The Institute for Politics and Society organized a public debate on the topic „Life after Brexit: A new way forward for the EU“ within the international conference Forum 2000. The speakers were Per Nyholm, Delegate, Forum 2000, Kryštof Kruliš, Researcher, Association for International Affairs, Jan Kovář, Analyst, Institute of International Relations Prague, and Roman Joch, Director, Civic Institute. The debate was moderated by Jan Macháček, Chairman of the board of the Institute for Politics and Society.

The debate focused on  the consequences of the British referendum on leaving the EU, legitimacy of the referendum and the paradoxical situation, when it is not entirely clear who is  in charge of invoking the Article 50 of Lisabon Treaty. Throughout the debate  the challenges for both sides were discussed. On one hand the view of Great Britain leaving the EU, and on the other hand the view of the EU losing one of its strongest members. At the moment the only thing we can say with certainty is that no one knows how difficult Brexit will be and what it will mean at the end of the process.

What is happening now in Great Britain?

• The Paragraph 50 of Lisabon Treaty still has not been applied
• Theresa May said that she will trigger Article 50 by the end of March 2017
• It has not been decided yet whether the UK will leave the  EU’s single market or not
• Intention of second Scottish independence referendum

What are the main consequences of Brexit from the view of EU?

• Increased vulnerability of the Eurozone
• The already strong countries like Germany and France will get even stronger
• Fear of the domino effect – other EU countries may trigger similar referendum
• Undermining the liberal order
• Loss of some European values e.g. unity

What were the main problems of the Brexit referendum?

• The citizen could only vote YES or NO which is very limiting in case of such a complex issue
• Demographic factors like age, income, and education played very important role in how people voted. The key factors were:
  • geography- urban or rural area
  • age
  • benefiting on globalization