My phone buzzed at 7:01 a.m. with a text from my brother on Friday, June 24. “UK is leaving the EU.” A minute later, my mom responded, “I know. Lots of troubles ahead.”
Maybe I was still groggy because I had just woken up, or maybe I don’t quite have the global perspective, but I was a little confused. I knew Britain had a major vote regarding its status in the European Union, and I knew if they voted to remain in the EU everything would theoretically resume as it has been.
So when I got up and logged on Facebook to see my newsfeed flooded with updates of people disappointed with the results and the NY Times headline picture of David Cameron stepping down as prime minister, I realized I needed to do more research on the topic.
The rundown
It was a 51.9 percent to 48.1 percent vote for the referendum of United Kingdom to leave the EU. A larger portion of the younger population, i.e. the millennials, wanted to stay with the EU while more of the older and more conservative population voted to leave.
Why leave?
Two main reasons for the UK to leave were economic independence and less refugees. From when the EU was created after World War II, the organization has changed drastically. It had begun to infringe on Britain’s independence and economic influence in the marketplace.
Why stay?
Stick with the status quo. Plus, with the UK being more detached from the rest of Europe, the EU allows the island to have some presence within the European bloc. Economically, the markets would be volatile which could be costly and detrimental to the UK.
OK, so now what’s gonna happen?
Prime Minister Cameron will begin the process by invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which says, “Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements.”
If you’ve read this far and are thinking to yourself, “Why is everyone making such a big deal about this?” Don’t worry -- I was originally the same way.
The UK can do what it wants; that’s fine. The worry comes from what this change may do to the rest of Europe. The EU may make trading with the UK more difficult and apply higher tariffs, or vice versa. The English pound has already drastically dropped in value, and it could continue to slide. Scotland will probably be submitting a second referendum, and other European countries may follow in suit.
In other words, the avalanche effect will take hold. The UK has broken from the EU, and the rest of the snowpack could come tumbling down with it. Or, the new leadership could grab hold of the reins and ride out the storm.
We’ll just have to wait and see.
