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The British High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr Jon Benjamin, has said that although the outcome of the British referendum to leave the European Union (EU) has implications for Britain’s relations with other countries around the world, including Ghana, it is  too early to measure what those implications may be.
 
But, he said, “I don’t see any reason for Ghanaians to fear.”

“It’s really far too early to go into details like that. This is a new situation that has come out of a huge democratic exercise, the results of which we learnt a few hours ago. Many things flow from it, including the nature of the United Kingdom’s future relations with so many countries around the world, including Ghana,” he added.

No forecast

He said for now he could not predict what those future relations would look like in detail but that they would be addressed in the coming months and years.

Mr Benjamin, who said this in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, said British had voted to leave the EU and that it was an instruction to the government which would be respected and delivered.

It was for that reason, he said, that the British Prime Minister, Mr David Cameron, had decided to step down, adding that “there will be a new Prime Minister and many things will flow from that”.

Mr Benjamin said naturally there would be questions on the minds of people, but those questions would have to wait for the right time for them to be addressed.

Background

A referendum was held on Thursday to decide whether Britain should leave or remain in the EU.

Leave won by 52 per cent  to 48 per cent and the referendum turnout was 71.8 per cent, with more than 33 million people voting.

It was the highest turnout in a UK election since 1992.

‘Cannot comment on Cameron’s decision to step down’

On the decision by Mr Cameron to resign, Mr Benjamin said he would not be able to say whether it was right or wrong.

He said he could not interpret the Prime Minister’s words because they were “pretty much explanatory”.

He, however, added that Mr Cameron had said his decision to step down was because of non-conformity of his ideals with the outcome of the referendum and that he could not head an administration that would go ahead to negotiate the country’s new relations with the EU contrary to his stance.

More so, he said, Mr Cameron’s stepping down was a follow-up to a manifesto promise he had made to the people that when voted into power, he would hold a referendum on the nagging issue of the country’s membership of the EU.

The decision by the Prime Minister to step down, he said, had no implication for him or any other ambassador, in view of the fact that as civil servants, they were politically neutral and, therefore, did not have their fortunes tied  to that of politicians.

Fact File

Prime Minister Cameron promised to hold a referendum on whether Britain should leave or remain in the EU if he won the 2015 general election, in response to growing calls from his own Conservative MPs and the UK Independence Party (UKIP), who argued that Britain had not had a say since 1975 when it voted in a referendum to stay in the EU.

“The EU has changed a lot since then, gaining more control over our daily lives,” they argued.

Mr Cameron said: "It is time for the British people to have their say. It is time to settle this European question in British politics."

The minimum period after a vote to leave will be two years. During that time, Britain will continue to abide by EU treaties and laws but not take part in any decision-making, as it negotiates a withdrawal agreement and the terms of its relationship with the now 27-nation bloc.

In practice, it may take longer than two years, depending on how the negotiations go.

Mr Cameron said he would step down as prime minister by October.

He said he would leave it to his successor to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which kicks off the two-year process of negotiating a new trade relationship with the UK's former partners.

Effect on Ghana

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ms Hannah Tetteh, said the impact of Britain leaving the EU would not be felt immediately.

“They will now begin the process of negotiating their exit from the EU. What we have to do now is watch how the rest of the EU reacts to this, because we don’t know whether or not this is going to trigger similar calls for other EU countries, which will have even more significant implications than just the Brexit vote,” she was quoted as saying on Citifmonline.

She, however, said the decision by the UK to leave the EU would affect Ghana’s trade with that country.

“Ghana will have to renegotiate trading and bilateral agreements with the UK,” she said.

Ghana and the UK bilateral trade is reported to be around £1.3 billion, with Ghana currently being the UK’s fifth largest trade partner in sub-Saharan Africa.

Ms Tetteh also said the country would have to pay attention to the UK and EU negotiations, “so that we will know what kind of processes they will continue to have and how that should influence whatever subsequent negotiations we will have with them”.

“Until Britain formally exits the EU, the trade arrangement will continue to apply, but we have to consider the negotiation of bilateral trade arrangement with the UK,” she said.

EU leadership reacts

Meanwhile, the EU has described the decision by the UK as regrettable, adding, however, that it would be respected by the union.

“In a free and democratic process, the British people have expressed their wish to leave the European Union,” it said in a statement.

The statement was jointly issued by the President of the European Council, Mr Donald Tusk; the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz; the holder of the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU, Mark Rutte, and the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker.

The exit process

In what seems to be a rallying call to the remaining 27 members of the union, it said: “The Union is the framework of our common political future. We are bound together by history, geography and common interests and will develop our cooperation on this basis. Together, we will address our common challenge to generate growth, increase prosperity and ensure a safe and secure environment for our citizens. The institutions will play their full role in this endeavour.”

In the coming years, the UK will trigger Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, which sets out the procedure to be followed if a member state decides to leave the EU.

In that regard, the EU leadership said it was ready to launch negotiations swiftly with the UK regarding the terms and conditions of its withdrawal from the union.

It, however, wanted the UK to enforce the decision as soon as possible.

“Until this process of negotiations is over, the UK remains a member of the EU, with all the rights and obligations that derive from this. According to the treaties which the UK has ratified, EU law continues to apply to the full and in the UK until it is no longer a member,” it said.