One year after the historic Brexit vote, pledges from throughout the area to close security ties with Britain are loud. Some officials and former European defense officials agree that talks for a future security partnership between Britain and the rest of the EU are facing difficulties due to EU negotiations being too focused on current legal hurdles rather than long-term strategy and partnership. Those negotiators disagree, adding that the EU would be pleased to have cooperation in this regard but that Britain is limiting the options through their Brexit vote. Without progress and cooperation from both sides, though, domestic and external security could be damaged.
In February, British Prime Minister Theresa May said in a speech in Munich that she had intentions to establish a future security partnership with EU. This partnership would set out diplomatic cooperation from both sides on global challenges and would allow for the United Kingdom to contribute to EU missions, such as delivering foreign aid through EU means, and for Britain to help the EU develop defense strategies and space program partnerships. However, the EU has said that Britain would only be allowed to participate in EU defense programs, PESCO, on a case-by-case basis. EU countries would have to agree that the U.K. participation would add value and be helpful. Due to Brexit, Britain cannot continue to engage in foreign-policy talks or decisions on missions, both defense and civilian-wise, but they can contribute to them. Britain will be denied access to the Galileo satellite- navigation system and British firms will be denied access to develop security-sensitive technology.
Britain will remain a key member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The country’s permanent seat in the United Nations security council and at the Group of Seven give it permission to continue working with EU partners on foreign policy and sanctions. Still, any drawbacks from the EU could create further defense vulnerabilities through lack of access to Britain’s defense spending, research, and resources.
In the midst of the back-and-forth between Britain and the EU, a new study has found that Britain has faced a slow economic growth since the Brexit decision. The vote is costing the government of Britain £440 million a week in lost tax revenue. However, studying the economic impacts of one standalone policy is rather difficult, as it cannot be done through a scientific real-world system analysis. For the study, a computer model created a “synthetic U.K.” that tracked up to 20 years of growth. The real growth fell short of the projections in the model.
Brexit is not the law yet but even so, businesses are preparing and warning customers of coming changes, including relocations. The first quarter job growth of only 0.1% makes Britain the slowest-growing economy in the G7. The British government has responded to those business leaders, with a senior minister calling the threats “completely inappropriate”.
“It was completely inappropriate for businesses to be making these kinds of threats for one very simple reason – we are in an absolutely critical moment in the Brexit discussions and what that means is that we need to get behind (Prime Minister) Theresa May… The more that we undermine Theresa May the more likely we to end up with a fudge which will be absolute disaster for everyone,” Jeremy Hunt the health minister told the BBC.
“People who are making these comments need to understand that they may be actually putting the UK at a disadvantage by making these cases,” international trade minister, Liam Fox, agreed.
The leader of five major business lobbying groups warned Mrs. May over the weekend that current uncertainty about Brexit could see billions of pounds lost from the economy. According to corporate leaders, the Conservative party’s policies on trade and immigration policies will hurt businesses. Invoice factoring can be used to fuel businesses growth in these hard times and help manage their cash flow. These businesses feel that they are being ignored, so they are strengthening their contingency plans as a backup.
The letter read: “In the absence of clarity, businesses will inevitably have to implement plans for a worst-case scenario, which could cost the U.K. economy billions of pounds, thousands of jobs and leave many families without a main income… An increasing number of companies have made clear that in the face of uncertainty, they are now actively considering moving substantial volumes of work away from the U.K. We know that many more large businesses are close behind in their plans.”
A different letter from 60 businesspeople and politicians, including former cabinet ministers and economists, urged the British government to accelerate plans to operate within World Trade Organization rules. The letter was organized by Economists for Free Trade (EFT), which asked Prime Minister May to warn the EU that its “intransigent and punitive stance” would not cause Brexit to be stopped.
“We believe you could also make clear that your preferred outcome is a free trade deal between Britain and the EU, an arrangement that is to the mutual benefit of both parties,” the letter stated.
This comes after 100,000 anti-Brexit protestors marched on Saturday through central London to demand a final public vote be held to decide on Brexit terms.
Britain is due to leave the EU through the Brexit vote on March 29, 2019. The Brexit vote ended with a close 52-48 percent split with the majority choosing to exit.