General

It has been three years since the UK formally withdrew from the EU on January 31, 2019. How did Brexit affect the UK in the past three years? Why does the proportion of people who support Britain's "Brexit" decline? What is the relationship between Britain and the EU after the "Brexit"? Kong Yuan, an associate researcher of the European Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and an expert on British issues, pointed out in an interview with the China News Service that although the United Kingdom has achieved some of its political aspirations of "Brexit", its economic problems have not been solved easily because of "Brexit", which has greatly affected the public opinion tendency of the United Kingdom on the "Brexit" issue, and the relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union has also been tested because of the "Brexit" issue. Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report.

"Brexit" is hard to fulfill its wish for freedom

Kong Yuan pointed out that the fear of "marginalization" was an important reason for Britain to choose "Brexit". With the deepening of EU integration, Britain's influence on EU affairs decision-making is gradually declining. Since the 21st century, Europe has been facing problems such as the euro crisis and refugee flows, which have also made Britain increasingly dissatisfied with some of the EU's systems and decisions.

Kong Yuan believed that some of Britain's political demands for "Brexit" had indeed been realized. After leaving the EU, the UK will no longer be restricted by the EU laws and regulations, and then regain more autonomy, and can help the country develop by modifying or formulating regulations. In addition, the British Conservatives, represented by former Prime Minister Johnson, gained popular support by promoting the "Brexit" agenda, and strengthened the ruling power.

At the same time, Britain hopes to become a "world Britain" with influence on global affairs through "Brexit", not just a "European Britain" with influence only on European affairs. Kong Yuan believed that in this regard, Britain failed to achieve its wish.

"It can be seen from the diplomatic efforts made by the United Kingdom in the world after its departure from the European Union that the United Kingdom has the will to show its global leadership, but in fact lacks the ability to implement and implement this will. The United Kingdom's perception of its national strength is also higher than that of many countries." Kong Yuan said.

"Brexit" made the economy worse and the domestic public opinion wavered

Kong Yuan pointed out that although some people believed that the UK would gain economic benefits through "Brexit" in the long run, in fact, the UK has so far failed to achieve any economic demands of "Brexit". Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation reported.

Kong Yuan said that, similar to the political appeal, the UK hoped to open up a broader market through "Brexit" and reach trade partnerships with more countries in the Asia-Pacific region, but the effect was not good. "Although the United Kingdom has signed free trade agreements with Japan, Australia and other countries, the signing of free trade agreements with the United States and other countries is far away, and it also needs more time to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (CPTPP) and other key issues."

Kong Yuan also pointed out that the British economy itself has structural problems, such as serious de-industrialization, high dependence on consumption and services, and insufficient labor force. On these issues, "Brexit" has not only failed to alleviate the problem, but also made it worse.

As an important financial city in the world, London, the capital of the United Kingdom, has left London and moved to other regions after the "Brexit", which has resulted in the loss of a large number of talents in the United Kingdom and the decline of its competitiveness. The crisis in Ukraine since 2022 has also put more pressure on the British economy. For a period of time, the strikes from all walks of life in the UK have been a microcosm of the economic recession.

When the UK held the "Brexit" referendum in 2016, the proportion of people supporting "Brexit" was 52%. However, a recent poll released by Statista, a data and statistics agency, showed that 54% of British respondents thought it was wrong to leave the EU, while only 34% thought it was the right decision.

In this regard, Kong Yuan said that more and more British "Brexit" people began to shake or even regret their choice, and economic problems were the main reason for this phenomenon.

British-European relations face a test

Some German media believe that after Britain's "Brexit", the EU has lost its second largest economy and the second largest net contributor to the EU budget, which has an irreversible negative impact on its own development. Although the European Union has repeatedly persuaded Britain to give up "Brexit", it has failed to prevent Britain's "Brexit" from becoming a reality. Many disputes and difficulties left over by the "Brexit" issue also test the relationship between the UK and the EU.

"The issues related to Northern Ireland are a thorny problem left over. Although the UK and the EU have reached a certain consensus on the relevant issues and signed the Northern Ireland Protocol, some of its provisions have problems, and the UK and EU have still been unable to reach an agreement on amending the provisions," Kong said, "On the other hand, the United Kingdom and the European Union have only reached a 'Brexit' agreement in terms of trade, but have not determined a new and mature mechanism in terms of defense and security cooperation, and relevant issues have not been resolved so far."

Kong Yuan believed that the complicated "Brexit" issue led to a rift in the relationship between the British government and the EU, especially during the period when Truss was the British Prime Minister. However, after taking over as British Prime Minister in October 2022, Sunak made many efforts to repair the relationship between Britain and the EU. "Sunak realized that only by properly handling the relationship with the EU can the UK's economic problems be solved." Kong Yuan said, according to Huacheng's import and export data observation report.