Stakeholders in the Brexit Negotiations between the UK and the EU
Brexit’s nature will be decided ultimately by the government of the United Kingdom and the remaining 27 nations of the European Union (BBC 2018, p. 1). However, crucial figures are negotiating the deal’s details. Theresa May from the U.K and Angela Merkel from Germany are the most significant stakeholders in the Brexit negotiations. There are also eight other individuals crucial to what might happen. Of the four individuals from the United Kingdom, three are in the Exiting Department of the E.U. On the side of the E.U, the figures are representatives of the Council (those leading every member state), the Commission (the executive cabinet of the E.U), and the parliament of selected MEPs (Members in the European Parliament) that will need to approve the last deal. The E.U negotiators include Michel Barnier, Sabine Weyand, Donald Tusk, and Didier Seeuws. The U.K negotiators include Olly Robbins (the top official of the U.K at the Brexit negotiations), Sir Tim Barrow, and Sarah Healey (BBC 2018, p. 1).
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The Major Interests and Issues for Both Parties
The United Kingdom voters, after a vehement political campaign, decided to exit the E.U, resulting in a shift in government. If the two sides reach an agreement, the treaties which currently govern the relationship between the U.K and the E.U will expire. If there will be an agreement, the treaties will expire automatically two years after the invoking of Article 50 (Malhotra 2016, p. 1). The major interests in the Brexit negotiations are; free trade among E.U states; citizens of these states being capable of moving from one member state to another to work or live there; and, businesses in these states being subjected to E.U regulations (Malhotra 2016, p. 1).
The major issues include immigration and trade. The United Kingdom still wants to have trade partnerships with E.U member states but largely adjust the rules regarding people’s free movement between the U.K and the Union. More than 50% of Brexit supporters viewed immigration as their biggest issue. The European’s council president, Donald Tusk, made it clear that the United Kingdom needs to accept the four E.U freedoms, which includes freedom of movement, for U.K to be able to access the single market (Malhotra 2016, p. 1).
Major Barriers to reaching a Deal
According to me, the major barriers to reaching a deal between the E.U member states and the U.K are the different objectives used in the Brexit negotiations. As mentioned above, the U.K does not want free movement of people but wants free trade. The choice of Britain to leave the E.U was based largely on factual arguments as independence’ idealised visions (Exton 2016, p. 2). The United Kingdom has less leverage than the European Union, hence might lose in the Brexit negotiations. As a result, the assumption is that the U.K will achieve a small percentage of its goals during the negotiations. The European Union will then force the U.K into a lease preferable position, with the country ending up receiving a worse deal than it had when it was in the Union. This assumption was affirmed in the report that was represented in the parliament, which stated that “in return for full access to the E.U’s free-trade Single Market in key U.K industries, we would have to accept the free movement of people” (Exton 2016, p. 7).
Assessment of the Negotiation Process, the Relationship, and Communication between the U.K and the E.U
The Council of the European Union provided the Brexit timeline which shows that the negotiation process, the relationship, and communication between the two sides has been moving swiftly and strategically as planned by the responsible parties. There have been some special meetings since Article 50 was invoked. The last reported meeting was on December 13, 2018, whereby there was a special meeting held by the EU’s 27 leaders to talk about Brexit (European Council 2018, p. 1). The leaders reconfirmed the previous’ meeting’s conclusion which endorsed the agreement’s withdrawal and validated the political declaration. Even though there has been no agreement between the stakeholders yet, the expectation is that there will be many discussions in the future (European Council 2018, p. 1).
- BBC, 2018. Brexit: The people who are negotiating. [Online]
Available at: https://www.bbc.com - European Council, 2018. Brexit. [Online]
Available at: https://www.consilium.europa.eu - Exton, G., 2016. Brexit and game theory: A singlecase analysis. Merici, 2(1), pp. 1-9.
- Malhotra, D., 2016. A Definitive Guide to the Brexit Negotiations. [Online]
Available at: https://hbr.org/2016/08/a-definitive-guide-to-the-brexit-negotiations
