Whilst 23 June 2016 is remembered as the fateful day that the UK voted to leave the EU, 1 February 2020 was the point that ties were formally severed. If the four intervening years provided a chance to figure out how things might pan out, now was the time to put predictions to the test.
With any appetite for compromise notably absent and a huge amount of airtime given to fish, things ended with a turning of backs rather than a shaking of hands. Yet for those with a foot in each camp – whether businesses or migrants – this split was untenable. We were the first to tread this unchartered territory.
Though politicians have made a great effort to deny the obvious and ignore the trilemma that has rendered negotiations futile, those caught between the EU and UK have had to figure out how to navigate the gauntlet of paperwork and protocols whose intention seems to be making life harder.
We see it in the post, in travel, and in trade. Apart from a handful of unworthy profiteers, it's difficult to see who's come out on top. Possibly local EU communities that have seen UK companies relocate, though traders on the continent have also been hit. And trying to rebuild old structures is a costly exercise. If only there were a blueprint for a new model...
Despite fervent assurances from Brexit polemicists that the UK's exit was just the "first brick out of the wall", the EU edifice is now stronger than ever. Support for the bloc has solidified as members look to Britain, not as the champion of unrestrained growth but instead as a warning of nationalist zeal going too far.
Three years is an inauspicious anniversary and partisans on either side of the debate will hope that future anniversaries provide more promise than reticence. Time can certainly be a great healer, but with it must come political will, realism, and an eye to the future, not the past.
Are you holding out hope? Let @Orlando_tbt know.
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1. Schuman metro stabbing: Suspect had already been in psychiatric care three times
The 30-year-old man who stabbed three passengers in Schuman metro station in Brussels' European Quarter on Monday evening and was arrested for attempted murder had already been admitted to a psychiatric care institution three times. Read more.
2. Brexit three years on: Who's celebrating?
On the morning of 1 February 2020, the UK woke up with a hangover after the Brexit crusade finally ran its course and Britain left the European Union. But what some hailed as the end of a long battle was really only the start of a far longer campaign. Three years on, what's become of Brexit? Read more.
3. Public transport fares and parental leave: What changes in Belgium on 1 February?
Did January fly by or drag on interminably? Whatever the case, it's the first of the month which in Belgium means changes across the country, from public transport fares to new energy measures. Read more.
4. 'This is an emergency': EU issues controversial plan to avoid deindustrialisation
The European Commission is set to present a controversial plan for restoring the EU's economic competitiveness to Member States on Wednesday, as soaring energy costs and US and Chinese protectionism continue to threaten Europe's industrial base. Read more.
5. Brussels Airport: Environmental licence clash risks grounding flights
Brussels Airport must apply for a new environmental permit this summer. Without it, operations at Belgium’s largest airport risk grinding to a halt. But the renewal of this permit is currently blocked with the Flemish government unable to reach an agreement on acceptable nitrogen emissions. Read more.
6. Belgian universities take part in pilot project for European diplomas
Belgium's KU Leuven university will coordinate a European pilot project for the development of European diplomas as part of a wider initiative to strengthen cross-border cooperation in European higher education. Read more.
7. Hidden Belgium: The African liberation song composed in a Brussels guest house
On 1 February 1960, Grand Kallé’s song Independence Cha Cha was played for the first time at the Hôtel Plaza in central Brussels. At the time, the Belgian government was holding round-table talks with more than 150 Congolese nationalist leaders to set a date for Congo’s independence. Read more.
