A Definitive Guide to the Brexit Negotiations

[BlueMTexpat]

From the Harvard Business Review ... very informative!

https://hbr.org/2016/08/a-definitive-guide-to-the-brexit-negotiations

...
Because the clock only starts when Article 50 is formally invoked by the UK, there has been some wrangling over when it should occur. There is an option of extending negotiations beyond the two-year time limit, but it requires the consent of all countries in the EU.

Two other points of process are worth mentioning. The first is that many parties within the EU are involved, and because a member state has never exited before, the internal process on the EU’s side of the table is itself being negotiated. The key groups are the European Council, the European Parliament, and the European Commission. (See here to learn more about these three institutions, and here for more information on the role they are expected to play in the negotiations.)

The second issue is more crucial. If the agreement reached between the EU and the UK is broad enough in scope to be considered a “mixed agreement” — which it certainly will be if the parties negotiate not only trade but also security and foreign policy issues — then the agreement will need to be ratified by the parliament of every member state, which means every EU country would have a veto. From a negotiation perspective, this not only increases the amount of time needed to reach a comprehensive agreement but also lessens the likelihood of a deal.

...
Let’s start with some context. The European Union is based on the idea of a single market, characterized by four freedoms. They are the free movement, across borders, of goods, services, capital, and people.

There are three consequences of this arrangement that are of particular relevance to Brexit negotiators: free trade between EU member states (think “tariff free”); businesses in the member states being subject to EU regulations; and citizens of any member state being able to move to another member state to live or work there. All of these were important factors leading up to the Brexit vote, and they are central to the negotiations that will take place between the UK and the EU.

[geek tragedy]

1. There seems to be absolutely zero appetite for showing any leniency towards

the English and Welsh on the part of the remaining EU countries.

Will be interesting to see what role Scotland gets to play in this. I imagine they'll demand another independence referendum before consenting to sign off on a Brexit.

[BlueMTexpat]

2. If there weren't some good people

who are caught in a major bind by the idiocy Cameron's referendum and the idiocracy wrought, I would enjoy the schadenfreude.

I found this statement interesting:

As Martin Schulz, president of the European Parliament, has stated, “There is no intention to ensure that the UK receives a bad deal, but it is clear that there can be no better deal with the EU than EU membership. The EU moreover must look out for its members’ interests and uphold its founding principles. The single market, for example, entails four freedoms (capital, goods, services, persons) and not three, or three and a half.”

I also found that this article - for the first time that I have seen in one place, at least - cogently sets out why non-EU European country members like Norway and Switzerland have separate arrangements with the EU as they do. Those who use those countries as examples of how the UK could function outside the EU simply disregard the long history of negotiations and undertakings made by each.