În iunie 2016, Regatul Unit a votat, în cadrul unui referendum, pentru a părăsi UE. În toamna anului 2019, Regatul Unit a solicitat o prelungire a termenului. Cu ocazia summitului extraordinar din aprilie, liderii UE au căzut de acord să amâne Brexitul până la 31 octombrie 2019, de comun acord cu Regatul Unit. Povestirea noastră arată cum a reacționat UE la Brexit.
At the special summit on 10 April EU leaders agreed to delay Brexit until 31 October 2019.
If the withdrawal agreement is ratified by both sides earlier, the UK will leave on the first day of the following month, leaders said. The decision was taken in agreement with the UK.
„Please do not waste this time.”
Donald Tusk, President of the European Council
From the moment the UK’s referendum result was announced, the EU underlined that it would respect Britain’s decision. A joint statement issued immediately after the result said:
“In a free and democratic process, the British people have expressed their wish to leave the European Union. We regret this decision but respect it.”
There have been many rounds of talks since then, and from the start, the EU was ready to negotiate as soon as the UK had notified its intention to withdraw. As the EU treaties foresee the possibility of a withdrawal in the now well-known Article 50, the process ahead was well defined.
There have been complex matters to resolve, but the priority has been to ensure an orderly withdrawal of the UK in order to reduce uncertainty and disruption for citizens, businesses and member states alike.
And throughout, the EU has consistently stood by its determination to be united, transparent in its position and prepared for the future, and to do everything in an orderly way and within the legal framework defined by the EU treaties.
The outcome of the negotiations has two parts.
The first is, like any ‘divorce’, fundamentally a question of settling the terms.
This is reflected in a formal withdrawal agreement. It includes matters like the protection of rights of EU citizens living in the UK and UK citizens living in the EU, the financial settlement between the UK and EU, and guarantees to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
This document should ensure an orderly withdrawal and includes a transition period that allows citizens and business to adapt to the changes.
The withdrawal agreement will need to be concluded by the Council, after obtaining the consent of the European Parliament.
The second part is a political declaration setting out the framework of the future relations between the EU and UK.
The EU wants to have the closest possible partnership with the UK, which would cover trade and economic cooperation, security and defence, among other areas.
Both to settle the divorce and to prepare for the future, the EU has been united, transparent and prepared.
(consilium.europa.eu)
