As it stands, the United Kingdom (UK) is due to leave the European Union (EU) in March this year following a referendum in 2016. Britain said it was being held back by the EU, which has been imposing too many rules on businesses and charging billions of pounds yearly in membership fee that amounted to very little returns.
Over years, the EU, has served as an economic and political muscle between the European countries to foster trade and economic cooperation with its own currency, its own parliament and it now sets rules across sectors.
Months of negotiation resulted in the UK and EU agreeing to a Brexit deal which comes in two parts. A withdrawal agreement, a legally-binding text that stipulates terms of the UK’s divorce from the EU and A statement of future relations that explains the long-term relationship between the UK and EU particularly in trade, defense and security.
Britain Prime Minister Theresa May triggered the two-year process of UK leaving the EU. She set out her negotiating goals, outlined her plans for a transition period after Brexit and set out her thinking on the kind of trading relationship the UK wants with the EU.
A summary from the London School of Economics (LSE), analyzing several economic projection models of Brexit, highlighted a long-term loss of GDP for the UK economy compared to the status quo projections of remaining part of the EU and its single market.
“The range of estimates is large, from a loss of GDP of nearly ten percentage points to a gain of four points,” read the summary.
To boost the post-Brexit economy by £35 billion, the Britain government announced that International students post-study leave period will be extended to six months for undergraduate and masters students and a year for doctoral students.
”I strongly welcome the publication of this strategy as a signal of a change in direction. International students contribute a huge amount to the UK, not only economically but also by enriching the international education environment in our universities for all students. We particularly welcome steps to improve the visa regime. We would like the government to go further and extend this opportunity to at least two years and we will continue to urge them on this point,” commented Professor Dame Janet Beer, President of Universities UK.
The move seeks to increase the number of international students in the UK to 600,000 by 2030. Currently, there are 460,000 foreign university students in the UK, generating £20 billion per year through education exports including income from international students.
“As we prepare to leave the EU it is more important than ever to reach out to our global partners and maximize the potential of our best assets – that includes our education offer and the international students this attracts,” said Education Secretary Damian Hinds said
The UK’s education system precedes its reputation.
