Night Owl Session - “BREXIT” and the Future of Europe (Chatham House Rules)

On the morning of 24th of June, 2016 Europe woke up to the unprecedented and historic moment. The day before, in the EU referendum people of the United Kingdom voted to “leave” the European Union by margin of 52% to 48%. It is noteworthy, that results of the referendum varied across the UK. While vote to “leave” won the majority in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland saw “remain” majorities. As a next step, according to the Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union establishing the procedures for a member state to withdraw from the EU, in the coming months and years, British and European leaders will have to negotiate the terms of UK`s exit. Despite the fact that it might take years for the full consequences to be clear, some of the challenges became evident immediately including the British pound plunging 10 percent, the most since 1985 and Leaders from Scotland and Northern Ireland calling for referendums of their own to leave the UK. Furthermore, BREXIT had spillover effect across Europe as Eurosceptic politicians from Italy, France, Holland and Denmark all called for referendums to leave the European Union.