Last Thursday, October 25, in Café Continental was held 21st panel discussion as part of the Opatija Coffeehouse Debates project, jointly organized and implemented for 4 years Association "Cultural Front", Amadria Park Hotels i Department of Philosophy University of Rijeka. The panel dealt with thethe ramifications, consequences and long-term impact of Brexit The panelists Prof. Thom Brooks from Durham University and Prof. Dejan Jović from the University of Zagreb gave introductory speeches to the United Kingdom and the European Union. An interesting discussion, which lasted almost two hours, opened a number of questions and attracted huge interest from listeners who enriched it with extremely high-quality comments and reflections.

Thom Brooks, Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Law  Durham University, He pointed out that the real causes of the referendum are not related to the European Union at all, but to internal political events in the United Kingdom. Prime Minister David Cameroon felt threatened by the loss of votes to the Tories from more radical right-wing parties such as UKIP, and wanted to strengthen his party's position vis-à-vis Labour in a referendum. However, points out Brooks, Almost no one in the UK, whether they are conservatives or laburists, He did not want and did not really expect the outcome of the referendum to be that way. (This includes Prime Minister Theresa May.) The problem with Brexit, according to our panellist, is that it is not clear to anyone what exactly the UK's departure from the EU entails. In fact, much of the legal regulation (which defines relations between EU member states) will have to continue to exist, only it will regulate relations between the UK and the EU. The change in trade relations will only hurt the UK, which is trying to build new relations with the US, which, however, is more oriented towards strategic partners on its continent. Finally, according to Brooks, If Brexit does happen (And our first panellist is quite skeptical about it), It will be a legally rather empty declaration that will not significantly change the relationship between the UK and the EU.

Dejan Jovic, Professor with the Faculty of Political Science in Zagreb, he began by saying that he did not expect such a result of the referendum either, given the frequent perception of the United Kingdom as a rather conservative state. He pointed out how Brexit Is Harmful to British Interests whereas by this decision The UK has lost its place in the heart of the EU. (where the UK, along with Germany and France, was one of the key countries leading the EU), leading to a decline in the UK's influence in Europe. However, the UK's exit from the EU has increased the UK's influence and direction towards the eastern part of Central Europe and the countries on the eastern periphery of the EU. On the other hand, Jovic does not think Brexit will be a huge disaster for the UK – although he believes it is a bad decision that harms the interests of the country. Brexit will not lead to a terrible economic collapse or huge changes in the quality of life of citizens. Finally, he pointed out that Brexit will also be an interesting challenge for Croatia, since the adjustment period after the UK's exit from the EU ends in 2020, when Croatia will hold the presidency of the Council of the EU.

The whole discussion was recorded. It can be viewed below.

The organisers thanked sponsors the Project (City of Opatija i Primorje-Gorski Kotar County) and announced the next panel discussion that awaits us 28 November, which will discuss the growing populism in Croatia, Europe and the world.



*Report taken from official website of the “Coffeehouse Debates Abbey” project