How are the United Kingdom and European Union related?
During World War II, many countries in Europe fought each other. Once the war was over, these countries felt the need to work together to recover from the losses of the war. But, each of these countries had different rules for education, living, trading, etc.
This made working together very difficult. For example, if someone were to move or send goods from one country in Europe to another, they would have to go through a very lengthy process.
The idea of having the same rules for all countries in Europe gave birth to the European Union (EU) in 1951. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or the United Kingdom (UK) is one of the many countries situated in Europe. The UK joined the EU in 1973.
What is Brexit all about?
On 23 June 2016, the UK conducted a [[referendum::A vote in which all people of the country participate to decide any issue which affects the entire country.]] and the people of the UK voted to exit the EU. British citizens above eighteen years of age and the [[residents::Someone who lives in a particular country for a long period of time.]] of the UK from the Commonwealth (a group of 54 countries including India) were allowed to vote.
With this decision, the UK became the first country to leave the EU. Around 52% of the people who voted chose to ‘leave’ the EU. The decision of the UK to exit the EU is popularly known as Brexit (a mix of the words Britain and exit).
Why did the United Kingdom decide to leave the European Union?
It is believed that immigration was one of the main reasons why the people of the UK decided to leave the EU. Other reasons included hope for better financial growth and independence from the control of the EU.
About 3,30,000 people [[immigrated::The act of someone changing the country they live in permanently.]] to the UK from all of the EU in 2015 in search of a better [[welfare system::Usually a program by the government to provide money, food, etc. to people who do not have a job or cannot take care of their children, etc.]]. Many citizens of the UK believed that the quality of services offered by schools, hospitals, etc. was decreasing due to a large number of [[immigrants::Someone who lives in a different country than the one they were born in.]].
What is the impact of Brexit on the EU and the UK?
The immediate impact of Brexit is that goods can also no longer be traded freely without the approval of border security and additional paperwork. New agreements will have to be [[negotiated::Past tense of the word negotiate which means to reach an agreement acceptable to all parties.]] between the UK and the EU for all subjects where common rules existed earlier, such as immigration, education, trading etc.
The true impact of Brexit on the EU and the UK will only be known when all agreements have been negotiated.
Quick revision
The European Union is a group of countries that work together to benefit each other. The UK joined the EU in 1973.
On 23 June 2016, the UK became the first country which would exit the EU. Around 52% of the British people voted to leave the EU.
It is believed that immigration was one of the main reasons why the people of the UK decided to leave the EU.
