When Britons voted to quit the EU almost a year ago, most of us thought it would mark the start of the end of the Union. Analysts even predicted that it would lead to a series of exits like “Frexit,” “Nexit” and “Swexit”—the exit of France, Netherlands, and Switzerland.
Now, what we see is a political impasse in London—instead of the anticipated fall of the EU—which has raised a red flag to other member countries.
According to Isabell Hoffmann of Bertelsmann Stiftung, a German Foundation monitoring Brexit says Britain’s potential exit has done more “good than bad” to EU’s standing — “it has helped the Union.”
“We’re experiencing a Brexit effect when it comes to the numbers that support the European Union,” says Hoffmann. “In essence, they go up significantly, and stay there ever since.” According to her, support has gone up by 10 percentage points as of the 2016 referendum. “We now have now almost 70 percent of people saying ‘we would vote for our nation to remain in the EU.’ ”
More statistics indicate similarly high approval levels for the Brussels-based political merger and trading bloc consisting of 28 nations. Analysts say more people have been demonstrating lately to support the Union because it’s under siege.
An increasing number of Europeans are also getting weary of the Brexit process because far from being hassle-free and successful as promised by the proposers — it has led to total catastrophe. It all began with the British Parliament and PM Theresa May’s indecision on some policy matters which led to no agreements on how to exit the EU. At the moment, not even the often heated-up House of Commons is comfortable with the idea.
George Papaconstantinou, a former Greece’s finance minister (served 2009-2011) feels the continent has watched Britain’s exit plan “play out with disbelief and shock.”
According to him “A nation which takes pride in a robust parliamentary system has suddenly found itself in a complete mess,”
The political stalemate in London has made the EU exit journey a hard sell in Europe. “People are realizing that the Brexit is too complex and difficult –leaving the Union is not so easy.” Says the former Greek Finance Minister.
It is no wonder parties from Sweden, France, and the Netherlands have failed to heed to calls for similar exit referenda and concentrated instead on pushing for changes while inside the Union.
Britain is determined to quit (and Eurosceptic countries want changes from within) because the EU has been suffering serious immigration and debt crises over the past decade.
Author Bio: Payment industry expert Taylor Cole is a passionate merchant account expert who understands the complicated world of retail merchant services. His understanding of the industry has helped thousands of business owners save money and time.
