19 Mar The Short Version: Britain & European Union
There are lots of ripples in the water across the pond and Brits are split about whether to stay or go in the European Union. Check out Cleo Abram’s summary of the issue in her weekly blog, “The Short Version.”
Cleo Constantine Abram of the “The Short Version,” offering densely packed spins on issues of national and global importance.
What’s happening?
On June 23rd, Britain will cast a vote to settle a generation’s worth of controversy: should the country stay in the European Union?
Prime Minister David Cameron recently announced a referendum to decide the issue, having promised to do so during the last election cycle. British, Irish, and other Commonwealth citizens residing in the UK will vote to leave or stay. As of this week, the public is split on the subject: ‘leave’ polls at around 49% and ‘stay’ at 51%.
Why is it important?
Removing the world’s fifth-largest economy from its biggest single market has serious economic and security risks. Britain’s choice could have a huge impact on European trade, investment, immigration, foreign relations and society as a whole.
If voters decide to leave the EU, withdrawal negotiations begin. This process is outlined in Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty; the countries would need to agree on trade deals and international treaties to govern how the UK would interact with the EU moving forward.
If voters choose to stay, new reforms would immediately go into effect. Prime Minister Cameron recently renegotiated the terms of the UK’s relationship with the EU, including child benefits, migrant welfare, and financial safeguards.
Debate it!
This is exactly how the question will be put to voters: “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?…”
Why “The Short Version” on TIO:
Eight years ago, Telluride Inside…and Out began as a lifestyle webzine. Today, in the full knowledge that Telluride is a window on the world, we continue to bring the “zazz” (short for “pizzazz) of the region to a local, national, and global audience by covering everything from Telluride’s robust cultural economy – major events and festivals – to health and fitness and outdoor adventure. When Telluride travels, we write about places to go, people to meet too. (That’s part of the “Out” part of our handle, the other, obviously, Outdoors.)
And now, this new weekly column, “The Short Version,” which offers simple summaries of issues of national and global importance. (Though we won’t go political, or rather we won’t show bias in the upcoming election.)
“The Short Version” is written by Cleo Constantine Abram, the daughter of Telluride locals Eleni Constantine and Jonathan Abram (and therefore an honorary local and regular visitor) and a digital strategist at Precision Strategies, a political consulting firm.
Why “The Short Version”? Because, though we live in Shangri-La, our bubble is not impermeable and the rest of the world is only a click away. Because there is no inconsequential action; only consequential inaction. And because information is power in a moment so many of us are feeling powerless.
More about Cleo Constantine Abram:
Cleo grew up in Washington D.C., lives in New York City, and loves to visit her parents in Telluride. She authors “The Short Version,” a newsletter that explains each week’s most important issue and both sides of the debate around it.
Cleo is a digital strategist at Precision Strategies, a political consulting firm born of the Obama 2012 presidential campaign.
Cleo’s work focuses on ways to share, educate, and inform using online platforms. While in college at Columbia University, she guided the school’s entrance into online education through her role as the youngest elected representative to the Columbia Senate, which makes university-wide policy.
She continued her work on online education at TED-Ed, the educational branch of the nonprofit, building new programs and online tools to support high school teachers worldwide.
Continuing her work with TED, Cleo founded and led an early TEDx conference, the organization’s community-specific series.
Most importantly, Cleo loves to ski!
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