The little Island that could; but can the EU?

Many people questioned whether Britain would have any influence outside the EU. Well a week after Brexit it seems we’ve changed the complexion of a whole continent.

Britain’s exit from the EU surprised many but the signs were always there, even if a Londoncentric media forgot to cover it. London and the South is a prosperous place, even if many of its workers are treading water. Yet outside the capital, globalised wealth is not the primary driver. Instead it’s the local economy and regional business.

And these vital businesses are where the ‘remain’ debate should have focused, questioning whether the EU stifles a more equal distribution of investment.
Instead, remain focused on the ‘leave’ argument. With immigration, racism and little England taking centre stage.

Yet little England’s groan of restlessness struck a chord internationally, with other EU nations reporting discontent. And at this sensitive time for learning what is our media reporting on? The right wing agenda of course. Instead they should be analysing the grievances, thoroughly.

Major broadcasters are starting to move further north to bring a more balanced perspective, but as yet there has been little assessment of how the long term problems manifested. Similarly the ‘remain’ perspective has not graduated past education, travel and scare.

In Poland, which coincidentally does have a right wing government, the Law and Justice Party won on a promise to better support Polish business. Hungary too is choosing this path to restore national strength, as Greenland did in 1983 when they left the EU. A stronger Greenland is now looking to rejoin the EU for better market access.

And this should be the story, the EU IS broken, but it’s not beyond reform. Yet it has to want to reform and perhaps change the dynamic of a union. A union that isn’t based about trade but does see political union as improving lives for its citizens and beyond.

Yet the problems with unity do not stop with trade, the EU uses its economic power to subdue the poorest continents, see African coffee production. Whether a calculated move or not, changing things for the better can take many years and as with any bureaucracy, a motion for change needs to be at the top of the pile.

Britain has spoken and the world has listened. We are now in a moment where our flexibility is paramount and we need to embrace change. But the most important question is how flexible is the EU?
Is it prepared to swallow its pride to rethink its structure? Will it use it’s mass as a hammer during Brexit negotiations? Is it prepared to risk other nations leaving to prove its model is still relevant?
I fear the EU has a lot more to lose by getting these negotiations wrong, than little England has with removing itself from regulations that stifle national interests. With Scotland a danger to Spain, Ireland’s growth helped by strong UK trade, a large number of EU nationals already in the UK, flexibility may need to become elasticity.