By Nawab Khan
BRUSSELS, June 26 (KUNA) -- British voters have shocked and awed the world by ignoring and rejecting all calls and pleas by political leaders right from the US to Japan, to the European Union (EU), and from famous celebrities, economists, and major western media outlets to remain in the EU.
Up to 52 percent of the British voters, more than half of the population, voted in Thursday's referendum to leave the EU.
Brexit signals the depth of discontent and displeasure with the way the EU opearates.
The British voters appear to have accepted the arguments of the Brexit advocates that Britain will be better off in the long run outside the EU, with full sovereignty and control over immigration and economic rules and regulations.
A significant lesson to draw from the Brexit is that despite all the talk about a "European identity," people in Europe show greater loyalty toward their home countries than they do to EU.
Analysts point out that people in Europe tend to reject the EU in most referenda held so far.
Denmark in a referendum held in 2000 rejected to join the Eurozone, followed by Sweden in a similar plebiscite in 2003. France and the Netherlands rejected the EU's Lisbon treaty in 2005. In 2015, the Greeks rejected the EU bailout conditions to resolve the country's debt crisis. Now it is the Brexit.
These developments support the arguments of those who say that the EU is an elitist project controlled by an unelected bureaucracy in Brussels which is totally detached and isolated from the ordinary citizens.
On the other hand, EU supporters have been proclaiming that the EU is a very attractive project as other countries are eager to join the European club. However, the fact that the UK votes to leave, is the first case of this process being put in reverse gear.
Michael Emerson, a Senior Research Fellow at the think-tank Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels, explains that a long-term anti-EU bias of the tabloid press in the UK, perceived failures of the euro and Schengen zones (even if the UK was never a member of either of these), the immigration crisis, and the rise in nationalist populism are some of the reasons behind the Leave vote.
The Brexit places the Union before unpredictable implications and a crisis of confidence in the European integration process. Analysts are of the view that the vote has dealt a serious blow to the unity and integrity of the EU.
"Brexit represents nothing less than the partial splintering of the world's largest political union and trading bloc, a USD 18 trillion economy. Many fear that other European countries will now hold their own exit referendums," opines Tim King, a writer for the Brussels-based publication Politico.
Anti-EU parties in France, Italy and the Netherlands are already calling for a UK-like referendum on EU membership in their own countries.
On top of all, Emerson warns that Brexit threatens disintegration of the UK itself, with the prospect of a second referendum on Scottish independence, and possible destabilization of the fragile peace in Northern Ireland.
The UK is made up of four countries, England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
The EU has been dominated by the three big countries, the UK, France and Germany. Now as the UK is out, the German-Franco axis will sway over the economic and political policies of the EU , and in particular fuel the fear of a growing German control over Europe.
The Brexit will also seriously affect the EU's foreign policy agenda. The UK has historical links and influence in Asia and the Arab World and is a major player in world affairs, and hence its exit from the Union will curtail the EU's global influence.
Besides, the EU will be so busy in putting its own house in order for several years to come, that it will have little time and appetite to deal with foreign issues.
Janis Emmanouilidis, Senior Policy Analyst at the think tank European Policy Centre in Brussels argues that the Brexit will affect the domestic policies in many EU member states.
He thinks the mainstream politicians and governments will be even more under pressure from populist right-wing parties which will make it difficult for them to operate and to forge compromises. The EU member states will struggle in finding compromises and implementing them, he said in a TV interview .
But for now, the EU and the UK will have to begin the difficult and complicated "divorce process" which has to be completed within two years under article 50 of the EU treaty. (end) nk.msa