If all goes according to plan in Westminster, Theresa May will soon have her finger on the Brexit trigger. Once the Prime Minister fires the starting shot, a clock of two years begins ticking for Britain to negotiate its exit from the European Union. With May seeking controls on immigration alongside special access to the single market and customs union, the core pillars of the European project will be put to the test.
Brexit negotiations alone will be a sizeable workout for EU leaders, but Europe must proceed against an uncertain backdrop. Donald Trump’s ascendancy in the United States has not only cast the post-war bedrocks like NATO in doubt, but has emboldened Eurosceptic populists on the continent. A series of electoral trials awaits in 2017: the French presidential election in the Spring; a German parliamentary election in the Autumn. Regardless of what the final British-EU relationship will look like, it remains an open question as to whether the EU itself will be recognisable in a year. Share Radio's Simon Rose was joined by László Andor, a former European Commissioner for Employment Social Affairs and Inclusion, and our regular economic commentator Professor John Weeks.
