Can Britain and EU Disentangle?

By MARK ANDERSON

Once the successful June 2016 Brexit referendum vote was in, UK and EU negotiators decided to “split the process in two” and that there would be “a divorce” followed by negotiating “the terms of their future relationship” during a transition period that “theoretically” ends Dec. 31, 2020, Mike Robinson of the independent UK Column News (UKcolumn.org) told this writer Feb. 3.

“At this point we don’t know what we’re transitioning into because the negotiations haven’t begun,” Robinson added, while noting that an EU document concerning the transition is very likely to be approved by the European Parliament on Feb. 20, 2020.

So, while the transition talks are expected to start in earnest around that date, with a pivotal new UK-EU trade pact high on the agenda, these negotiations could extend beyond December and last “another two years,” Robinson soberly reported, though he’s aware that Brexit, if handled properly in the months ahead, can indeed deliver what pro-Brexit voters expect.

“The divorce,” thus far, “is only on paper. As of the 1st of February, nothing changed in terms of farming rules or fishing rules, or trade rules or customs rules, travel rules, immigration rules—at this point nothing has changed and until the future relationship is agreed [upon], then nothing will change,” explained Robinson, who has thoroughly covered Brexit since its inception.

And even if no formal transition agreement is reached, the UK could still bust out of the EU at the end of the transition period and perhaps fall back on World Trade Organization trade rules as a default option, despite whatever pain and confusion that may cause, Robinson went on to explain—providing a perspective largely denied to citizens of the UK and other nations who’ve been treated to the “chaos and noise” of the orthodox press.

Notably, the secretive European Intervention Initiative (EII), partly founded by the UK in 2017—along with nine other European nations—presents some potential pitfalls for properly finalizing the Brexit transition, because, while the EII is not an EU institution, it still allows the UK to assist the EU in establishing a European Defense Union. So, while it’s true, as some British political figures have stated, that there’s no formal agreement that Britain is a part of the EU military union, Britain is helping build that union, nevertheless.

For his part, Britain’s brash populist politician and colorful orator, Nigel Farage, speaking to the EU Parliament Jan. 29, transcended celebrating Brexit and called for dissolving the EU itself—just two days before the UK’s Brexit “divorce papers” became official. “There is a historic battle going on now across the West—in Europe, America and elsewhere—it is globalism against populism. And you may loath populism, but I’ll tell you a funny thing; it’s becoming very popular,” he told the disgruntled parliament, adding that the EU is “not just undemocratic; it’s anti-democratic.”

Yet, the deepening of defense cooperation under the EII could negatively affect British sovereignty and mitigate against the independence that UK voters sought when they approved the Brexit referendum in the first place.

Robinson concluded, “you’ve got to be very careful whenever the government is commenting on what aspects of the relationship with the EU are going to be negotiated. You’ve got to read between the lines,” especially considering that there are additional “non-EU agreements” besides the EII that may further entangle the UK with the EU and clip Brexit’s wings.

Mark Anderson is a veteran journalist who divides his time between Texas and Michigan. Email him at truthhound2@yahoo.com.

From The Progressive Populist, February 15, 2020

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