One Year After Brexit: The UK General Election and the Future of Europe

Less than a year after the referendum that set the UK on the path of withdrawal from the European Union, the British voter is called to the polls once again in a surprise General Election to be held on 8 June 2017.

Three days before the vote, Demetrius Floudas, Senior Associate of Hughes Hall, will be examining the facts behind the headlines and the significance that the outcome of the UK election could have on the Brexit course and to the EU at large, in a public lecture to be held at Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge.

This lecture intends to present an analysis of the probable impact of the UK general election on the withdrawal process and the geopolitics of the European Union in general, at a time of increased international uncertainty. Amongst others, the speaker will reassess the validity of his own prior predictions regarding the possible effects of Brexit to the future of Europe.

• Were there additional strategic reasons why the British government sought a snap election, other than buttressing the ruling party’s parliamentary majority?
• How is the UK election perceived by analysts abroad?
• What effect could the outcome of the General Election have on the terms of Britain’s withdrawal?
• Will these elections pave the way for a soft Brexit? Or, conversely, might they heighten the prospects that the U.K. experiences a hard Brexit?
• What are the scenarios for the ‘day after Brexit’ for the European Union?
• Could Brexit really initiate a domino effect which might threaten the viability of the EU?

The talk will be followed by a drinks reception at 7.00 pm. All welcome. No charge.

About the speaker:
Demetrius A. Floudas is a Senior Associate of Hughes Hall, a Fellow of the Hellenic Institute of Foreign and International Law and an Adjunct Professor at the Law Faculty of Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University in Russia.

In addition, Demetrius has provided commentary on matters of Foreign Affairs & International Relations to a number of international think-tanks, with his views frequently appearing on the media worldwide (BBC, Voice of America, Russia Today, Financial Times). He recently advised a major Greek political party on the elaboration and updating of its immigration policy.

He has been co-editor of the volume ‘Lowering the Barriers of the European Single Market Further’, J. Wiley & Sons.