WorldQuest Brexit

Why were the MPs critical of Britain using backstop?

The UK could be trapped in it for years. This would prevent the country from striking trade deals with other countries.

In 1975, what was the nation's referendum?

"Do you think the UK should stay in the European Community(Common Market)?"

Why did Prime Minister Theresa May resign?

After the MPs rejected the backstop deal for the third time.

What happened in Europe in 1993?

Almost every Western European country joined the group to merge their economic rules.

Why did Brown receive backlash for missing out on the televised ceremony?

Although he later signed the document, he was criticized for failing to defend a treaty he had helped to negotiate.

How many people voted in the referendum?

30 million

When was Britain finally planned to exit the EU?

31 October 2019

How many Scottish voters chose to "leave"?

38%

How many Brits felt that "immigration/race relations" was a top issue facing the country.

45%

How many voted "Yes" for the UK to stay in EEC?

67%, the votes including most of the UK's 68 administrative countries, regions and Northern Ireland.

Farm subsidies made up ____% of the total EEC expenditures.

70%

What was the turnout for the referendum. in terms of support from the countries people?

71.8%

How many Brits today feel that immigration levels into the country should be reduced?

77%

How many Brits live in other EU countries?

1.2 million

Britain's contribution to the EEC budget was more than 20% in the '80s and went down to ____%.

12%

What percentage did the anti-EU UK Independence Party vote in the 2015 general election?

13%

In England and Wales, what was the share of foreign-wave residents in 2011?

13.4% which roughly doubled the level in 1991.

How many years did the UK wait until they joined the EEC?

16 years

When was the EEC formed?

1957

When did the United Kingdom apply for membership in the EEC?

1963

When did the UK join the EU?

1973

When did the UK finally make it into EEC?

1973, but just two years later was on the verge of backing out again.

How many times did the MPs reject the Brexit deal?

2 times

After applying to the referendum for Brexit to happen, how many years will Britain have to negotiate with Europe?

2 years

When was Brexit originally due to happen?

29 March 2019

What is the European Union?

A free-trade zone and global political force forged from the fractious states of Europe.

What did Theresa May trigger?

A two-year process to negotiate Britian's exit from the bloc.

What happened in 2000 that was in favor towards British?

After a 27-year-long battle and a victorious verdict from the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, British chocolate could finally be sold in the rest of Europe.

Why are many Brexit campaigners confident about leaving the EU?

Britain has global clout without the bloc, they said, and can negotiate better trade treaties on its own.

What was one of the main issues that the Brits were facing due to the EU?

Britain's foreign-born population skyrocketed after it joined. It doubled from 1993-2014.

What happened in the midst of the "mad cow" scare of the '90s?

Brussels imposed a ban on British beef.

By how slim did the referendum pass?

By a slim 51.9 percent to 48.1 percent margin, but there were stark differences across the UK.

How did countries in Europe merge?

By allowing people, goods, services, and capital to move freely between member countries. It's kind of like how states in the US work.

After winning the 2015, what did Cameron do?

Cameron went to work renegotiating the UK-EU relationship, including changes in migrant welfare payments, financial safeguards and easier ways for Britain to block EU regulations.

What Britain products can lose its easy entry into the European countries?

Cars, pharmaceutical products, technology, food, and many more.

What did Cameron announce in February 2016?

He announced the results of those negotiations, and set June 23 as the date of the promised referendum.

Who won reelection in May 2015?

David Cameron

What two cities voted in favor of Brexit?

England and Wales

What did the Treaty of Rome establish?

European Economic Community (EEC), the predecessor of today's European Union.

What kind of agreements must the UK and the EU unwind?

Fishing quotas, financial services and safety standards.

What countries plan on having a vote to quit the EU?

France and Spain

Who vetoed the United Kingdom's first application?

France's President Charles de Gaulle.

Who signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957?

France, West Germany, Belgium, Italy, and Luxembourg, and Netherlands.

Who wants to prevent the bloc from splintering further?

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other EU leaders.

In early 2013, what did David Cameron do?

He gave a much-anticipated speech in which he outlined the challenges facing Europe and promised to renegotiate membership in the EU if his Conservative Party won a majority in the next general election.

What did Johnson succeed for Britain?

He successfully replaced the backstop with new customs arrangements.

Why did France's President Charles de Gaulle veto the United Kingdom's application?

He thought that they would always be on the American's side. "Formally they'd be in, but actually they'd always be with the Americans."

How did Boris Johnson take over as Prime Minister of Britain in July 2019?

He won the Conservative leadership contest.

Who became the first UK prime minister to veto a EU treaty in 2011 and why did they do it?

In the interests of protecting Britain's financial sector, David Cameron was the first to veto a EU treaty.

What did the bloc do in 2004?

It added 8 Eastern European countries and triggered a wave of immigration that strained public services.

Before the vote, what ranks did Britain hold?

The U.K. was the second-biggest EU country by economic output and the third-largest by population, after Germany and France.

What happened to the Prime Minister John Major's government in 1993?

It almost fell in 1993 when some of his party's lawmakers voted against him over signing the Maastricht Treaty, which deepened cooperation and created the EU.

The Maastricht Treaty, which took effect in 1993, created what?

It created the Brussels-based European Union (EU), of which the EEC, renamed simply the European Community (EC) was the main component.

What does the revised deal effectively create?

It creates a border between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. This means some goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain would be subject to checks and pay EU import taxes (known as tariffs).

What did the 10-week campaign expose?

It exposed anxieties about globalization and raised questions about the consequences for a united Europe.

What did the influence of euroskepticism have on Britain?

It kept Britain from adopting the single currency when it was launched in 1999.

Why did far more UKIP and other supporters of a possible Brexit increase?

It was due to the backdrop of economic unrest in the eurozone (as the territory of the 19 EU countries that use the euro is known) and an ongoing migrant crisis.

Due to its lack of farms and being the third-poorest nation in the Community, what did the UK experience?

It was paying a lot more into the budget than other nations

When did Britain have to actually wait to leave?

January 31 of the next year

Who won the election of 1997 (by a landslide) and worked to rebuild ties with Europe while in office?

Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair

In order to stem the flow of people into Britain, what must Britain do?

Leave the bloc, leave the EEC.

Why did Mr Johnson's vote not go ahead?

Many MPs wanted to postpone it until the legislation needed to turn the deal into law had been approved. MPs said this was to stop a possible no-deal Brexit.

After WWII, what did many countries in Europe plan to do?

Many countries felt it was important to integrate European countries — starting with the coal and steel industries and then expanding to a broader set of trade issues.

Why did people chose to move to Britain and not other countries?

Many wanted to move to wealthier countries and when the 2008 market crash hit some European countries, Britain had many jobs that could employ people.

Before Brexit, what happened to Britain's economy?

Migrants were lured by Britain's economy, which was growing at twice the pace of the euro zone's.

Who voted to remain in the EU?

Northern Ireland and Scotland

When did Mr Johnson try to put his revised deal to vote in Parliament?

On October 19, 2019

What happened on March 30, 2019?

Parliament rejected May's EU withdrawal agreement.

Who took over following David Cameron's resignation in October 2016?

Prime Minister Theresa May

What happened two years after the 29th of March of 2019?

Prime Minister Theresa May triggered Article 50 - the formal process to leave - and kicked off negotiations.

Why did it take Britain 27 years until they can finally sell their chocolate in Europe?

Purists in France, Belgium, Spain and Italy, among other nations, had argued that only cocoa butter, and not vegetable oil, should be used when making chocolate. They also thought British-made chocolate-including popular brands like Mars Bars, Kit-Kats and Cadbury's-had far too much milk, and wanted it to be labeled as "household milk chocolate," "chocolate substitute" or even "vegelate."

What did Prime Minister Theresa May do when coming into office?

She announced her intention to invoke Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, formally giving notice of Britain's intent to leave the EU.

Who voted "No" for the UK to stay in the EEC?

Shetland and Western Isles

At the same time that David Cameron was trying to make to change for Britain, what was happening in the UK?

Support was growing among British voters for the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and its hard line stance against the EU.

What is a possible scenario in which Britain gets to keep its economic agreements in place?

The British to make a deal with the EU that lets them keep their economic privileges, kind of like Norway.

Why did tension between the EEC and the UK explode 1984?

The Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher talked tough in order to reduce British payments to the EEC budget.

What has the EU successfully done?

The EU has helped foster long periods of economic prosperity, and it's helped keep the region at peace.

What is the European Union?

The EU is an economic and political union involving 28 European countries. It allows free trade and free movement of people, to live and work in whichever country they choose.

Why was the EU created?

The EU was designed to integrate Europe's nations politically and economically, including a united foreign policy, common citizenship rights and (for most member nations, not including the UK) a single currency, the euro.

Why did many Britons not support the EU?

The EU was expensive, out of touch and a source of uncontrolled immigration.

What was the 2008 financial crisis?

The European Central Bank failed to respond effectively, leading to a recession that was much more severe than it needed to be. Unemployment rose, and tax revenue fell. Banks needed bailouts, and debt in a number of EU countries soared.

After rejecting Britain's EU withdrawal agreement, what happened?

The European Council set a new deadline of October 31, 2019, or the first day of the month after that in which a withdrawal agreement is passed—whichever comes sooner.

What is the backstop?

The backstop was designed to ensure there would be no border posts or barriers between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland after Brexit.

In 1999, what EU ban was lifted?

The ban on British beef was lifted after tough restrictions were imposed on beef exports, but France kept its own ban in place for years after that.

What happened in 2007, after plans for an official EU constitution collapsed?

The member nations finished negotiating the controversial Lisbon Treaty, which gave Brussels broader powers.

When is the new deadline for Britain to leave?

The new deadline has been set for 31 January 2020, three and a half years after the referendum was held.

What happened on May 29, 2017?

The order, signed by May a day earlier, was delivered to the Council of the European Union, officially starting the two-year countdown to Britain's EU departure, set for March 30, 2019.

Who formed the Social Democratic Party (SDP)?

The pro-Europe wing

What are many worried about with Britain leaving the EEC?

The question remains whether the U.K. can strike a trade deal with Europe that gives it control over immigration and also preferential access to the EU's tariff-free single market of 500 million people, the economic backbone of the world's largest trading bloc.

How many people voted on the referendum?

The referendum turnout was very high at 72%, with more than 30 million people voting - 17.4 million people opting for Brexit.

What is the rest of the deal that stayed the same as that that Theresa May negotiated?

The withdrawal agreement stayed the same, it includes: *the rights of EU citizens in the UK and British citizens in the EU *how much money the UK is to pay the EU (initially thought to be £39bn)

What do Brexit campaigners argue about the EU?

They argued that the EU is morphing into a super-state that increasingly impinges on national sovereignty.

Why are many hesitant on Britain leaving the EU yet still trying to create agreements?

They insist the U.K. can't be allowed to "cherry-pick" the best bits of EU membership without bearing the costs. There's a risk that Brexit will prompt global companies to cut investment or leave the U.K. altogether. The vote to leave the EU has already hurt the British economy, and many business leaders have been vocal in their concerns about the split.

What did Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown famously miss?

They missed a televised ceremony in which the leaders of the 26 other member nations signed the treaty.

What happened in a June 2016 referendum?

They shocked the world by voting to leave the 28-nation bloc they'd joined in 1973.

When countries band together, what are they willingly doing?

They sign treaties and join international groups, and each time they do, they give up a bit of their own sovereignty as independent countries.

When was the referendum held?

Thursday 23 June 2016

Why do countries band together?

To promote trade, defend human rights, protect the environment and repel threats.

What did Johnson revise with the new customs arrangements?

Unlike the previous deal, the revised one will allow the UK to sign and implement its own trade agreements with countries around the world.

Who voted for Britain to stay in the EU?

Younger voters and residents of cosmopolitan London voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU. So did voters in Scotland.