4-Feb-2020:  What Brexit means for the EU and its partners

As against the fears of a no-deal exit, the EU and the U.K. negotiated a Withdrawal Agreement, which enabled both parties to secure an orderly exit of Britain. This will help minimize disruption in the lives of citizens, businesses, public administrations, as well as the international partners of the two parties.

As per the Withdrawal Agreement, the EU and the U.K. have agreed on a transition period of 11 months, during which the U.K. will continue to participate in the EU’s Customs Union and in the Single Market, apply EU law, and continue to abide by the international agreements of the EU even though it is no longer the Member State of EU. Due to the provision of the transition period, there is a degree of continuity.

Post the Brexit, there is a need to start a new chapter in the relations between the U.K. and the European Union. The negotiations between the two parties will be beginning soon to chart a future source of cooperation.

The EU and the U.K. are bound by history, geography, culture, shared values and principles and a strong belief in rules-based multilateralism. The cooperation needs to go beyond trade and they need to keep working together on security and defence, areas where the U.K. has experiences and assets that are best used as part of a common effort.

The world faces big challenges and changes in the form of climate change, extremism, cybercrime, rising inequality, and trade protectionism. The more the U.K. and the EU are able to work together, the greater the chances of addressing these challenges effectively. Consultation and Co-operation between the two bilaterally and in key regional and global fora, such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or the G20 will benefit both the parties.

EU, with 27 Member States constitutes a single market of 450 million citizens and more than 20 million businesses. It remains the largest trading bloc in the world and the world’s largest development aid donor.

1-Feb-2020: Brexit brings a new dawn for U.K

Britain had previously resisted many EU projects over the years. It had refused to join the single currency or the Schengen free travel area arrangements. The 2016 referendum vote had voted in favour of Brexit, triggering deep bitterness and division within Britain.

It led to political chaos in London, paralyzing parliament and renewed calls for independence from Scotland.

Britain is set to end its 47-year-long membership of the European Union, which had ensured its integration with Europe. Britain becomes the first country to leave the 28-member bloc.

Notably, a 11-month transition period has been negotiated as part of an EU-U.K. exit deal. Britons will be able to work in and trade freely with EU nations until December 31, 2020, and vice versa, although the U.K. will no longer be represented in the EU institutions.

While the exit terms have been agreed, Britain must still strike a deal on future relations with the EU, its largest trading partner. Britain’s departure would also mean a “sea-change” for the bloc.

17-Oct-2019: Britain, European Union reach Brexit deal

Britain and the European Union have struck an outline Brexit deal after days of intense see-saw negotiations — though it must still be formally approved by the bloc and ratified by the European and UK Parliaments.

Immediately complicating matters was Johnson's Northern Irish government allies which didn't waste a minute to say they could not back the outline deal because of provisions for the Irish border.

Johnson needs all the support he can get to push any deal past a deeply divided Parliament and will surely temper jubilation at the EU summit. The UK parliament already rejected a previous deal three times.

Technical negotiators struggled longest to finetune customs and sales tax regulations that will have to manage trade in goods between the Northern Ireland and Ireland — where the UK and the EU share their only land border.

Both the customs and consent arrangements are key to guaranteeing an open border between the UK's Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland — the main obstacle to a Brexit deal.

14-Mar-2017: Scotland seeks split from UK over Brexit

Scotland’s leader announced that she will seek authority to hold a new independence referendum in the next two years because Britain is dragging Scotland out of the EU against its will.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that she would move quickly to give voters a new chance to leave the United Kingdom because Scotland was being forced into Brexit that it didn’t vote for. Britons decided in a referendum to leave the EU, but Scots voted to remain.

The move drew a quick rebuke from Prime Minister Theresa May who said a second referendum would be hugely disruptive and is not justified because evidence shows most Scottish voters oppose a second referendum.

Ms. Sturgeon said she would ask the Scottish Parliament next week to start the process of calling a referendum, to be held between the fall of 2018 and the spring of 2019. By then, details of Britain’s post-Brexit deal with the EU would be clear and Scottish voters would be able to make an informed choice.