AØKK08377U Seminar: Brexit - Why, how and with which effects

For many observers the outcome of the 2016 referendum was a chock and the political establishment appeared to have been completely unprepared. No official blue print for leaving the EU was available, however many, often hard-hitting, arguments and schemes for a “leave” had been produced.

In this seminar, we try to provide some overview of the historical and political background for the leave decision; however, the focus is mainly on the economic aspects of Brexit. There will, however, be room for broad papers combining insights in history, politics and economics as well as technical papers on how trade can be organized after Brexit, the effects on the UK and EU economies including the British Financial Industry and the immigration issue. We also have the Northern Ireland border case, the long-standing UK skepticism towards EU economic policies regarding the Euro, British criticism of the structural reform in Southern Europe and how that crisis there was solved. Finally, we also need to deal with possible changes in EU27 after Brexit.

A list of possible titles for papers

1. “Britain should never have entered in the first place!” The classical conservative arguments against the EU. Margaret Thatcher’s dual role.
2. The legal and constitutional issues. A proud country with an unwritten constitution cannot bow to the ECJ. However, will Brexit stop that?
3. The performances of the major EU economies; will the EU break anyway?
4. “The EU is against free trade and Britain is for; we should trade with the entire world!”
5. For and against the “Norway model”, inside or outside the Single Market
6. What happens to London’s status as a leading financial centre?
7. Outside the EU is a golden future of high tech and a sophisticated world-class economy!
8. Will leaving the Single Market create a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and which would be the eventual consequences?
9. Admitting former Soviet Bloc countries to the EU created a flood of emigrants in the UK – good or bad. Can Britain do without the “Polish plumbers”?
10. After Brexit, what happens to the market for university education?
11. The UK criticism of EU economic policies
12. Consequences of Brexit for Denmark (or other countries)
13. Consequences of Brexit for the EU27
14. Will EU27 change after Brexit with more or less integration?
15. Other approaches are possible and welcome.