Britain’s departure from the European Union ends an arduous two years and ten months since 29 March 2017, when Theresa May’s government invoked Article 50 to give notice that it would withdraw. During that period Brexit has consumed time, energy and political capital in Brussels and other major European cities. Further negotiations with London will stretch on for years to come. But with Britain gone, European minds are turning to the other challenges facing the union.
Within Europe, the refugee and euro crises, though less acute in 2019 than in previous years, still fester, and have the potential to poison relations among the member states. The continent’s economy needs to adapt to rapid technological change while finding ways of drastically curbing carbon emissions and overcoming worsening regional inequalities. Some of the EU’s own governments play fast and loose with the rule of law – most egregiously in the case of Viktor Orbán in Hungary.
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