At the moment, Brexit is all the rage in Europe. This word is an amalgamation of ‘Britain’ and ‘exit’. It is not very original, though, considering that Grexit was created when Greece was contemplating exiting the European Union (EU).

Brexit started when, on February 20, UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced a referendum, scheduled for June 23, on whether the UK (not Britain) should remain in the EU. The obvious question, of course, is: Why it is called Brexit and not UK exit? (A ‘referendum’ is a general vote by registered voters to answer a single political question by selecting ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. Whichever vote secures more than half of the votes cast is considered to have won.) The Electoral Commission’s proposed ballot paper wording, accepted by Members of Parliament, is: ‘Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?’ The options for voters are to ‘Remain a member of the European Union’ or ‘Leave the European Union’.

This is the UK’s second referendum on its EU membership. The first was announced on January 23, 1975, shortly after the UK had joined the European Economic Community (EEC), the precursor to the EU, in 1973. The ballot at the time featured this question: ‘Do you think that the United Kingdom should remain part of the European Community (the Common Market)?’, with the answer being a simple Yes’ or ‘No’. Voting took place on June 5, 1975, with 67.2% of voters electing to remain in the EEC, despite several Cabinet Minister casting opposing votes.

As a reminder, the EU is an economic, and political, partnership involving 28 European countries that began after World War II to foster economic cooperation. The founding idea was that countries that trade together are more likely to avoid going to war with each other. It has since grown to become a ‘single market’, allowing the free movement of goods and people. Nineteen of the member countries have their own currency, the euro , and their own Parliament, and the union now sets rules in a wide range of areas, including the environment, transport and consumer rights.

So, who can vote in the referendum? Those over the age of 18 who fall into one of the following groups can cast a vote: British citizens resident in the UK; British citizens resident overseas for less than 15 years; citizens of Ireland, Malta and Cyprus resident in the UK; Commonwealth citizens resident in the UK; and Commonwealth citizens resident in Gibraltar. Irish and Commonwealth citizens who live in the UK, along with Britons who have lived abroad for less than 15 years, can also cast a vote.

There are two campaigns, the IN campaign and the OUT campaign, each offering its own perspective and arguments.

The pro-Europe campaign offers 12 reasons to stay, including jobs – one in ten UK jobs, around 3.5-million, is directly linked to the UK’s EU membership. The other reason is exports and investment. For one thing, the EU buys over 50% of the UK’s exports (54% of goods and 40% of services). For another, over 300 000 UK companies and 74% of UK exporters operate in other EU markets. The third reason is trade. As the world’s largest single market, the EU negotiates trade agreements with the rest of the world. The fourth reason is consumer clout – UK families enjoy lower mobile phone roaming charges, lower credit card fees, cheaper flights and proper compensation when flights are delayed or cancelled. EU membership also delivers a clean environment because, through common EU standards, national governments have achieved improvements to the quality of air, rivers and beaches. Further reasons for remaining in the EU are:

Power to curb multinationals – The EU has taken on multinational giants for unfair competition, which the UK would not be able to do alone.

Freedom to work and study abroad and easy travel – More than 1.4-million UK citizens live in the EU and students can easily study at EU universities. Driving licences issued in the UK are valid throughout the EU.

Peace and democracy – The EU secured peace among previously warring western European nations. With the United Nations, the union now plays a leading role in conflict prevention, peacekeeping and democracy building.

Equal pay and nondiscrimination – Equal pay is enshrined in EU law, as are bans on discrimination on the basis of age, race or sexual orientation.

Influence in the world – The UK is represented in many international organisations in joint EU delegations, giving the UK more influence than it would have alone.

Cutting red tape – Common rules for the common market make it unnecessary to have 28 sets of national regulations.

Fighting crime – The European Arrest Warrant replaced long extradition procedures and enables the UK to extradite criminals wanted in other EU countries and bring to justice criminals wanted in the UK who are hiding in other EU countries. Eurojust helps UK authorities work with other EU countries to tackle international organised crime, such as drug smuggling, people trafficking and money laundering.

There is a thirteenth reason to stay in the EU: research funding. The UK is the second-largest beneficiary of EU research funding and the UK government expects future EU research funding to constitute a vital source of income for its universities and companies.

The ‘better off out’ campaign offers ten reasons to leave. These include freedom to conclude stronger trade deals with other nations; to spend UK resources currently through EU membership in the UK, to the advantage of its citizens; to control the UK’s national borders; to restore the UK’s special legal system; to deregulate the EU’s costly mass of laws; to make major savings for UK consumers; to improve the UK economy and generate more jobs; to regenerate the UK’s fisheries; to save the National Health Service from the EU’s threats to undermine it by harmonising healthcare across the EU; to reduce welfare payments to non-UK EU citizens; and to restore the UK’s customs and traditions.

A number of song lyrics have been quoted in the Brexit campaigns, a favourite being The Clash’s 1982 song, Should I Stay or Should I Go?: “Should I stay or should I go now? If I go, there will be trouble; And if I stay, it will be double; So come on and let me know . . .” Then, of all ironies, there is the 1986 hit song by the Swedish rock band, appropriately named Europe, The Final Countdown, with its opening lyrics: “We’re leaving together; But still it’s farewell; And maybe we’ll come back; . . . Who can tell?’”

If the result of the Brexit referendum is an ‘out’ vote, then one of the many questions for South Africa would be: Where does it leave the Trade, Development and Cooperation Agreement? If they vote to remain, this does not necessary mean that things will remain unchanged.