Abstract ▼

On 23 June, the British citizens voted for leaving the full membership in the European Union. It is a historical event for the country, but also results in many economic and geopolitical consequences for Europe and the whole world. Therefore, the goal of the paper is to show the most important short and long term costs and benefits from leaving the European Union. The paper is to overview the comprehensive context of effects considering the uncertainty of the outcome of negotiations about the withdrawal from the union. In addition to the Introduction and Methodological Notes, the paper shows the short and the long term costs and benefits, states optimistic and pessimistic scenarios, quantifies the effects where applicable and describes consequences in a balanced manner. Considering the economic results in the post-referendum first quarter, it is concluded that the negative results from Brexit are, for the time being, overestimated.

Abstract ▼

The question about the future of the European Union, formerly European Communities, is set from its beginning. The EU has always aroused the interest of researchers, because its nature, structure and level of organization are not so usual. It is not a typical international organization, not even the state, but it is an example of the most advanced regional integration that has ever existed. Over time, it faced a large number of crises and always came out stronger. Last in a series of crises was caused by the decision of British citizens to choose the option ‘Leave’ in the referendum on June 23, 2016. Since then, the interest of researchers for the future of the European Union seems to be greater than ever. The key objective of this article is to analyse the options which the European Union has for its operation in the future. Also, we will try to determine which factors influenced the decision of Britain to leave the EU.

Abstract ▼

With the referendum held in June 2016, the circle of participation of the United Kingdom in the European integration process begun in 1973 was closed. The objectives of this article are to show some contradictions of Brexit. The UK referendum is inherently contradictory because it occurred at a time when the European Union more than ever conforms to British views on the European project. The European Union has never been closer to the concept of a week confederal union where each sovereign Member State defends its views in accordance with the daily political interests. As a large country and the former imperial power, the United Kingdom tends to preserve his influence in Europe. Leaving the European Union, the United Kingdom will lose the right to decisionmaking in the European Union institutions, which means that its political influence in the continental Europe will be weaker. The Brexit is a failure for the European Union, but it also may be an opportunity for progress in the areas where the former impeded and prevented integrative steps. It is primarily about creating a structured European defence, autonomous in relation to the NATO.

Abstract ▼

The European Union presents a unique organism. It is international organization sui generis, characterized as supranational. Specific relations and ties bound states united in the European Union, thus posing an intriguing question – is a withdrawal from the EU an option at all. The Treaty of Lisbon has identified for the first time the option of termination of the membership status. After Brexit, the withdrawal clause has come under attention and in the near future, it will be applied. Compliance with the withdrawal clause is a long-term process. It supposes negotiating period and conclusion of a new international treaty. As first ever in the history of the EU, it will for sure generate precedents, and be an important reservoir of experience, for all potential future cases. Nevertheless, the main focus of this paper is on resolving the relation between general international law and EU law. The importance of this relation can emerge in the situation if there is no arrangement between the EU and Great Britain on elements of the termination of the member status.

Abstract ▼

Following a referendum held in 2016, the United Kingdom will have to start the procedure for withdrawing from the membership in the European Union. Although the United Kingdom’s contribution to the budget of the Community is extremely large, the country used its resources to a lesser extent. However, the UK has made a concession to the application of the corrective mechanism in order to reduce the disproportion between the means the country has given to the budget and the budgetary resources that are used. Since in the 2016 referendum, most of the United Kingdom inhabitants voted for withdrawal from the Community, the question was raised about the consequences of such an act, especially for the European Union budget. The subject of analysis in this paper is the contribution to the budget of the Member States of the European Union, for the period 2010-2015, with a special reference to the contribution of the United Kingdom, as well as the analysis of the budgetary spending by the Member States. In this way, we will try to give answers which countries will mostly feel the consequences of the United Kingdom withdrawal from the membership in the European Union, in connection with the possibility of spending the funds from budget, as well as the implementation of the EU common policies. However, we should not make premature conclusions, given the fact that the withdrawal from the membership is an ongoing process.

Abstract ▼

The aim of this work is to determine the implications of Brexit for agriculture, on a global level, in Europe, that is, in the European Union, and in Serbia. The methods used are the method of text analysis, formal-legal method, comparative method, and statistical methods. The sources used in this work are prominent theoretical works in the given area, national and international regulations, reports from the relevant institutions, electronic databases, and newspaper articles. The work consists of an introduction, a section about the genesis of Brexit, a section about the implications for agriculture and a conclusion. In the section about the genesis of Brexit, a theoretical explanation by A. J. Toynbee is presented, which explains the rise, collapse and disintegration of a civilization, as well as the facts regarding the Constitution for Europe, Grexit, and the Migrant crisis. Also, in this section, the immediate causes of Brexit are analyzed, as well as possible directions of further development of the EU. In the section referring to the implications of Brexit for agriculture, we analyzed the consequences on a global level, in the EU and Serbia. On a global level, we analyzed the consequences that Brexit will cause within the World Trade Organization, as well as the very important issue of the future approach of the United Kingdom to genetically modified organisms. The consequences of Brexit in Europe, that is, the EU, are presented primarily in two models (the Norwegian and Swiss model) by which the United Kingdom will most likely continue to cooperate with the EU, as well as in other aspects of the disassociation. In the part that relates to the consequences of Brexit in Serbia, we analyzed the immediate consequence, which refers to the Serbian foreign trade with the United Kingdom, as well as the indirect effects relating to the pace of accession, or rather the access of Serbia to the agricultural funds of the EU.

Abstract ▼

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is seen as a major mechanism for development, and with international trade, a fundamental part of an open and successful international economic system. This paper examines the effect that FDI has on economic growth in the case of the European Union (EU). The initial assumption of the paper is that FDI has a positive impact on economic growth. Correlation and regression analysis were used to examine the interdependence between FDI and gross domestic product (GDP), as a measure of economic growth. The results of the research show a negative interdependence between FDI and GDP and that there is no positive impact of FDI on the value of GDP in the EU in the observed eleven-year period (from 2005 to 2015).

Abstract ▼

Great Britain’s influence in the process of European integration of the Western Balkans is very notable, but it is not crucial. Although the Foreign Office of Great Britain is working toward further horizontal integration of the European Union, this country does not have any vital interest in the eventual accelerated integration of Western Balkan candidates. The main point of this article is the role of Great Britain in the process of accession of Western Balkan candidates (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo*2 and Serbia)3. The aim of this article is an attempt to analyze the influence of referendum in Great Britain and its potential exit from the EU on the process of Western Balkans integration. Through consideration of the regional and internal challenges among Western Balkans candidates, the goal is to answer whether actual stagnation of mentioned candidates is due to local disputes or because of the causes within the EU. In addition, in this article, the author will put emphasis on the role of other member states of the EU, which are also focused on the process of Western Balkans integration. The results of the referendum in the United Kingdom have been highly rated in the local media and within the circles of political elites from the Balkans, but from the realistic point of view, such results will not have any dominant influence in the process of accelerating or slowing the integration of the Western Balkans within the EU. The essential aim of the article is to prove that structural problems within the EU and referendum in Great Britain should not be an additional barrier on the European path of the Western Balkans. The future of European integration of Western Balkan candidates still depends on the dynamic of reforms and concrete measures on the internal and regional level in accordance with the policy of the EU.