More than three years after a saw, britain has finally come to say goodbye to the european union. On 30 january, local time, the council of the european union voted for the british “de-european” agreement. On 31 january 2300 gmt, the united kingdom officially left the european union, ending its 47-year membership in the european union and entering an 11-month “de-european” transition from 1 february。
In less than a year, the united kingdom and the european union will begin new negotiations on future relations. Will britain be better off after a "single flight" and how will it get along with the eu?" if you compare "deut" to "marathon," britain would have crossed the finish line. But there's a new starting line before us.” bbc says。
"there's another starter."
On 29 january, the plenary of the european parliament adopted, by 621 votes in favour, 49 against and 13 abstentions, a “de-european” agreement between the united kingdom and 27 other eu member states in october 2019。
In accordance with established procedures, on 30 january, the council of europe formally ratified the british “de-european” agreement, following a vote by the european parliament, thus completing all legal procedures for eu ratification of the de-european agreement。
According to the information received, before the vote in the plenary of the european parliament on 29 september, there was a heated debate among parliamentarians, and the majority expressed regret that the united kingdom was “de-european”. Singapore's joint morning post reported that after the vote, parliamentarians had sang friendship longer in the conference room as a way to express their regret at britain's departure from the eu and to wish britain a new friendly relationship with the eu。
For more than three years, the british “deutsche” has finally ended. On 23 june 2016, a referendum was held in the united kingdom to opt for a “deutsche”. In march of the following year, the united kingdom officially notified the eu of the launching of the “de-european” procedure. Since then, negotiations between the united kingdom and the european union around the “de-european” agreement have been one-and-a-half-fold. The “deutsche” period has also been delayed in the united kingdom。
“for the time being, neither the united kingdom nor the european union has been exhausted by the `departure', hoping to complete the legal process on time and begin a new chapter in british-european union relations as soon as possible.” zhao ko, associate professor at the international institute for strategic studies of the communist party central school, analyzed the reporter。
Deutsche welle reported that britain would then enter an 11-month “transition period”. Under the de-european agreement, the united kingdom is allowed to maintain its trade and tourism relations with the european union until 31 december 2020, provided that the parties continue to negotiate, during the transition period, future relations, trade agreements, etc。
For both the british and the european sides, the upcoming negotiations are not easy. The bbc official network made a vivid analogy: “cyber-century divorce is not easy. At the moment, the british and the european union agree to a `agreement divorce', and we have to continue talking about the house, the car, the children, the savings, the pets, etc.”
"marriage and divorce. How will you live?"
"betrothed and divorced. How does it go? The follow-up of the substantial economic and trade relations between the united kingdom and europe, which were completed on 31 january, is even more noteworthy.” in an interview with the press, kim kim, director of the centre for european studies of the university of jordan and vice-president of the chinese society for europe, analysed whether an agreement could be reached in the 11-month transition period to avoid a “hard transition”, whether the two sides would be closer or looser in the future in the area of economics and trade, issues that would be the focus of the next phase。
According to the bbc official website, earlier analysts warned that negotiations around future trade relations between the united kingdom and the european union would be more difficult and complex than the de-european process. First, during the transition period, the united kingdom will remain bound by existing eu regulations, ranging from production rules to labour rights, while it will remain within the single market, the customs union and allow for the free movement of people. However, the uk is no longer represented in eu bodies. This is tantamount to paying contributions but is denied the right to speak and vote. Secondly, in the context of the upcoming free trade negotiations, the president of the european commission, von delean, suggested that without a level playing field in areas such as labour, taxation and government subsidies, the united kingdom “cannot access the highest quality of access to the world's largest single market”. It is anticipated that equity will dominate the negotiations。
“follow-up negotiations between the british and european sides may focus on two contradictions: the eu's insistence on the integrity of the `four freedoms' of the single market, which guarantees the free movement of goods, services, capital and labour, while the united kingdom has previously expressed doubts about the free movement of labour and the immigration problems it entails, and its desire to limit the free movement of labour while continuing to be part of the eu's single market. Second, the possible liberalization of standards in rule-making in areas such as economic and social environmental protection, in order to boost the country's economy, after britain's graduation from the european union, has raised fears that it might face greater competition.” zhao ke, for analysis, argues。
The eu's chief “de-european” negotiator, michel barnier, also said earlier that the eu would not compromise on the integrity of the eu's single market “for ever and ever”. In addition, the eu is concerned about the possibility of a more active corporate subsidy policy and a more competitive tax system。
Where are we going after the "departure"
“we will always love you, and we will never go far.” after the vote in the plenary of the european parliament on 29 september, von delean said so. The speaker of the european parliament, sassoli, also stated that the united kingdom was part of europe, although it had left the european union。
But britain seems to be more enthralled in the joy of “single-fly” than in the relentless european union. “this is a great moment for our country, a time of hope and opportunity. But i think it is also a time for us to come together with confidence.” british prime minister johnson called it a day ago。
Previously, with the advancement of the “de-european” process, the british government had put forward the concept of “global british” diplomacy aimed at preserving and strengthening britain's position as a global power after leaving the european union. However, the analysis is generally based on the view that there is a real "single-fly" in the upcoming eu negotiations and the future. After that, britain will face multiple challenges, and close cooperation with the eu will remain indispensable to achieving the “global britain” goals。
In his opinion, the “pandora's box,” torn apart by the british society as a result of the “departure,” would be difficult to close with the “nominal denigration,” but might become a problem for the british government in 2020 or more. “first of all, the tension between the british regions may have worsened. Second, the ethnic cleavage caused by the `deutsche' and the british elections is difficult to bridge. In addition, the economic trauma caused by `deutsche' requires considerable time to heal. Britain is still far from completing its true `departure'."
“the united kingdom will no longer be able to make a decisive impact on european union affairs after the `departure', and its international influence will certainly decline.” as zhao ko pointed out, british political elites had a clear understanding of this, and have repeatedly stressed that britain has left the eu but will not leave europe. “in the future, in the areas of diplomacy and military security, britain will continue to strengthen its coordination with the eu and even become more involved in building european military security, thereby regaining its influence in europe and thus seeking greater global influence.”
