5. The Impact of Brexit on E.U. Security

As noted, the Brexit is taking place at a time when the E.U. is confronted with a variety of internal and external challenges related to its very own foundation as well as the security environment it is embedded in. Nonetheless, a set of shared values and geographical proximity suggest that both the U.K. and the remaining 27 E.U. members (that is the current twenty eight member states minus Britain) will have powerful reasons to continue cooperating on security issues after Brexit, and to limit the collateral damage to shared security interests. Thus, despite the possibility of the U.K. leaving the European Union as a consequence of the Brexit vote, we charge that it is not likely that the United Kingdom will leave European security per se, in spite of the strong political framing during the negotiations. Indeed, it is in its own (security) interest to keep and maintain a healthy relationship with the E.U.’s security institutions.