Britain's exit from Europe - A direct punch to help the EU find itself again?

Brexit is a direct blow that could shatter the EU, but could also help it regain the fundamental values ​​on which it was built.

Europe lives by the rhythm of crises. After the Greek crisis, came the Ukraine crisis. After the sovereign debt crisis, came the refugee crisis. And now the Brexit crisis.

The past few years have been the worst for Europe, with all of the crises mentioned above being at their most severe: the largest wave of refugees since the World War, the most intense geopolitical tensions with Russia since the Cold War, and the greatest risk of the Union's collapse since its founding.

A British citizen waves a flag celebrating Britain's exit from Europe. Photo: Reuters

A European Union that has known nothing but growth for decades is losing its military force for the first time. It is not just any member but the United Kingdom, the bloc’s second-largest economy and a global military and political power. In fact, in more than five decades of integration and building the bloc, the EU has seen one departure: the island of Greenland in the 1980s. But probably no more people know about that Arctic Danish island than they know about the Premier League.

Europe is also living by the rhythm of “No”. The Greeks said “No” to what they called the blackmail from Brussels into demanding harsh reforms in exchange for bailouts. The French said “No” to liberal economic reforms with violent street protests. The Germans said “No” to having to pay to support weak members… and now the British people are saying “No” to the entire project of building the European dream.

These rhythms bring the EU back down to earth and face the harsh reality. The European superstate project is losing its appeal. The current 28-member Europe (and soon to be 27 or less) has become unmanageable and almost unmanageable when faced with major challenges. The sovereign debt crisis and the Greek crisis pitted those who wanted to implement austerity at all costs to balance the budget against those who wanted to invest all their resources in growth and accept debt. The Ukraine crisis was a total failure of a common foreign and security policy. The refugee crisis was a serious division as countries went it alone, ignoring all the calls from Brussels to protect their borders.

Britain and Europe are no longer two separate pieces. (Photo: KT).

Brexit, therefore, is really just a knife that ends the life of a dream. The British, famously pragmatic, have rejected a project that they feel is no longer in their own interests. It is unfair to blame the British for Europe’s failure. For Britain, the future will tell whether it has gambled too much, but for Europe, it is clear right now: Brexit is a terrible shock. A nightmare.

Brexit is the confirmation, in the most basic democratic act of the people, that the European supra-state project is seriously flawed. Instead of thriving under the EU motto of “unity in diversity”, it has created serious divisions, suspicions among its members and great skepticism among its citizens. Brexit is a terrifying illustration for the EU that, once it loses one of its most important members, it can lose any of its other members at any time.

In every economic, political and military sense, an EU without Britain would be significantly weakened. But worse, it would signal that the organisation is on the brink of collapse because of its own failures.

Remaking Europe

But Europe cannot live in tragic lamentations forever. In a bitter editorial, the French newspaper Le Monde wrote: “The greatest tragedy for the rest of Europe is to allow itself to think that because of Brexit Europe will never be the same again. What has happened has happened, continental Europe must play fair with the British. And you British gentlemen, you have made your choice, so ‘out’ is ‘out’.”

That spirit is what Europe is calling for. Brexit is a reality and it needs to be answered with real action. The 27 EU member states need to sit down together to remake Europe. Where to start? French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said: Brexit shows us the urgency to listen again to all the most basic aspirations of the people. German Foreign Minister Steinmeier said: Europe must start again from the most basic values ​​​​of the early days when it was formed.

These are not simply the diplomatic words of politicians. Brexit is a wake-up call for the whole of Europe, reminding the continent that the greatest spirit in establishing the Coal and Steel Community in the 1950s, the early precursor of the European Economic Community and later the EU, was not simply economic interests. The fathers of the idea of ​​European integration, from De Gaulle to Adenauer, dreamed of building Europe into a common space for sharing peace and prosperity, living in “unity in diversity” rather than a Common Market where economics and dry laws like the “Golden Rule” were imposed on everyone.

The 27 EU member states need to sit together to remake Europe. (photo: KT).

The imperative for the EU now is to reform and radically change its institutions to make them more efficient. It is also necessary to classify and evaluate each member to divide them into a multi-speed Union. The same rules cannot be applied to both the rich Northern European countries and the new members from poor Eastern and Southern Europe. The Dutch, Germans… cannot shoulder the cost of relief for the Greeks and Portuguese forever. The Italians and Greeks cannot shoulder hundreds of thousands of refugees for the whole of Europe. Above all, the EU cannot maintain its attractive power if it does not do the most important thing: protect its members with a strong external border to prevent the wave of terrorism and refugees.

There are many challenges facing Europe, but perhaps the biggest challenge is to quickly overcome the Brexit obsession as soon as possible./.

According to VOV