impact of EU

• The UK is no longer a member of the European Union (EU)
• The UK is potentially facing legal action over the Johnson government changing the Brexit deal in relation to Ireland and admitting it broke international law
• There are increased tensions and violence in Ireland that many people warned about if Brexit went ahead
• The UK and EU have been having a row about vaccines
• The extent of the issues surrounding trade and travel are hard to judge due to the impact of COVID-19
• How the UK got to Brexit

  1. Cameron promised a referendum to deal with Conservative party divisions and UKIP threat

  2. 2016 referendum resulted in vote to leave EU

  3. David Cameron resigned as PM

  4. Theresa May became PM and triggered Article 50

  5. May called a general election but lost majority

  6. Boris Johnson became PM, prorogued parliament, negotiated withdrawal agreement

  7. UK left EU single market and customs union on 31 Dec 2020
• Four freedoms of the EU single market

  Free movement of goods, services, people and capital
• The UK opted out of full freedom of movement of people as part of the Schengen agreement
• Immigration was a key issue in the Brexit debate, especially following the 2015 migrant crisis in Europe
• Many people in the UK, especially young people, were hopeful of studying and working abroad, which was impacted by Brexit
• The UK has left the EU
• Aims of the EU


  • Full freedoms of the single market
  • Freedom of movement of goods, services, people and capital
• Free movement of people

  Guaranteed by the Schengen agreement, which the UK opted out of
• Many people in the UK, especially young people, were hopeful of studying and working abroad later in their lives
• Measures have been taken to ensure EU citizens already in the UK have the right to remain
• The UK leaving the single market

  Causes delays at UK ports compared to when the UK was in the single market
• It is difficult to determine the full impact of the UK leaving the single market, as this occurred during the COVID-19 crisis
• The loss of access to free movement of goods, services and capital will have a big impact on the UK
• There are concerns that Brexit could lead to a weakening of worker protections and standards in the UK
• The creation of the Euro currency and the European Central Bank were major steps towards economic and political union in the EU
• The UK was always outside the Eurozone, so the issues with the Eurozone did not directly affect the UK
• Key EU institutions


  • European Commission
  • European Council
  • Council of the European Union
  • European Parliament
  • European Court of Justice
• There are debates within the EU about moving towards greater political union, which was a concern for Eurosceptics in the UK
• The EU's role in policymaking included negotiating treaties and passing/enforcing directives and regulations
• The UK frequently opted out of or vetoed EU directives and regulations it disliked, so the idea that the UK was forced to do things it didn't want to is inaccurate
• The direct impact of the EU on the UK is now limited since the UK has left, but future EU decisions will still indirectly impact the UK as the EU is the UK's largest market
• If Scotland becomes independent and rejoins the EU, this could change the UK's relationship with the EU again
• Previously, the EU had significant impacts on the UK in areas like trade, employment, regional development, agriculture and fisheries, but these impacts are now changing as the UK has left