The EU and UK Government

the EU is an economic and political alliance made up of 27 European countries (post Brexit)

it operates as a single market and aims to promote European stability

UK voters chose to leave the EU in Brexit referendum of 2017

the UK officially left the EU in January 2020

Aims of the EU

set up initially as an economic community and its original ‘four freedoms’ were designed to develop economic prosperity

The Four Freedoms:

  1. Free movement of goods

  • allows trade across borders without tariffs

  • achieved through the EU internal market, customs union and common regulations

  1. Free movement of services

  • enables service providers to operate across EU member states

  1. Free movement of people

  • allows EU citizens to live and work in any member state

  1. Free movement of capital

  • allows investment and financial integration across the EU

The development of the EU beyond an economic union

As the EU evolved beyond being an economic union, it developed many further aims

many of these were laid out by various treaties, starting with the Maastricht Treaty in 1992

The 3 pillars of the Maastricht Treaty:

  1. European Communities

  • oversaw economic, social and environmental policies

  • aimed to create a monetary union, setting the foundation for the Euro

  • managed the single market economy

  • crucially resulted in pooled sovereignty from member states

  1. Common foreign and security policy

  • coordinated the foreign policy of member states

  • created joint actions

  • required cooperation but did not involve surrendering sovereignty

  1. Justice and home affairs

  • aimed to create cross-border police cooperation

  • coordinated asylum rules and immigration policy

  • member states retained most control

Brexit and UK parliamentary sovereignty

In 2016, a UK-wide referendum resulted in a vote for the UK to leave the EU

the issues following brexit were:

  • Northern-Ireland sovereignty concerns

  • unresolved fisheries and service barriers

  • long term UK-EU governance mechanisms for disputes

Impact of leaving the EU on UK parliamentary sovereignty

  1. Legislative sovereignty

  • parliament regained the authority to legislate without automatic supremacy of EU law

  • the EU withdrawal Act 2018 repealed the European Communities Act 1972

  • EU law was converted into UK law as retained law

  1. Impact on devolution

  • Brexit shifted powers to the UK level, creating tensions with devolved governments

e.g. Scotland voted to remain in the EU - has discussed a second independence referendum after being taken out of the EU against the majority vote in Scotland

  1. Economic impact

  • economic growth has been less positiv