK to pull out of the EU. It secured 51.9% in favor of leaving[6]. This caused David Cameron to resign at which point
evidently replaced with Boris Johnson who then shortly thereafter successfully inked
an exit deal with the EU.
The
major issue as to why the UK wanted to leave, if it is not expressly evident as
explained herein was a result of the loss of sovereignty. The fact that the EU functions with supranationalism,
intergovernmentalism and multi- level governance as core concepts of its
structure meant that the UK had to always cooperate and be under the EU. This resulted in a loss of power for the UK. Not only this but, they loss say in many
important matters including immigration, taxation etc. To add insult to injury, the UK was also one
of the top contributors to the EU budget behind Germany and France. From a Foreign policy perspective, it becomes
evident that the UK wanted first, their sovereignty back. They then wanted a say in matters involving
such examples as immigration. And lastly,
it is likely they didn’t want to be contributing to the EU budget as they perceived
that they didn’t benefit as much as they hoped from the partnership.
With
supranationalism, intergovernmentalism and multi- level governance in place,
the EU acted to be the greatest force in Europe. Through these core values, the European Union
was able to implement across its 28 member states, the free movement of
citizens, goods and services within the EU, lower market prices and trade benefits
between members. Clearly the UK, weighed
the pros can cons of their membership to the EU very closely before deciding to
part ways. An important factor in the UK’s
decision to leave was the fact that a lot of their laws as according to these
three principles, were created in the EU.
Therefore, the UK lost some of its sovereignty.
In
addition to the loss of sovereignty, another pressing issue was
immigration. Currently there are approximately
67 million people living in the UK [7]. At the time just before the vote, there was a
massive immigration crisis in Europe wherein people from African nations were
and are boating themselves into the EU countries. The UK was forced to accept unwanted
immigrants. They were also forced to
have more laxed border control which only served to worsen the condition. There was a major survey done where the
Independent revealed that people voted to leave the EU because of, “widespread anti-immigration sentiment[8].” The British wanted to protect their country
from foreigners.
In conclusion, from a foreign policy perspective, it becomes clear that not only do the British want their sovereignty, but they also wanted control of their geographic boundaries. By leaving the EU both foreign policy matters could be rectified accordingly.
[1] Kubicek, P. “European
Politics.” (2017) Routledge. Page 73
[2] Kubicek, P. “European
Politics.” (2017) Routledge. Page 79
[3] Kubicek, P. “European
Politics.” (2017) Routledge. Page 77
[4] Kubicek, P. “European
Politics.” (2017) Routledge. Page 81
[5] Kubicek, P. “European
Politics.” (2017) Routledge. Page 91
[6] Dorlin, D. “Brexit: the decision of a divided country.” (2016) ProQuest. Retrieved from: Brexit:
the decision of a divided country (dannydorling.org)
[7] Worldometers,
“U.K. Population.” (2019). Retrieved from: U.K.
Population (2021) - Worldometer (worldometers.info)
[8] Bulman, M. “Brexit: People voted to leave EU, because they feared
immigration, major survey finds.” (2017) Independent.
Retrieved from: Brexit:
People voted to leave EU because they feared immigration, major survey finds |
The Independent | The Independent
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