Yearbook 2017
UK. Prime Minister Theresa May had a difficult year with
Brexit negotiations, terrorist attacks and new elections,
and this only during the first six months of the year. And
there were no small issues that May had to deal with; will
it be a "hard" or "soft" Brexit from the European Union, and
how will the border with Ireland and the Scottish
independence requirements go?
 In a line of speech on January 17, Prime Minister May
said that Parliament would be allowed to vote on when the EU
exit would begin. However, no votes were needed in Scotland,
Wales or Northern Ireland. For voting there was a bill that
was approved by Parliament's House of Commons on 1 February.
On March 7, the House of Lords also voted on the proposal,
but with an addition that would give Parliament greater
influence over the process. According to
Countryaah.com, Parliament
would have the opportunity to reject any agreements that the
government has entered into with the EU. In addition: if EU
negotiations were to end without an agreement, Parliament
could stop withdrawing from the EU. That was not the case
now; the lower house rejected this and the upper house was
allowed to withdraw the supplement on March 13. On March 16,
Queen Elizabeth also approved the proposal, which now meant
that Theresa May could activate Article 50 of the Lisbon
Treaty on leaving the EU. On March 29, the UK submitted its
formal exit application to the EU's permanent Council
President Donald Tusk. In a speech to Parliament on the same
day, May said: "There is no return from this. We are leaving
the EU, but we are not leaving Europe. "
During this process, Scotland attracted attention. Prime
Minister Nicola Sturgeon wanted promises of a new
independence vote for the Scots, especially if there was
talk of a "tough" Brexit, for example if the UK leaves the
EU internal market. At the 2016 European elections, a
majority of Scots voted for the EU. On February 7, the
Scottish Parliament voted no to allow the British government
to begin Brexit. It was a symbolic vote because May did not
need permission from either Northern Ireland, Wales or
Scotland. In March, Prime Minister May claimed that all
Scottish attempts at an independence vote would be blocked
by the London Government. At the end of the month, the
Scottish Parliament voted for a proposal by Sturgeon on a
new referendum on an independent Scotland. This would take
place sometime between autumn 2018 and spring 2019. As
expected, the British government did not want to negotiate
on this issue. After the June 8 election, however, hopes of
independence died. The Scottish Nationalist Party SNP lost
about a third of its seats in the British Parliament.
Because of the opposition's opposition to Prime Minister
May's handling of Brexit discussions, a new election was
announced on April 19. May simply wanted the voters' support
for a "hard" Brexit. Election day was set for June 8. What
May wanted, given the good opinion numbers for her Tory, was
to get a substantial mandate to continue Brexit
negotiations. In a poll conducted in late April, Tory had
45% support from voters while Labor only had 26, the Liberal
Democrats 11 and the right-wing populist UKIP 9%.
Prior to the election, a number of serious events
occurred that may have affected the outcome of the election.
On May 22, 22 people, several of them children, were killed
in a terrorist attack in Manchester Arena, and in a
terrorist attack in London on June 4, eight people were
killed after a van crashed into a crowd at the London Bridge
and the perpetrators then stabbed several people in Borough
Market. Shortly after the election, a violent fire occurred
in the Grenfell Tower high-rise building in west London,
when some 70 people were killed. The tragic accident caused
the authorities to start inspecting houses for flammable
facade material. Criticism was also drawn against the fact
that the property lacked approved fire protection: it
consisted mainly of municipal rental apartments for
low-income people and immigrants.
However, the June 8 election became a nightmare for
Theresa May's Tory Party. In the hope of a majority in
Parliament, it all ended with a minority and support from
the Northern Ireland Social Conservative DUP. The Tory Party
backed by 13 seats and got 317, Labor increased by 30 seats
and ended at 262.
During the summer and autumn Brexit talks, discussions
continued on the so-called Brexit note and what will happen
to the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. In
September, Britain said it was prepared to pay € 20 billion
when leaving the Union. A sham bid according to the EU,
which in November at least wanted EUR 60 billion, and that
sum was met by a EUR 45 billion counter-offer. That bid was
conditional on the negotiation of future trade relations to
be entered in December. Something that didn't happen.
As for the current "soft" border between Ireland and
Northern Ireland after the Brexit, the British Government
promised in August that no physical barriers or border
postings will be established between the countries. Every
day, about 30,000 people cross the border. For Ireland, a
"soft" Brexit would be best, that is, the UK remains in the
Customs Union and has access to the EU's internal market. At
the end of November, the Irish government demanded a
response from Theresa May about what would happen in a
"tough" Brexit, ie without a customs union and access to the
EU's internal market. No solution to the question seemed to
be in sight in December. However, another Brexit shock test
was resolved when Prime Minister May promised in October
that "EU citizens living legally in the UK today will be
allowed to stay" even after Brexit.
In order to avoid a total economic collapse in the event
of a "severe" Brexit, trade agreements were sought outside
the EU. Discussions were going on with the US, including in
connection with Theresa May's visit to the White House, with
New Zealand and Australia, but also with Japan, which is
close to a trade agreement with the EU; this is what Theresa
May hopes will be the basis for the UK after Brexit. In
October, the possibility of joining North American NAFTA
(Canada, Mexico and USA) was also discussed. NAFTA's total
GDP is $ 17,200 billion, compared to the EU's $ 15,700
billion. In August, in order to have the straps attached to
the leash, it was proposed that, after leaving the EU in
March 2019, a temporary customs union with the Member States
should be continued. EU:
At the beginning of December, the first round of exit
from the Union was completed. A basic agreement was then
reached with the EU, which meant that the border between
Ireland and Northern Ireland (the EU's external border) will
not have any fixed controls, that EU citizens living and
working in the UK may remain without change (this also
applies to the UK). citizens of EU countries) and that the
Brexit note, that is to say the cost of leaving the EU, is
in the range of 40-45 billion euros.
Notes from the royal house: August 2, Prince Philip made
his last official commitment. After 22,219 such assignments,
the 96-year-old prince chose to retire. On November 27,
Buckingham Palace announced that Prince Harry and US actress
Meghan Markle had engaged. Weddings will be spring 2018.
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