Brexit

Brexit

BREXIT

The EU has a bumpy history

1960 Britain's first bid to join the European economic community (EEC), the predecessor of the European Union, was vetoed by French President Charles DE gaulle.

1973 British prime minister Edward Heath resumed negotiations to join the European Community, eventually becoming a member.

1975 British prime minister Harold Wilson voted in a referendum to keep Britain in the European Community.

1984 British prime minister Margaret Thatcher successfully secured a partial refund of the European Community's budget contribution.

In 1997, British prime minister Tony Blair's plan to join the euro after 1997 was blocked by then-chancellor of the exchequer Gordon Brown.

Conflicts of interest are intensifying

For historical and geographical reasons, Britain has pursued a policy of non-intervention in continental affairs since the late 19th century, known as "glorious isolation".A history of euroscepticism and a different model of economic development from continental Europe has long kept Britain at odds with the continent.In the eyes of eurosceptics, some of the eu's future policy trends are likely to hurt British interests.The spread of the European debt crisis not only makes Britain's eurosceptic heart ferment rapidly, but also accelerates the pace of brexit.At the same time, people in other eu countries are also becoming dissatisfied with Britain. They think that Britain not only rejects the euro, does not participate in the eu's crisis rescue plan, but also opposes all financial regulatory policies. Therefore, brexit is good for the development of the eu.Mutual trust has fallen to historic lows.[13]

Britain is not a member of the euro zone, so it can issue its own currency, keep its exports competitive and have its own fiscal policy.But this made it difficult for Britain to really join the continental business.Especially during the critical period of the European debt crisis, due to the obvious differences of interests, the voices of leaving the eu were also clamoring.[13]

Mutual suspicion ferments quickly

There are eurosceptics within the British conservative party. Not only that, but they also believe that the policies within the eu have negative effects on the eu, and some future policy trends may also harm the interests of the UK.The spread of the European debt crisis not only makes Britain's eurosceptic heart ferment rapidly, but also accelerates the pace of brexit [12].

And at the same time, the British people of other European Union countries also growing discontent, "not reliable" to think of English as a member of the European Union, in the process of European integration has been negative, always play a role of foot-dragging: it not only reject the euro, not to participate in the eu crisis rescue plan, does not contribute to alleviate the crisis, and against all the financial regulatory policy, so the "out" it is good for the development of the European Union, other member states in the process of integration of resistance will be smaller.Mutual trust has fallen to historic lows.

Political votes force a referendum

Opinion polls show the conservative party in a slump, and Cameron's "leave" comments could help him regain some of the votes that flowed to the pro-leave independence party.Mr Cameron also wants to use it as a bargaining chip to negotiate more favourable terms for Britain's membership of the eu, with a view to getting a bigger slice of the pie.

Referendum process editor

Mr Cameron formally called a referendum

On January 23, 2013, British prime minister David Cameron made a speech on the future of Britain's relations with the eu.Mr Cameron has promised that if he wins the general election scheduled for 2015, he will approve the laws needed to set new principles for relations with the eu within a year, and then hold a referendum on leaving to give people the chance to choose whether to stay or leave.Mr. Cameron said Britain could leave the European Union if it did not take steps to address its core issues.The referendum was expected to be held between 2017 and 2018.

The media assumed the referendum was polling

On February 6, 2013, solstice, the financial times carried out a hypothetical referendum on Britain's membership of the eu tomorrow. A total of 2,114 adults took part.Polls show that 50 percent of britons approve of holding a referendum, while 21 percent disapprove.Less than half of respondents (45 per cent) think eu membership would be good for the UK, while 34 per cent think the opposite.Half of the more than 2,000 respondents said they would vote for Britain to leave the eu, while 33 percent said they would vote for Britain to remain.Forty-seven percent of leave supporters said it was "possible" to change its mind if Britain could defend itself in negotiations with its eu partners.The vast majority of respondents want the eu to change its policies on immigration and justice.The result of this poll shows that British people's sentiment for leaving the eu is spreading.

Mr Cameron plans an early referendum

On January 4, 2015, British prime minister David Cameron said he would bring forward the planned referendum in 2017 if possible.The referendum must be held by the end of 2017.Better yet, do it early.The sooner the renegotiation promise is fulfilled, the better.[1]

On March 17, 2015, British prime minister David Cameron said it was "very unlikely" that he would bring forward the eu membership referendum to 2015 if he won the election in May.Mr Cameron has promised to renegotiate Britain's relationship with Europe, including on issues such as immigration, before holding a referendum by 2017 in the hope of preventing a rise in euroscepticism that has led some Tory voters to vote for the anti-eu UK independence party.[14]

Referendum begins

Voting on the "leave" referendum began at 7am local time on June 23, 2016 (3pm Beijing time).The vote, which will last 15 hours, will have a direct impact on Britain's future membership of the eu.[15]

With the latest opinion polls showing a close race between "remain" and "leave", the suspense seems to be hanging until the last minute.As well as making the referendum itself more elusive, it adds a layer of uncertainty to global markets.[16] the final tally gives voters in favour of leaving the eu 17,176,006 votes, or 52% of the total.The vote for remain was 15,952,444, or 48% of the total.[17]

Angry at the outcome of Britain's referendum on leaving the European Union, local people launched a petition to ask the British parliament to reconsider the validity of the referendum and call for a second referendum.[18]

The brexit vote was postponed

A second brexit vote scheduled for next week will be postponed until February 25, 2019.

With only a month to go before the official brexit date on February 25, there is only a "last-minute deal" or "no deal" waiting for Britain.After Britain's house of Commons narrowly approved plan B on January 29th, Mrs May will take it to Brussels on February 7th to persuade eu leaders to accept a "backup arrangement" for Ireland's borders.[19]

On March 27, 2019, the lower house of parliament voted to officially postpone the "brexit" scheduled for this month.There is still no final deadline for brexit.[20]

On April 10, 2019, after six hours of discussion, eu countries reached an agreement to postpone the date of "brexit" to October 31.[10]

Referendum follow-up editor

A referendum on a petition

On July 9, 2016, the British government officially rejected a petition by more than 4.125 million people to hold a second brexit referendum.Speaking on behalf of officials, the foreign office said the prime minister and the government had made it clear that the results of previous referendums must be respected.The government is now preparing the steps to leave the eu to ensure that the interests of the British people are best served.

A second petition was launched on the UK parliament's website on the day the results were announced. Four million people signed the petition, a record number in the UK.Traditionally, if a petition exceeds 100,000 signatures, parliament needs to consider discussing it.[21]

The court ruling

On November 3, 2016, the high court ruled that the government needed parliamentary approval before it could formally start the brexit process.It comes after opposition campaigners including businesswoman Gina miller accused the government of making it illegal to start brexit without a parliamentary vote.[22]

Bill through

On the night of February 1, 2017, the lower house of parliament voted to approve the brexit bill submitted by the government, empowering prime minister Theresa may to start the brexit process.Britain is due to trigger article 50 of the Lisbon treaty by the end of march to formally start brexit negotiations.The British foreign secretary Boris Johnson said it was a historic vote by an overwhelming majority to move Britain's brexit negotiations forward.[23]

On February 1, 2017, after two days of debate, the house of Commons voted to support the brexit bill submitted by the government, empowering the prime minister to start the brexit process.[24]

Approval of the queen

On March 16, 2017, queen Elizabeth ii approved the brexit bill, authorizing British prime minister Theresa may to formally start the brexit process.[25]

Take off the negotiations

On March 20, 2017, a spokesman for the UK's downing street announced that the UK will formally submit its application for leaving the eu to the eu on March 29, 2017, initiating the negotiation of article 50 of the Lisbon treaty.[26]

On March 29, 2017, British prime minister Theresa may sent a letter to the eu, officially launching the brexit process.Britain's ambassador to the eu has sent a letter to European council President Donald tusk.[27]

The sixth round of brexit talks between the eu and the UK ended in Brussels on November 10, 2017, with no substantive progress on the core issues of "break fee", civil rights and the border between the UK and Ireland.The eu has given the UK two weeks to give a clear answer to the break-up fee before it can "unlock" the second phase of negotiations, including a trade deal.Although the sixth round of brexit talks ended without success, the two sides maintained close contact behind the scenes and made some progress.[28]

On March 19, 2018, the eu and the UK reached a broad agreement on the terms of the two-year transitional period after the UK leaves the eu in March 2019.The deal still needs to be signed by eu chief brexit negotiator Neil barnier and UK brexit minister davies.In a widely agreed deal, the UK will continue to enforce all eu rules until 2020, but will have no say in future decisions.[29]

Passed by parliament

On April 18, 2018, the British house of lords passed an amendment requiring the government to make efforts to remain in the European customs union during the "brexit" negotiations with the eu [30].

On April 23, 2018, the house of lords passed an amendment to the brexit act, requiring the UK to retain the eu charter of fundamental rights in the legal system after brexit.

On June 12 and 13, 2018, the lower house of parliament debated the brexit bill and voted on a series of amendments proposed by the upper house.To the delight of Mrs May's government, the lower house of parliament rejected a number of amendments that would have been detrimental to the government.[31]

On June 12, 2018, the British house of Commons passed amendment 110 [32] by 324-302 votes against the brexit bill in the house of lords.

On June 20, 2018, the house of lords of the United Kingdom voted to pass the brexit bill proposed by the government, establishing the legal framework after the formal withdrawal from the eu on March 29, 2018, and abolishing the priority of eu regulations in the British legal system.The act is only to be signed by the queen. [33]

Approval of the queen

On June 26, 2018, queen Elizabeth ii approved British prime minister Theresa may's most important brexit bill, ending months of debate on the bill.The bill would formally end Britain's membership of the European Union.[3]

Establishment of new free trade zones

At 6:52 PM on July 6, 2018, British prime minister Theresa may announced that the cabinet has reached an agreement on Britain's relationship with the eu after brexit.Specifically, the result means that British cabinet members have agreed to establish a new "free trade area" with the eu and support the establishment of a "joint customs zone".[34]

Staff resigned

On July 9, 2018, according to reports from the BBC, Russia today and other media, British brexit minister davies has resigned.His office has confirmed the resignation with immediate effect.On the same day, British prime minister Theresa may accepted Boris Johnson's resignation.[35 and 36]

On July 10, 2018, two other senior members of Britain's ruling conservative party submitted their resignations due to political disagreements with the party leader and British prime minister Theresa may.[37]

Release a white paper on brexit

On July 12, 2018, Britain released a white paper on brexit, which Theresa may said would provide a principled and practical direction for the brexit process.[4]

Muddle through

On July 16, 2018, the lower house of parliament passed the "(cross-border trade) tax bill" by 318 votes to 285 votes, and British prime minister Theresa may's overall strategy of leaving the European Union remained basically stable.[38]

Solution debate

Britain's biggest opposition party, the Labour party, and the ruling conservative party have held their annual meetings, with brexit becoming the focus of debate.Britain's two main political parties have failed to come up with a more attractive plan to leave the European Union, after prime minister Theresa may's earlier proposal was rejected by the European Union.On the one hand, the conservative party is deeply divided over Theresa may's brexit plan.On the other hand, the labor party seized on the dissatisfaction with the chaos of brexit and planned to push for an early election and a "second referendum" on brexit.The Northern Ireland border is also one of the sensitive issues at issue between Britain and the eu.With less than six months to go before Britain formally leaves the European Union, what form it will take to leave remains a huge unknown.[39]

The dispute of "fu yuan"

On June 19, 2018, MPS rejected the amendment by a vote of 324 to 298.In another important vote, MPS voted by a wide margin of 327 to 126 to reject an upper house amendment to keep Britain in the European common market after brexit.In addition, MPS narrowly rejected an upper house amendment to remove the official 'brexit' date of March 29, 2019, from the bill by 326 votes to 301.[40]

The prime minister declared

On September 21, 2018, British prime minister Theresa may issued a "brexit" statement in London, UK.[41]

Sign the brexit agreement

On the morning of November 25, 2018, the leaders of the 27 eu countries, excluding the UK, unanimously adopted the draft brexit agreement.The leaders of 27 member states gather in Brussels for a summit. The topic of the summit is to vote on the draft brexit agreement and finally approve it.

Millions of people are petitioning for a second referendum

Supporters calling for a second brexit referendum presented a petition with more than one million signatures to Theresa may's downing street residence on December 3, 2018.The supporters included members of all major British political parties, the report said.[42]

The deal to leave the European Union

On December 11, 2018, the lower house of parliament voted on the brexit agreement between Britain and the eu.[43]

On November 20, 2018, the UK and the European Union reached a draft brexit agreement, which stipulates a 21-month transitional period after the UK officially leaves the eu, until the end of 2020.[44]

On December 10, 2018, Theresa may postponed the parliamentary vote on the draft brexit agreement scheduled for December 11 to avoid a potentially catastrophic veto [45].

On December 12, 2018, the British conservative party announced the launch of a no-confidence vote against the party leader Theresa may.

The house of Commons has rejected the brexit deal

On January 15, 2019, the house of Commons voted to reject the previous "brexit" agreement between the British government and the eu.After five days of debate, the house of Commons voted 432 to 202 Friday to reject the brexit deal.[46]

An amendment to the brexit deal is being debated

On January 29, 2019, the British parliament debated and voted on seven amendments to the brexit agreement.Two of the amendments were approved and five failed, the BBC reported.After that, the British prime minister Theresa may will return to the European Union to resume negotiations on the brexit deal.

Brexit is a tug of war

On February 20, 2019, Theresa may returned to the European Union with a new proposal to resolve the dispute over the "backup arrangements" for Britain's brexit deal.[48]

On her way to the summit of eu and Arab league leaders in Egypt on February 24, 2019, Theresa may told the media that the house of Commons will not hold a meaningful vote on brexit until March 12, 2019.[49]

On March 12, 2019, the lower house of parliament voted on the revised "brexit" agreement negotiated by the British government and the eu, and rejected the "brexit" agreement again.[8] on the same day, the house of Commons will vote on whether to leave without a deal.If the vote goes through, Britain will leave the eu without a deal on March 29, 2019.If brexit is rejected by the lower house of parliament on Wednesday, the British parliament will continue to vote on whether to extend brexit.