Appraising British exit from European Union one year after

The year 2016 witnessed a distinct epoch, a turning point in the history of Europe as it marked the beginning of the end of more than four decades of the union between the United Kingdom (UK) and the rest of the European Union (EU), with the UK wanting out of the relationship.

The UK believed that wriggling out of the economic, trade, and judicial marriage with the EU would set it on the path of better economic advancement where it would not be subject to the dictates of the EU nor be financially committed to the bloc.

Following a 52 per cent vote in favour of a Brexit Referendum to leave the EU on June 23, 2016, in the UK and Gibraltar, the process of ensuring British Exit (Brexit) began in earnest until Jan. 31, 2020 – though deadlocked at several points.

Hence, the UK’s 47 years of membership in the EU officially ended at midnight on Jan. 31, 2020.

That meant that UK citizens were no longer citizens of the EU.

That also meant that constitutionally and legally, the Article 50 process, the withdrawal from the EU, had been sealed and had become irreversible, with the only way back into the bloc being for the UK to apply to rejoin.

Although it is free at last to redesign its own destiny, the UK is being faced with many underlying challenges now springing up. With businesses groaning under new rules, observers say that it may appear that the UK did not have it all figured out in its quest to leave the EU.

The UK’s desire to leave the EU did not begin in 2016. Based on available data, the quest began to build up from 1975.

In fact, the UK has always questioned its marriage with the EU as well as the terms of the union, some aspects of which it succeeded in renegotiating over time.

When in 1963, Britain applied to join the EU, then called the European Economic Community (EEC), no one thought that the UK would want out of a union that took it 10 years to join in 1973.

The EEC was established in 1957 after France, West Germany (then), Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands signed the Treaty of Rome, an attempt to foster economic relationships among European countries in the wake of World War II.

Britain’s membership was initially vetoed as it was seen as an ally of America, until 1973 when it finally made it in.

Shockingly, the first move at ‘Brexit’ came barely two years later in 1975 with a referendum on the question: “Do you think the UK should stay in the European Community?”

This move was vehemently rejected with 67 per cent voting in favour of Britain remaining. But UK remained unsatisfied and continued to negotiate certain aspects of the union.

In 1990, the Oxford Campaign for Independent Britain was launched, a move which many say was the clearer beginning of Brexit.

An insight into the 1,200 paged trade deal which was a prerequisite to a final exit shows key areas affected by the exit to include: Trade, education and qualifications, travels, fishing, laws, and judiciary as well as security.

On Trade: Although there will be no tariffs on goods or limit to the number of goods that could be shipped from the UK, there would be in place safety checks and custom declarations, with agricultural products having additional requirements.

On Education: qualifications obtained from the UK now have to be vetted before services can be accepted in the EU, with UK students no longer going to participate in EU’s exchange programme.

For travels, UK citizens will need a visa for stays longer than 90 days, just as new health insurance cards will have to be issued while travel with pets will require a health certificate for the animal.

With the deal, UK will gradually gain more access to its fishing waters and is free to ban EU boats by 2026.

However, the EU can also impose taxes on UK fishes from the same period (2026).

Brexit also means denial of direct access to EU security databases except on request and removal of UK from Europol – EU’s law enforcement agency

One year into Brexit and barely one month since the end of the transition period on Dec. 31, 2020, observers wonder whether it is Uhuru yet for Britain. Many have asked whether Brexit been worth the struggle?

Unfortunately, many exporters in the UK economic space are already complaining over the new rules and stringent checks of products and services which hitherto were exported hitch-free.

For instance, Scottish seafood and fish exporters are already groaning over huge losses recorded due to bureaucratic bottlenecks foisted by the new, cumbersome paperwork required to export their goods.

Some of them who took their protest to the parliament said that their catch was rotting away while they waited several days for completion of their paperwork.

According to them, many times orders are canceled by buyers due to the delay.

They say that the delay is costing them up to one million pounds every day and want the government to compensate them for their losses.

The fishing community was one of the greatest supporters of the Brexit deal, which among other things, promised increased access to UK waters to Britons. Unfortunately, the promise now appears to have been a hoodwink.

Alasdair Hughson, Chairman of the Scottish Creel Fisherman Federation said, “If this debacle does not improve very soon we are looking at many established businesses coming to the end of the line”.

“From seabed to the plate, this is not an easy business. People put their heart and soul into making it work, with ridiculously long hours,” he added.

James Withers, head of Scotland Food and Drink, who said that seafood exporters to the EU were losing up to one million pounds, noted that fishes that used to reach shops in France, Belgium, and Spain within two days after being caught, now take several more days.

“If we don’t see progress this week, or worse, if we go backward, the clamour of financial compensation from the government will grow and grow.

“It is not the fault of businesses that a trade deal came late, that IT systems were not tested, or that the Border Operating Model was not published until six hours before the end of the transition period.

“The losses businesses face for all that will be no fault of their own. Some of the attempts to blame businesses for the problem are disingenuous to say the least,” he said.

Many of the players in the sector are now demanding that government compensates them for the losses they have recorded through no fault of theirs.

But the seafood sector is not alone in recounting their woes as exporters of agricultural products, as well as haulage and delivery companies, are also facing grave hurdles in continuing their businesses.

Some shops in France had notices put up in the second week of January informing the public that some of their commodities coming from the UK may not be available due to the EU-UK trade deal.

Brexit has become for many an administrative, logistics, and regulatory burden with a lot of paperwork and business losses.

British retailers are also taking a big hit from the new normal occasioned by the Brexit deal as they are forced to abandon some of their products, German news agency, dpa reported.

It is “cheaper for retailers to write off the cost of the goods than dealing with it all, either abandoning or potentially burning them,” Adam Mansell, head of the UK Fashion and Textile Association said.

According to the report, almost one-third of goods bought online by EU customers were sent back, with British retailers having to fill in customs forms and pay customs duty upon return to Britain.

“It is part of the ongoing small print of the deal. Customers ordering goods from Britain to the EU are seen as the importers.

“You then have a courier company knocking on the door giving you a customs clearance invoice that you need to pay to receive your goods,” Mansell said.

Unfortunately, many of the customers who are now seen as importers, choose to return the goods from Britain to avoid paying the customs fees, an action which is costing UK companies huge losses.

According to a report by Wikipedia, the broad consensus among economists is that Brexit will likely harm the UK economy and reduce its real per capita income in the long term.

They said the referendum itself damaged the UK economy.

Experts believe that Brexit is likely to reduce immigration to the UK from countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) and poses challenges for British higher education, academic research, and security.

Already, jobs along the fishing, retail, delivery, and export sectors are already at risk of being lost with several companies suspending operations for a while to understand the new rules and procedures in place.

Experts insist that the transition period was ample enough time for the UK to have practicalised the new normal and pave the way for seamless implementation.

However, the UK government led by Boris Johnson is not looking the other way as it has already stepped in to cushion the effects of the huge losses being recorded.

In its recent intervention to seafood exporters, the UK government through the Department for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has set up a £23m compensation package for seafood exporters who can show genuine losses due to Brexit delays.

According to DEFRA, the payment will cover losses incurred from Jan. 1, 2021, and will be targeted at small and medium-scale operators.

“The government will consult with the industry across the UK on the eligibility criteria – as well as work with the devolved administrations – with details to be announced in the coming days”. DEFRA said.

Barrie Deas, the head of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations, welcomed “a financial safety net for businesses at risk of failure” but called for “emergency support for fishing vessels impacted as well”.

For Luke Pollard, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, jobs along the affected sectors are already being threatened.

He, therefore, urged the government to hasten its interventions.

Although the government has announced measures to cushion the effects of the transition, experts wonder how long the interventions will last and how sustainable they will be.

According to them, making the business environment more seamless for the businesses to continue to thrive will have a more meaningful impact on the people than paying for damages.

However, the government insists that the hurdles were merely teething problems that will eventually give way to a better and economically stronger UK.