Brexit

Educazione civica

Prof.ssa Alice Mignemi

a.s. 2024/2025

​

​What is Brexit?

Liz Truss

And after Brexit, we will be free to determine our economic future, with control over our money, laws and borders.

Multiple Choice

How many countries are there in the UK?

• 5

• 3

• 2

• 4

Brexit is a combination of two English words: 'Britain' and 'exit' (Portmanteau)

It refers to the withdrawal process of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU).

Article 50 of the Treaty of the European Union (Lisbon Traety) regulates the withdrawal process of any Member State. According to this rule, any Member State of the EU may decide to withdraw pursuant to its constitutional law. After notifying this decision, the EU will negotiate with this State as to the method of its withdrawal and its future relations with the EU.

​

​This withdrawal process of the United Kingdom started following the referendum held on 23 June 2016 and the subsequent notification to the European Council on 29 March 2017.

51,9% voted to leave EU

This is a general vote where a country’s entire electorate is asked to weigh in on a single question, and the result directly influences the decision of the government.

Referendum

Multiple Choice

What is Brexit?

• The vote to leave Europe

• The withdrawal of UK from EU

• The referendum to leave EU

Multiple Choice

What does The article 50 state?

• Countries can't leave EU

• Caountries can withdraw from EU without negotations

• Countries can withdraw from EU with some negotations

• Contries can join EU with negotations

Multiple Choice

What is a referendum?

• It is a vote with a single yes/no question

• It is a vote for presidents

• It is a vote government doesn't consider

• It is a special vot which can't influence government's decisions

Multiple Choice

When was the referendum for Brexit?

• 23rd June 2017

• 23rd July 2016

• 23rd June 2016

• 23rd July 2017

The European Union (EU) is a group of 28 countries in an economic and political union. It allows free trade and movement of people across all of its member states. A single market was created to increase trade between countries, leading to more jobs and lower-priced goods. 

Multiple Choice

How many countries were there before Brexit in EU?

• 28

• 27

• 29

• 26

Multiple Choice

When was the Treaty of Rome signed?

• 1956

• 1965

• 1957

• 1975

Open Ended

Which are the countries in the EEC?

Multiple Choice

Who blocked UK from joining the EEC?

• Cameron

• Margaret Tatcher

• George Pompidou

• Charles De Gaulle

Multiple Choice

How many people voted to stay in EEC?

• 52%

• 67%

• 48%

• 76%

Multiple Choice

When was The Mastricht Treaty signed which gave birth to EU?

• 1992

• 1993

• 1994

• 1990

It has taken over three and a half years for Brexit to actually happen. The main problem is the lack of precedent; since no other country has officially left the EU before, no one really knew how this was supposed to happen.

Some people also argued that a second referendum should be held, since many were uncertain about what Brexit meant in 2016. False information was used in campaigns both for ‘Leave’ and for ‘Remain’, and ‘what is the EU’ Google searches peaked in the hours after the results of the vote were announced.

​

​The UK officially left the EU at 11pm on Friday 31st January 2020. This marked the beginning of a “transition period”, which will last until the end of 2020.

In reality, the transition period means not much will actually change until 2021, when trade, travel and businesses will have to fall into line with post-Brexit legislation.

​

Multiple Choice

Who is the new Conservative Prime Minister?

• Theresa May

• Tony Blair

• Boris Johnson

• David Cameron

Multiple Choice

Which countries voted to leave?

• England and Wales

• England and Scotland

• Scotland and Northern Ireland

• Scotland and Wales

Multiple Choice

When did UK officially leave EU?

• 31st January 2021

• 1st February 2020

• 31st January 2021

• 31st January 2020

Multiple Choice

Who became Prime Minister on the 11th July 2006?

• David Camerron

• Theresa May

• Boris Johnson

Multiple Choice

How many times did the British Parliament refuse Theresa May's Deal?

• 4

• 2

• 3

• 5

Multiple Choice

When did Boris Johnson want to start Brexit?

• 31st October 2020

• 31st October 2019

• 28th August 2019

• 31st January 2020

Multiple Choice

When did Brexit start?

• 31st October 2020

• 31st October 2019

• 28th August 2019

• 31st January 2020

​Money UK has to pay to EU

Uk Citizens in EU and EU citizens in UK

Border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland

​

Withdrawal agreement

​A ‘deal’ Brexit is what many people are hoping for. This would mean the UK and the EU reach an agreement before Britain leaves, ideally preserving trade links and the customs union until a more detailed relationship is worked out.

​​Deal Brexit

​A ‘no-deal’ Brexit is what would happen if the UK leaves the EU without this agreement. In this case, the UK would leave the customs union and single market overnight. EU checks on UK goods could lead to delays at ports, increased traffic, and a fall in the value of the British pound.

​​No-deal Brexit

​A ‘soft’ Brexit would see Britain remain close to the EU and keep some form of the EU’s single market. This option would minimise economic disruption. The main sticking point with this is the EU’s insistence that access to the single market will only be granted if free movement of people into the UK is accepted too. As immigration was one of the cornerstones of the Leave campaign, politicians have been reluctant to accept this compromise.

​​Soft Brexit

A ‘hard’ Brexit means a clean break from Europe. Britain would give up its membership in the EU’s single market and customs union entirely. Supporters of a hard Brexit want freedom for the UK to draw up its trade deals and rules. 

​​Hard Brexit

Open Ended

What is the soft Brexit?

Poll

What's the best solution for Brexit?

• A Deal Brexit

• A No-deal Brexit

After The Referendum, the value of the British pound (£) fell to a historic low and Prime

Minister Cameron stepped down. Nigel Farage, a great supporter of Brexit and the opposer to Cameron, stepped down too. The New Prime Minister is Theresa May.

​

Officially Brexit was supposed to happen on the 29th March 2019. While May was PM, this deadline was delayed twice. For her Brexit deal to pass, she needed the approval of Parliament, but members of the British Parliament (MPs) repeatedly rejected the deals she presented.

The main reason May’s successive deals were not voted through was the issue of the Irish border ‘backstop’. This is a special policy in May’s deal that addresses the how Brexit will affect the Irish border.

Northern Ireland is part of the UK and governed by the British Prime Minister, while the Republic of Ireland has its own head of state and government. As part of the UK, Northern Ireland is set to leave the EU, while the Republic will remain a part of it.

They have an ‘open border’, meaning people and goods can cross it freely. This was a condition of the last peace agreement, which saw the historic conflict between the two states cease. Creating a new ‘hard border’ threatens a renewal of hostilities on this front.

May’s attempted deal aimed to keep the UK and EU linked in a trading relationship, so customs checks would not have to take place at the Irish border. Critics argued that this could prevent the UK from making trade deals with other countries. 

​

Parliament’s opposition pushed May to resign in July 2019, and she was replaced by Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister. On the 19th October 2019, Johnson tried to put forward a new Brexit deal but this was also denied by MPs. He was forced to request another delay from the EU, with the new deadline for a Brexit deal being the 31st January 2020.

On 24 January 2020, the European Union and the United Kingdom signed the Withdrawal Agreement. Following the favourable vote of the European Parliament on 29 January 2020, and the decision of the European Council on the conclusion of the Withdrawal Agreement on 30 January 2020, the Withdrawal Agreement entered into force on 1 February 2020. As from 1 January 2021, relations between the UK and the EU are based on the "Trade and Cooperation Agreement"

​