The British are once again seeking proximity to the EU

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More and more Britons regret leaving the EU. The latest survey by the market research institute Omnisis shows that 61 percent want to rejoin the EU. That is four percent more than in the last survey a week ago. The British voted for Brexit in 2016 with a majority of almost 52 percent.

Brexit has exacerbated many of the country’s structural problems. These include high levels of emigration, a decline in investment, and increased barriers to foreign trade. Ina Habermann (57), UK expert at the University of Basel, tells Blick: “The international free trade agreements that people so much hoped for are not there yet.”

food or heating

The country has plunged into poverty. “Many people have to decide whether to eat or heat,” says Habermann. The government announced today that it has paid £130 million (144 million Swiss francs) in “cold weather payments” to five million households in England and Wales over the winter. Inflation was 10.4 percent in February, higher than anywhere else in Western Europe.

Chaotic conditions are also prevalent in the NHS health system. Habermann: “The NHS is on the brink of collapse in many places. There are illnesses and deaths, partly because there are no ambulances or patients have to wait many hours for the clinics. »

After the corona pandemic briefly obscured the consequences of Brexit, they are feeling doubly hard with the war in Ukraine. “People have come to realize that the promises made with Brexit are not going to be fulfilled, at least in the short to medium term,” says Habermann. The Brexit drivers – especially former Prime Minister Boris Johnson (58) – would have discredited themselves through political incompetence and personal misconduct.

Brussels strives for a return

According to the latest survey, former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt (70), who was also the EU Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator, mockingly tweeted: “Impressive result… and very indicative of the mood in the country. abandoned. Time to go back in!”

Brussels has repeatedly stressed that a return of Britain to the EU would be welcomed. Michel Barnier, 72, former EU Commission chief negotiator for Brexit, said early this year: “The door on the EU side will always be open – for you and some others.” He explicitly referred to Switzerland and Norway.

No return for now

Ina Habermann does not see a re-entry for the time being. “There are still too many influential forces in the country who want to prevent this at all costs. And the Labor Party, which has so far managed to capitalize little on the problems of the Conservative government, is not consistently pro-European.” In addition, the surprise resignation of Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon (52) became a strong voice for the Scottish independence and the pro-EU stance.

Habermann believes in a slow rapprochement in small steps. “It seems to me that there is a process conceivable that — if anything has grown on the exit — tariff cuts and the like are agreed to mitigate the worst impacts and ease the situation for the economy.”

There are signs of rapprochement, such as the visit of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (64) in connection with the Northern Ireland compromise. In addition, Russian President Vladimir Putin (70) is also intensifying contacts between London and Brussels: his war in Ukraine has forged Western countries even more together – instead of dividing them as he had expected.

Source: Blick