Scarica Testo sulla brexit, video yt e più Sintesi del corso in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! The Brexit vote has shaken modern politics forever, with the UK set to be the first country to leave the European Union after more than 40 years ars of membership. In 1961 UK applied (they asked to be part/to join) to be a member of the European Union for the first time. Back then, the block was called European Economic Community, otherwise known as The Common Market. Its aim was to bring about economic integration. But the UK's inclusion in the Common Market faced some opposition from within the group, mainly from the French. President Charles de Gaulle vetoed the UK's application in 1963 and again in 1967. He doubted Britain's commitment to the Union's political objectives and believed its economy wasn't compatible with those of six existing members. The UK's "special relationship" with the US was also a concern from him worrying the partnership would get in the way of building a strong Europe. Bus in 1969 France elected a new president and the UK succeeded in joining the group in 1973 succeeded. But just two years after joining, the UK held a referendum on whether it should remain in that European Economic Community. Back then 67% of voters favored continued membership. In the years that followed, the European Union transformed from a trade arrangement to more of a political alliance, giving Brussels increasing influence over other areas of policy. But the UK was still able to negotiate with the European Union on the terms of its ongoing membership. In 1984 Margaret Thatcher managed to broker a deal, commonly referred to as the rebate which reduce the UK's financial contribution to the European budget by billions (they give less money). This arrangement was exclusive to the UK and this is still in place today. The UK has also benefited from so-called opt-outs, which essentially means the UK does not have to participate in certain European policies. For example, the UK didn't join the Schengen Area in 1985 maintaining a border that has passport controls. The UK also opted out of monetary Union in 1992 keeping its currency, the pound sterling, instead of the euro. The introduction of the Euro was a part of a wide-ranging agreement called the Maastricht Treaty (7 February 1992), signed by the UK along with 11 other member states, it expanded the EU's remit economic community to include foreign affairs, justice and policing. Ultimately it was the framework for the modern EU, but for Eurosceptics it was unacceptable transfer of powers from the UK Parliament to Brussels and threatened further divisions in the Conservative government. However a long period of economic growth under pro-European Prime Ministers maintained enough support for the EU and the Single Market, meaning that calls for another EU referendum were put on the backburner for nearly 20 years.
