ESO would like to express its disappointment on the result of the United Kingdom Referendum on the European Union, where Leave won over Remain, and euroscepticism prevailed.
Results have been indecisive early onto the night during the counting of votes, then took a turn leaning towards leaving. Whilst many of the areas that chose Remain over-performed and votes exceeded exceptions, the Leave’s over-performance was clearly more dominant. Where areas such as Scotland, Northern Ireland and London were surely in favour of staying in the EU, the rest of the United Kingdom showed support for the exit route. We believe that this referendum was only the beginning of a series of events, as Scotland would eventually seek independence once again, hence breaking up what is up until now known as a United Kingdom.
Whilst we, along with the rest of the European Union citizens, accept this democratic result, we cannot help but show our concern on the future of the European Union. The United Kingdom has been the leading contributor that helped the EU’s economy, and it was known that UK leaving the EU would lead to an economic struggle in the UK, but also in the European Union, and it is still unknown if this will be a short or long term crisis.
ESO, as an organisation focused on the European Union, is concerned about the future of Europe, starting from complications within the Common Market, the strength on the functioning of the European Union in general, and in return, limiting EU related jobs, which would definitely be a downfall for us students.
The Common Market has been the EU’s primary objective since the very beginning of the Union, when the European Union was focused on being a purely European Economic Community. The United Kingdom was perhaps always sceptical of the idea of Europe, and of someone governing it and taking away UK’s own sovereignty. Not having access to the Common Market will definitely be difficult to UK nationals, but also to European Union citizens, Maltese included, residing in the UK, as well as in Malta and in the rest of the European Union states.
It was clear that all of the United Kingdom were expecting the majority of young people to vote in favour of the European Union. The EU provides many opportunities to us students, which might be diminished now that the UK has decided to start procedures to exit the Union. Absence of the Freedom of Movement of goods, but also of people, might very much lead to less job opportunities, as well as a decrease in chances of studying abroad. The United Kingdom has always been a good option for us students, taking into account the lack of language barriers we get to go through. As of now, however, if one would want to continue studying at a University in the UK, international rates will apply.
Many are those who choose to take a gap-year dedicated to travelling and learning, however now, complications of having to acquire a visa are likely to apply. The European Health Insurance Card will also lose its significance within the United Kingdom, leaving all of us with yet even higher costs.
The tourism sector in Malta is very strong, therefore providing a lot of jobs, yet seeing how volatile the Sterling has been prior and during the referendum results, where it went down to rates that were last seen three decades ago, and seeing how chances are that the value of the currency will be unstable for the time ahead, the economic sector will undoubtedly also be affected. Uncertainty has already been felt all throughout the night and early in the morning.
It is said that Brexit might prompt a recession, mostly in the UK, but also in the economic sector of Member States, and it is students and youths who will suffer the most. Studies have shown that those who enter the job market during such times will earn less than those who enter during stable economic times, and that this instability might be felt for years.
With all this being said, and while we are all deeply disappointed, we hope that the European Union will triumph and keep on growing even stronger. The absence of the United Kingdom will undoubtedly leave a big impact on all of us, especially students. The UK was a major contribution, and its inclusion was a large benefit for us all, however we hope that we can make it through, conjointly with the rest of the European Union.