By Florentina-Mirela Cercel

Photo by Habib Ayoade on Unsplash

The UK voted to leave the EU officially in 2016, and recently left the EU trading bloc. But what has actually come of this decision, and how is it working out right now?

The arguments made during the referendum campaign in 2016, according to THE WEEK, stated that the UK will save money by no longer having to pay a costly EU a membership fee. But it questioned the rationale behind losing the free trade and inward investment that came with being part of the EU, as well as question marks over jobs, immigration and security.

In terms of trading and investments, CITYAM.COM reported that bankers from the City of London are willing to resign from their jobs rather than relocate to a European city following Brexit. 

“More than two in five (43 per cent) financial services firms have moved or plan to move some UK operations and/or staff to Europe, according to data from EY. Just last month it was revealed Deutsche Bank plans to move 100 jobs out of London and relocate the roles to the EU and Asia,” reported Hannah Godfrey from City A.M.  

Although the majority of British voters who took part in the referendum chose to leave the EU, those who voted to remain argue that Brexit was a poorly thought out decision. Students at London Metropolitan University agree.

Breakdown of EU Referendum Votes and Voter Turnout

                 UK Population Feb 2016: 64.6 million (ONS) Source: Electoral Commission 

Second year Journalism student, Maria Victoria Calabrese, thinks the decision to leave the EU was a mistake. “Brexit was a massive miscalculation by the British people and government, based on a misplaced sense of national pride and populist policies,” she said.

“I think the UK public didn’t have a chance to make a well informed decision because of the misinformation campaign that was going on at the time, and those who were informed didn’t [for] vote Brexit in the first place.” 

She added that “British people were hit with the effects of the misinformed decisions they made. And now they are mad about it. To be honest, they should take more responsibility and not blame everything on everyone else. Although I must say that the government’s ‘no plan / free from’ approach to policy and negotiations is depressing.” 

Second-year Photojournalism student, Olivia Snaith-Cairns, said that Brexit was a “big mistake”.

“A lot of people regretted their decision straight after the result was announced, and I think that it was mostly because they didn’t actually think it would go ahead until they saw the results,” she said.

“I think that the decision was definitely based on word of mouth because that is what usually happens during politics and voting. I think that people just go with the majority if they aren’t sure themselves.

“The outcome could have definitely been better, but as I answered previously, I don’t think we have seen any particularly drastic changes or problems, except when people protest. I don’t think anyone has been affected yet until we see a big difference in stock, etc. As we have left the EU, we won’t obviously get the support from other countries which I think might cause the UK struggles in the future, but I think that right now our country is ok.” 

Second year Photojournalism student, Alexandra Cimpeanu, said:  “In the first place Brexit was a decision. It came from an idea and the people just voted for it for whatever reasons they had.

“I think they had this idea that the EU is doing more harm than good, so why not live better off without them. It was word of mouth, but also politicians on Television making their points about why this would work for the UK,” she added. 

How will this affect people who have moved here before Brexit was finalised, as well as those who have moved here after?

Photo by Alexander Andrews on Unsplash

Since Brexit was finalised, all EU nationals living in the UK have been notified by the Government that they will need to apply to their Settlement scheme, which grants either pre-settled or settled status to EU nationals, allowing them to live, work and study in the UK for either a short or indefinite time period. 

The official Government website has released a Brexit checker on their platform, allowing all non-Britons to check their eligibility as well as outlining the steps needed to remain in the UK.

According to the Federal Foreign Office’s website, the UK and EU have finally reached an agreement after long and intensive negotiations that essentially benefits both sides. The Trade and Cooperation Agreement has formally entered into force from 1st of May, which “creates a broad economic partnership,” the website says.

“In essence, this is based on a free trade agreement which contains neither tariffs nor quotas and thus averts any major trade barriers. However, such a partnership needs fair parameters. For that reason, the two sides have agreed on far-reaching provisions in order to guarantee fair competition. This concerns the sphere of state aid and standards of protection for consumers, labour, the environment and the climate.” 

The Federal Foreign Office has also stated that “The European Union and the United Kingdom have therefore also agreed on the framework for future cooperation in many other spheres: services, professional qualifications, public procurement, environmental and energy issues, air, sea and rail freight transport, as well as regulations on social security and research and development. Under the Agreement, the UK will continue to participate in a whole series of EU programmes.” 

Although some progress has finally been made, the outcomes and consequences of Brexit are yet to follow in the near future. What will that mean for both Britons and immigrants whilst new deals have been set in place and how it will affect said parties in the future is yet to be discovered. 

For more information about your status visit https://www.gov.uk/brexit 

For more information about foreign affairs visit  https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en