Reporter Steven Erlanger’s article in the New York Times on page A7, “E.U. Parliament Approves Brexit, Accepting an Immediate Loss of Clout,” addresses the anticlimactic manifestation of Brexit, and how it will affect the rest of Europe. The European Parliament voted in Brussels on Wednesday to ratify the withdrawal agreement between Britain and the European Union, an agreement that will officially go into effect on Jan. 31 Brussels time.
The approval of the agreement did not come as a surprise — the country’s relationship with the E.U. has had a cloud of confusion and disapproval over it for the past three years. Leaders in the E.U. point out that this loss hurts Britain just as much as it hurts the Union. For the E.U., Britain served as a liaison between nations with differing political structures and histories, and as a leader of the E.U. in terms of military presence. Also, Britain contributed the most money to the E.U. out of any country. As for Britain, nearly half of its exports are to the European Union. Also, as former American diplomat Ian Lesser says, Britain’s position in the world will be altered after the division.
Although the problem here seems more political than PR-related, it will be essential that the European Union communicates to its publics — citizens in the E.U. countries, and foreign leaders and European leaders — that it can survive without Britain in the Union. According to the article, Britain was clearly the leader in the E.U., and navigating the Union without it will pose more problems to current issues than solutions. Personally, I think that it will be important during this time of transition to communicate positive messages, especially to those countries still in the E.U., to avoid any more separation. I believe the most effective and appropriate medium for these messages would be through meetings with the leaders, and through press conferences for the public and media. Social media posts in this case do not seem appropriate for a government entity, especially in this circumstance.