European Union (EU) Venue: Annex Building 03-05
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(a) Brexit
Brexit, the portmanteau of Britain and exit, is a referendum that happened in June 2015 where everyone of voting age could vote on whether to leave or stay in the European Union. The referendum ended with ‘Leave’ winning by 52% to 48% and had a 71.8% voter turnout, with more than 30 million people voting. Britain is one of EU’s most economically liberal member-states. It was the driving force behind the development of the market, and the main reason that the ex-communist Central and Eastern European countries joined the Union. Post-Brexit has caused a lot of problems within the EU such as the building industry that faced a price slump during the Brexit campaign and post Brexit and supermarket sales that fell. Important trading partners of Britain, including China and India, expressed their worries about the after effect of this, since the exit would create regulatory and political volatility that could harm the economies of everyone involved.
To prevent another country from exiting, what are some measures EU can carry out? Should the EU consider recruiting more countries as a result of the hole left by UK?
(b) Restricting The Free Movement of People​
Apart from the many economic benefits a EU citizen can have, they also have the right to move wherever they want within the Schengen area. The Schengen area is an area that includes 26 European countries where the need for passport checks and border control at mutual borders has been abolished, with a few non-EU countries opting in and vice versa. With the recent Paris attacks and the influx of migrants, people are starting to reevaluate the benefits of the Schengen Agreement. Also, some countries in the EU are starting to tighten their border control due to the refugee crisis.
Should the EU restrict the free movement of people within Europe? What are the dangers and advantages of doing so?
