Wednesday, March 28, 2018
St. Clair (InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile)
What exactly Brexit means for British engagement in European external affairs and development cooperation, is highly unclear, while its potential impact is considerable. Awaiting the general election in the UK in June 2017, uncertainty regarding the direction, process and timing of the Brexit negotiations and the risk of a disorderly separation have risen further. Given the expected departure of a major member state, EU external action and European development policy face a number of challenges: short-term problems regarding existing legal and contractual obligations, looming budget shortfalls and the securing of business continuity as well as the longer-term realignment of EU foreign policy and international cooperation following the departure of the United Kingdom. There is also the problem of the UK’s succession in international treaties and mixed agreements in which both the EU and the member states are partners, such as trade agreements and memberships of international organizations, global development financing and representation in multilateral forums or negotiations. By qualitative interpretative analysis, and tracing the leave-process, this paper discusses expected consequences of Brexit for UK and EU international cooperation. The analysis connects theories of regional awkwardness to differentiated integration and aims at framing Brexit as a phenomenon of regional dis-integration, contributing to the development of instruments for studying such phenomena. While, at this point of time, conclusions are speculative in nature, the article explores how a future of EU-UK relationship in external affairs might look like, and aims to draw possible scenarios for such a post-Brexit cooperation.
