Arthur
Honorary Master
Now that a small but decisive majority in Britain have opted to exit the Brussels-based EU parliament, what is the likely course for Britain in practical political and economic terms? And what are the ramifications and options for SA?
Of course the Article 50 provisions of the 2007 Lisbon treaty will be invoked. These inter alia bind the EU to good-faith negotiations so as to minimise any disruptions to the departing state, particularly in trade. Though some Continentals, notably the dirigiste French elites, are not entirely free of spite, it is pretty certain that Britain's free trade with Europe will remain largely intact and unaffected, and easily accommodated in some form of modified accession to the EFTA (European Free Trade Association). South Africa has already enacted into local law the EFTA-SACU treaty (in 2008).
This thread is for a more serious discussion of the options and likely directions for a post-Brexit Britain.
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Here's an ad rem 2014 op ed by James C. Bennett looking at the options: After the Brexit. What happens if - or when - Britain leaves the EU?. A conservative American technologist, consultant in tech and rocketry (and author of The Anglosphere Challenge : Why the English-Speaking Nations will Lead the Way in the 21st Century and more recently A Time For Audacity: New Options Beyond Europe), he suggests that the expansion of NAFTA is a real and viable option. Interesting. And for me, compelling. And remember, he's writing in 2014.
He has expanded on this thinking by proposing a CANZUK treaty (brief USA Today summary).
Whatever your views on this issue, there is little doubt that we are witnessing the beginnings of a realignment of tectonic proportions. Almost all the "experts" got Brexit wrong (that itself is significant for different reasons), and now even the most far-fetched options like a NAFTA accession and a closer CANZUK integration are on the table.
Of course the Article 50 provisions of the 2007 Lisbon treaty will be invoked. These inter alia bind the EU to good-faith negotiations so as to minimise any disruptions to the departing state, particularly in trade. Though some Continentals, notably the dirigiste French elites, are not entirely free of spite, it is pretty certain that Britain's free trade with Europe will remain largely intact and unaffected, and easily accommodated in some form of modified accession to the EFTA (European Free Trade Association). South Africa has already enacted into local law the EFTA-SACU treaty (in 2008).
This thread is for a more serious discussion of the options and likely directions for a post-Brexit Britain.
------
Here's an ad rem 2014 op ed by James C. Bennett looking at the options: After the Brexit. What happens if - or when - Britain leaves the EU?. A conservative American technologist, consultant in tech and rocketry (and author of The Anglosphere Challenge : Why the English-Speaking Nations will Lead the Way in the 21st Century and more recently A Time For Audacity: New Options Beyond Europe), he suggests that the expansion of NAFTA is a real and viable option. Interesting. And for me, compelling. And remember, he's writing in 2014.
He has expanded on this thinking by proposing a CANZUK treaty (brief USA Today summary).
Whatever your views on this issue, there is little doubt that we are witnessing the beginnings of a realignment of tectonic proportions. Almost all the "experts" got Brexit wrong (that itself is significant for different reasons), and now even the most far-fetched options like a NAFTA accession and a closer CANZUK integration are on the table.
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