Stig Östlund

tisdag, april 02, 2019

What Is Brexit? A Simple Guide




What is Brexit?

A portmanteau of the words “Britain” and “exit,” Brexit is shorthand for Britain’s split from the European Union, changing its relationship to the bloc on trade, security and migration.

Britain has been debating the pros and cons of membership in a European community of nations almost from the moment the idea was broached. It held its first referendum on membership in 1975, less than three years after it joined.

In 2013, Prime Minister David Cameron promised a national referendum on European Union membership with the idea of settling the question once and for all. The options it would offer were Remain and Leave, and Mr. Cameron was convinced that Remain would win handily.

On June 23, 2016, as a refugee crisis made migration a subject of political rage across Europe and amid accusations of lies and fraudulent tactics by the Leave side, Britons voted for a hazily defined Brexit by 52 percent to 48 percent.

Not only did that not settle the debate, but it saved for another day the tangled question of what should come next. Now, that day may finally be arriving.

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