The Brexit vote of 2016 was ardently wished for in Moscow. Vladimir Putin’s belief was that Britain’s departure from the EU would weaken the western alliance.
But it now looks as if the Russian president got it wrong. Far from weakening the west, Brexit may end up strengthening it. Without Britain as a member, the EU is once again progressing towards “ever closer union”. And a stronger EU will be a more effective partner for a post-Donald Trump America.
In the long run, the relationship between the EU and the UK could settle down into something analogous to the relation