183
votes
What are the main reasons for why negotiating a proper Brexit deal has been so hard?
it was generally expected that the pro-Brexit politicians had some idea of how negotiations for a Brexit deal would fare and what the outcome would be.
Who by?
Everyone knew the lead Brexit team (...
- 7,552
154
votes
What are the main reasons for why negotiating a proper Brexit deal has been so hard?
Dani Rodrik's trilemma states that you can pick any two of three from "nation state", "prosperity" and "democracy". The argument goes that if you want prosperity then you must have free trade (hermit ...
- 20.7k
146
votes
Why is it impossible to leave the Single Market without a hard Irish border?
In the strictest sense, it is of course possible; but it doesn’t make any sense, unless Brexit is only for symbolism.
The whole point of Brexit (beside the symbolism) and of leaving the single market ...
- 5,782
125
votes
If "more guns less crime", how do gun advocates explain that the EU has less crime than the US?
They don't.
While there are a lot of half-assed arguments (on both sides, to be fair), any serious statistical analysis that actually controls for variables comes down on the side of gun control. A ...
- 5,332
124
votes
Accepted
What options would have been left, if the UK government couldn't have decided on how exactly to implement the referendum to leave the EU?
The United Kingdom shall not leave the European Union without a deal
That is not a legal decision. This is just a wish that Parliament has expressed.
If nothing else changes, as things currently ...
112
votes
Accepted
What are the reasons for the rise in Euroscepticism over the last few years?
Taking Benefits for Granted
The last time I was to Belgium, we didn't actually stop in Belgium. We drove right through from the Netherlands to France. I'm old enough to remember having to stop at ...
- 106k
109
votes
Accepted
Why does the EU not seem to pursue technological independence?
The EU does pursue technological independence. For example, it has assembled its own satellite navigation system so that it does not have to rely on GPS and Glonass.
The EU develops a lot of military ...
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108
votes
Why does the EU care so much about the UK divorce payment?
The sum is quite small compared to the EU GDP, but that is not what you should be comparing it to. It would make more sense to compare it to the EU budget (as there the additional money would ...
- 1,642
92
votes
Accepted
Could the UK re-join EU after leaving?
Article 50 of the Treaties of the European Union (the article which governs leaving the EU) has a clause which explicitly mentions that rejoining the EU is possible after leaving it:
If a State ...
- 74.8k
91
votes
Why do Muslim refugees seek asylum in Europe and not in rich countries in the Middle East?
The premise in your question, about Muslims preferring Europe over rich Middle-Eastern countries, is false. In fact, Syrian refugees prefer neighbouring Middle-Eastern countries over rich ones.
...
- 679
91
votes
Are there oligarchs in Western countries?
Technically speaking, an oligarch is a member of an oligarchy: a system in which political governance is given to a cadre of wealthy, propertied individuals in society. The archetypal example is the ...
- 67.7k
91
votes
What would Ukraine gain by joining the European Union rapidly?
The simple fact is that it is not feasible. Even if everybody agreed in principle, the EU was ready to waive some of the requirements and ignore all other political considerations, it would still take ...
- 30.5k
89
votes
Accepted
Is there an EU law that prevents repair of electrical devices?
No. There is no regulation that prevents a citizen from repairing themselves any kind of electronic device. The problem is that there is also no regulation that requires electronics companies to ...
- 5,467
86
votes
Why are the Brexit trade talks held up by the divorce talks?
This might be described as an "eat your vegetables" strategy by the EU27.
The three preliminary issues are not palatable to the UK government:
It is reluctant to discuss the divorce bill. Paying any ...
- 11.4k
86
votes
Accepted
Why is the UK still pressing on with Brexit?
You are making the same mistake as the remain campaign did:
This is not a rational decision, at the core, it's an emotional decision. It's not about what financial, economic or whatever benefits ...
- 1,096
85
votes
Why is the UK blaming the EU and what does the UK want?
Simplified, one key issue that drove or drives the Brexit movement is for the UK to have full sovereign control over the standards goods must adhere to.
Equally simplified, one key issue for the EU is ...
- 13.1k
82
votes
If "more guns less crime", how do gun advocates explain that the EU has less crime than the US?
The real problem with questions like this is in assuming that gun ownership is a cause rather than a symptom.
I answered a similar question a year or two ago, but comparing Canada and USA, and mass ...
- 3,004
82
votes
Why does the US need to spy on its allies?
Everyone realistically spies on everyone else. The US spies on Germany, Germany spies on the US, every marginally powerful country spies on every other marginally powerful country.
The fact that two ...
- 6,203
80
votes
Accepted
What would Ukraine gain by joining the European Union rapidly?
Zelensky does not actually expect that Ukraine will be able to join the EU right now. However, even starting the application process now brings benefits, even more given the expected response by the ...
- 12.7k
79
votes
Why is privacy a subject felt more in Europe rather than the US?
Several EU states endured surveillance by secret police in the past (for instance in Nazi Germany or Eastern Germany), making privacy a sensitive enough topic that constituents demanded strict ...
- 30.5k
79
votes
Why is May in charge of Brexit negotiations? What happened to the prominent Brexiteers?
In short all Leave candidates who put themselves forward for the PM job lost in a run-off to Andrea Leadsom (a Leave supporter) who then backed out.
Major Leave supporters were given top level ...
- 23.9k
78
votes
Accepted
What would the United Kingdom's "optimal" Brexit deal look like?
The "optimal" solution for Brexiteers is:-
The UK does not have to follow any EU rules.
The UK gets to decide rules for imports.
UK industry gets to export to the EU freely in spite of those goods ...
- 7,552
75
votes
Accepted
Why does the EU care so much about the UK divorce payment?
First off, per the other answers so far, €50 billion (or €100) is by no means peanuts.
More importantly, this article gives, I think, a reasonably level-headed breakdown of what the Brexit bill is ...
- 30.5k
74
votes
Why did the EU agree to delay the Brexit deadline?
A no deal Brexit would also hurt the EU. Not so much as to offer the pact that the Parliament wants (in the case that the Parliament knew what it wants), but enough to provide an extension to see if ...
- 31.2k
70
votes
Why is Russia limiting its gas supply to the EU instead of stopping it altogether?
I am no expert on this by any means, but my thought as to why:
If Russia completely cuts off the gas now, they lose leverage. That is, once the gas is completely cut off, they can no longer threaten ...
- 581
67
votes
Why is the EU concerned about the UK "unilaterally withdrawing" from a proposed Irish backstop?
The EU is acting in the interests of the remaining 27 members. In this case it is specifically acting in the interests and on the instructions of the Republic of Ireland, which opposes a hard border ...
- 1,200
66
votes
Accepted
Why is privacy a subject felt more in Europe rather than the US?
It's not really a matter of privacy itself being taken more seriously in Europe. It's more a matter of a differing view in the proper role of government. In the U.S., at least traditionally, the ...
- 8,238
66
votes
Accepted
What issue does the EU take with the UK's Chequers proposal?
The EU fundamentally cannot accept the trade portions of the Chequers proposal which in short propose Single Market access for goods from the UK, without requiring the UK to accept freedom of movement....
- 23.9k
64
votes
Accepted
Can European countries bypass the EU and make their own individual trade deal with the U.S.?
They cannot. It's an exclusive competence of the EU. So much so that the point played a major role in the Brexit negotiations. The reason there are two phases in the Brexit deal (leave first, then ...
- 30.5k
64
votes
Accepted
Why is the UK blaming the EU and what does the UK want?
From the EU27 viewpoint, the Brexiteers promised a unicorn and now expect the EU27 to deliver this impossible creature. The EU27 always said that it can't be done without breaking something, and that ...
- 106k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible