Brexit: A Significant Blow to the Supranational Journey of the European Union

Abstract

One of the most significant impacts of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (EU) would be the complication, and even the stalemate, of the supranational unification process of the EU, which was the founding idea of the Union. In this chapter, the adverse circumstances that will take place in the supranational unification process will be addressed over two significant issues. The first of the issues is the losses that the Union will experience. The Union, which had realized partnership in many areas to achieve the supranational unification and which, at least, has held out hope for other areas, would experience significant losses concerning motivation, time, capacity, and power of influence, and it would be difficult for the Union to reconstitute itself. In addition to these losses, the consolidation of the right-wing populism filled with Eurosceptic and nationalist reactions in the member states following Brexit will further weaken the aspiration for supranational unification. Ultimately, the visibility of the relations in an intergovernmental context, instead of a supranational one, will become the dominant element, and the EU's journey toward long-term founding purpose will receive a major blow.

Citation

Samur, H. (2023), "Brexit: A Significant Blow to the Supranational Journey of the European Union", Günar, A. and Saygın, D. (Ed.) The European Union in the Twenty-First Century, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 17-30. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80382-537-320231002