Carl Bildt on Brexit Day & the EU

Carl Bildt, former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Sweden helps us navigate Brexit:

Brexit day is here! What happens now?

Well, on Friday, what happens is that all of the UK representatives leaves everything in Brussels. All of the meetings, all of their coordination, all of the commissions and whatever, when it comes to shaping and taking the common decision. So legally, they leave. But they remain within the legal framework of the European Union. All of the laws, all of the regulations will apply to them for the entire year. They remain in the Customs Union. They remain in the single market. And the reason for that is that one would have to try to negotiate an arrangement between the United Kingdom and the EU during this year.

Whether that will be possible within that very tight timeframe remains to be seen. And towards the end of the year, we'll end up either with a crash, I certainly hope not, or with a fairly minimalistic agreement when it comes to a very important future relationship here in Europe and for the world. So, this is the end of the beginning, but it's certainly not the end.

Is Europe ready for the effect of the Coronavirus?

Well, that remains to be seen, frankly speaking. There is a lot of coordination going on. But it boils down to the capacities of the national states.