Lecture - Brexit: better get EUsed to it

The Committee for Intellectual Activities organized another lecture on the 27th of May. This time, the topic was about Brexit. The two speakers were Dr. Schrauwen and Dr. Davies, who were both experts in the field of EU (citizen) law and the consequences of Brexit on the member states of the EU.In fact, Dr. Schrauwen’s mini-lecture dealt with the legal issues of Brexit. She explained the important element of the Withdrawal Agreement, the deal that regulates the exit of the UK from the EU framework. Thereafter, she explained the most contested points that lay at the foundation of the political clash between the EU and the UK. She connected these points with the domestic political dynamics in the UK. The Backstop, she stated, is crucial to understand the current stalemate between the EU and the UK. It comes down to a configuration with three options and all three options are impossible to accept, because it either does not bring a Brexit over all UK territory or even violates the sovereignty of the UK. The latter point is something that the UK (or any self-respecting state) would never agree with.Dr. Davies dove deeper into the dynamics of the Brexit and linked the issues relating to it with the failure of former-Prime Minister Theresa May and, more importantly, the elections of the new leader of the Conservative party. He believes that former-Foreign Minister Boris Johnson, who resigned but still remained in Parliament, will be elected as the new leader of the Conservatives and therewith as the new PM of the UK. In any case, whoever becomes PM should deliver Brexit. Dr. Davies thinks that going to Brussels and negotiating cosmetic changes that make the deal more appealing to the British rather than real solutions to the problems that the Brits have with the Withdrawal Agreement is the way that Brexit will unfold.On June 17, we will have our last event of the academic year: a masterclass on the Venezuelan Crisis with an open bar at CREA’s Muziekzaal! We hope to see all of you there!