Brexit and a “Muddled” Relationship with Europe
On 30th August 2025, The Times published its “weekend essay” written in this instance by Tom McTague, editor of “The New Statesman” and based on his new book about the events leading to Brexit, entitled “Between the Waves: The Hidden History of a Very British Revolution”.
The weekend essay is strikingly headed, “ It’s not EU, it’s me…our Europe relationship is forever muddled”, with the strapline: “ Since 1945, advocates of “in” or “out” have yearned for permanent settlements with the continent. But nine years after Brexit, we seem destined to remain in a state of flux.”.
The writer describes Britain’s relationship with Europe as “not a story of geography, but of history” and he concludes that “ the story of Britain and Europe, then, is not one of destiny, in or out. It is one of timeless moments washing over the country. The tide will roll on, the same dilemmas repeating themselves, each new and yet each familiar; Britain standing between the waves of a past it half remembers and a future it cannot know.”.
It is interesting, by the way, that Mr McTague refers to “Britain” rather than the “UK” because Northern Ireland, part of the “UK “ but not of “ Great Britain”, is a whole separate issue in itself with complexities for relationships within and without the UK- EU dynamic that politicians on all sides have worked hard to resolve since the Brexit referendum of 2016.
Historians of the future will have plenty to occupy their minds, when considering Brexit and beyond!
Brexit and the Ume Sami Language
The Ume Sami language is a native language spoken by only a very small number of indigenous Sami people, inhabiting a narrow belt of land in Norway and along the Ume river in Northern Sweden.
Katarina Barruk is a rare singer and composer working in this special medium and the Proms hosted her on 31st August 2025, performing with the gifted Norwegian Chamber Orchestra under its leader violinist, Pekka Kuusisto.
The splendour of the Royal Albert Hall provided a glorious setting for this memorable evening and the programme was enriched by the Orchestra’s impressive performance of Shostakovich’s String Quartet No 8, a powerfully dark work born of the composer’s experience of the strife and misery of the Second World War.
The Programme ( which also included a stimulating performance of “Fratres” by Arvo Part) was dedicated to a reflection on human injustice and the concert ended with an impromptu rendition of the Beatles’ song “All you need is Love” , sung with sensitivity and sadness by the audience.
That the Proms was able to bring together such a unique arrangement of music is not only a testament to the organisers but also a perfect example of how London is at the heart of the classical music world.
Those who attended this unique concert will be unlikely to forget it and were able to witness how art and culture can transcend political barriers and constructs!
Brexit and Denmark
Denmark joined what is now the European Union in 1973, at the same time as the UK. It is a member of the Schengen area, but has an opt-out from the euro and retains its own currency, the Danish krone. Denmark is the holder of the European Council presidency in the second half of 2025 , focusing on the green transition, security, and economic growth.
Given Denmark’s independent–minded approach to its EU membership ( which bears some resemblances in the opt-out sphere to the UK’s own approach ,when the UK was an EU member), it is interesting to analyse trade and investment between the two countries, long-standing friends with a shared history somewhat outside Europe’s geographical heart.
In a factsheet published on 1st August 2025 by the UK’s Department for Business and Trade (DBT), it was shown that total trade in goods and services ( exports plus imports) between the UK and Denmark was £18.2 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q1 (Quarter 1) 2025, an increase of 8.7% or £1.5 billion in current prices from the four quarters to the end of Q1 2024. Of this £18.2 billion:
- Total UK exports to Denmark amounted to £9.0 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q1 2025 ( an increase of 9.7% or £791 million in current prices, compared to the four quarters to the end of Q1 2024);and
- Total UK imports from Denmark amounted to £9.2 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q1 2025 ( an increase of 7.8% or £664 million in current prices, compared to the four quarters to the end of Q1 2024).
The DBT factsheet also showed that Denmark was the UK’s 23rd largest trading partner in the four quarters to the end of Q1 2025, accounting for 1.0% of total UK trade.
According to the factsheet, at the end of 2023, the stock FDI ( Foreign Direct Investment) from the UK in Denmark was £5.1 billion, 14.2% or £843 million lower than at the end of 2022, whereas , at the end of 2023, the stock of FDI from Denmark in the UK was £6.0 billion , 25.4% or £2.1 billion lower than at the end of 2022. At the end of 2023, Denmark reportedly accounted for 0.3% of the total UK inward FDI stock.
Whilst some of these figures seem a bit historical, one can conclude that there is work to be done to make the UK- Denmark trade and investment relationship flourish and bloom!
Brexit and Digital Sovereignty
On 25th September 2025, The Times published a “Raconteur” supplement , entitled “ The C-Suite Agenda”.
The supplement included an article by Tamlin Magee, a senior technology writer at “Raconteur”, entitled “EU firms seek to shake their silicon shackles “ with the strapline: “Public and private sector organisations in the bloc are worried about US tech supremacy .In a bid to gain greater control over data flows, they are turning to open- source solutions and working to develop domestic capacity”.
The article was concerned with the dominance of US technology companies over European data flows and included two visual information models showing that :-
- 69% of Europe’s cloud market share was held by US companies, compared with just 13% held by European companies; and
- 7% was EU’s share in global Artificial Intelligence (AI) investment, significantly lower than 40% for the US and 32% for China.
The article focused on the desire of European organisations ( which would presumably include UK as well as EU organisations) to achieve “digital sovereignty” and replace US dominance with local control.
According to the article, “digital sovereignty” is “loosely defined as the ability of a governing body, such as a national government, to control the tech stacks and data flows within its boundaries. For instance , in a digitally sovereign state, domestic data centres and locally hosted software are beholden only to the laws of that country””.
One reason given in the article for seeking digital sovereignty from the US is the US Cloud Act, which ( according to the article) provides that US tech companies must surrender any data that they hold if US intelligence agencies request it.
Let us see what happens!
Disclaimer: This article contains general commentary only and should not be relied upon as legal advice.
