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20 January 2020

Brexit’s Finish Line Is Only the "End of the Beginning" for Britain and the European Union

by Stewart M. Patrick

In my weekly column for World Politics Review, I examine several major uncertainties that remain unresolved as the United Kingdom prepares to exit the European Union.

Britain’s impending departure from the European Union on Jan. 31 is merely, as Winston Churchill might have said, the end of the beginning. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will herald Brexit as the moment the nation recovers its sovereignty. The truth, however, is far messier. The ultimate terms and costs of the divorce are yet to be determined. The nature of Britain’s future relationship with the continent, whether the United Kingdom will stay united in Brexit’s wake, and what global role Britain will play after regaining its “splendid isolation” all remain to be seen.

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