Brexit means more than Brexit

Following the initial frenzy of activity in the aftermath of the Brexit vote of 23 June 2016, there has been very little information about what Brexit actually means. That was until yesterday, 17 January 2017, when Theresa May laid out her plans for Brexit. And yes it will be a very hard Brexit.

The key points of her speech can be summarised as

1) Not only will the UK (or what's left of it) leave the EU, but it will also leave the single market.

2) The UK will also (partially?) leave the customs union.

3) The UK wants to control immigration from Europe.

4) The UK will withdraw from the European Court of Justice.

5) To the other members of the EU: "You'd better not punish us in the negotiations or else it will hurt you. But let's remain friends, yeah?"- if that's not an open threat, then what is?

6) The UK parliament will get to vote on the EU deal, but apparently whatever happens Britain is leaving the EU.

The European view can be summed up as: "At least now we know what you really want. Good luck to you, but we'll be stronger than ever".

The general consensus in Europe is that it will be Britain who will be worse off, not the EU. 

The Daily Mail called her the "new iron lady" on its front page today. How ironic that in that same venue (Lancaster House) 29 years ago Margaret Thatcher, the iron lady, gave a speech welcoming the creation of the single market. Now Theresa May is set to wipe it all away.


What does it all mean?

Single market: the single or internal market is an area in which goods, services, capital and people can move freely.

Customs union: there are no tariffs imposed on goods when they cross borders between member states. Also, EU members apply the same tariffs to goods from outside the EU and are not allowed to negotiate their own trade deals with third countries. 

It is possible to be a member of just the single market but not the customs union (Norway, Iceland or Lichtenstein). It is also possible to be a member of just the customs union but not the single market (Turkey, Andorra or the Isle of Man). 

European Court of Justice: the ECJ is based in Luxembourg and interprets EU law. It makes sure that EU law is applied in the same way in all EU countries. It can also be used by individuals, companies or organisations to take action against an EU institution if they feel it has infringed their rights. The ECJ does not create EU law. 

Post-Brexit family reunion

Once again our Anglo-Italian-German family (with Austrian and Swedish connections) was reunited. The location was a 1950's villa with stunning views over Lake Garda and the special occasion was my parents' 40th wedding anniversary.

As might be expected, Brexit was one of our main topics of conversation after "Where is the best pizzeria?", "Where is Leo hiding now?" and "Have they emptied the bin/taken away the rubbish?" (more on recycling later). My Gran's favourite topic of conversation as always was Andy Murray, followed by Brexit.

I've heard about people falling out with other family members, friends and colleagues over Brexit, but in our family we all agree on two things:

1) The referendum was a bad idea from the start.
2) Brexit doesn't mean Brexit.

As time goes on and no clarity emerges, there is a possibility that Brexit can still be avoided, at least we hope so. After all, there is a legal argument that the government is not constitutionally entitled to trigger article 50 without approval from parliament. 

So far, nothing has really changed in our family, except for the fact that the pound has lost value against the euro, so holidays in Italy and Germany are now more expensive for our UK based members. 

Even the waiter serving us "coppe gelato" in the village of Montinelle couldn't resist a political observation: "Britain has never been the same since Margaret Thatcher left". Eyebrows were raised, coughing sounds were made and giggles were stifled, but I'm not sure the waiter noticed.

The truth is nobody really knows what will happen. It's all a giant mess (or an Eaton Mess) and it will take years to sort out.

It's even worse than sorting out the rubbish in Manerba del Garda. After one week most of us (except for me, as I did a crash course on recycling on the first day) still didn't know where to throw the serviettes or the tea bags away!

Rubbish collection is a serious and complicated business. Each day of the week, between 8pm and 4am, your rubbish needs to be left outside your house or taken to the nearest street corner. Monday is organic waste (biodegradable bags in brown bin) and other rubbish (black bags no bin), Tuesday is paper (in paper bags or cardboard boxes only, no bin), Wednesday is organic waste again, Thursday is glass and metal (blue bin only, no bags), Fridays is plastic (transparent bags no bin). 

Confused?

Or you could do as my uncle suggested: dump everything into the bins on the beach, which is kind of how I feel about the Brexit ballot papers.

Meanwhile we are all back in our respective countries of Italy, Germany and the UK, except for my brother who's currently on a business trip in India.  

Looking forward to the next European reunion...

My life in the EU

Yesterday I was shocked, sad and angry. Today I am still angry with the people that have voted to leave, but I am mostly sad. I am sad for the 48% of the British population that wanted to remain and I am especially sad for the young people that could not even vote and that will never experience life in the EU.
I was born in the UK and I grew up in Italy in a British/Italian family. I spent most of my summers as a child in the UK.

I studied at a British university and most of my friends were undergraduates, Erasmus* students, PhD students and postdocs from the EU. 

I studied at a French university for a year, as an Erasmus student from a British university, and met lots of lovely people from the EU, including the UK. In France I also met my German husband, by the way.

When I finished my degree I moved to Germany, where I worked and spent my free time with lots of Brits living and working in Germany.

I then moved to London, where I studied and worked with young people from the EU that were living, studying and/or working in the UK.

Now I live in Berlin, which is also the home of thousands of Brits.

My life would not have been the same without the EU. I would not have met most of my friends. I would not have met my husband and I would not have a son that can speak three languages.

I am sorry for the young generation living in England and Wales (Scotland and Northern Ireland may choose a different path) that will not be able to have the same wonderful experiences. They will never know what it meant to be part of the European Union.

*The Erasmus Programme is an EU exchange student programme that has been in existence since the late 1980s. Its purpose is to provide foreign exchange options for students from within the European Union and it involves many of the best universities and seats of learning on the continent.