Skip to main content

Brexit does not mean Brexit

Brexit Feature Image

These papers cover a variety of very important topics ranging from customs, the borders between Ireland and Northern Ireland, judicial frameworks and access to information.

Although my academic expertise allows me, strictly speaking, to evaluate in more detail the content of the papers related to custom arrangements and the continuity in the availability of goods, I believe the conclusion that can be validly drawn from all the documents released so far is crystal clear: Brexit does not mean Brexit. Not really.

That may seem odd when one considers both the stated aim of Brexit and the intensive way it has been communicated by government officials. Yet the conclusion is inescapable. Examples of the oxymoronic language used in the papers include:

The admission that leaving the European Union also means leaving the EU customs union but that the new customs arrangement should remove any need for a customs border (i.e., just like still being part of the customs union).

The aim for a highly streamlined customs arrangement with facilitations to reduce or remove barriers to trade. So essentially, once more, being a member of the customs union without being a member of the customs union.

The goal that all the goods (or accompanying services related to those goods) placed on the Single Market before exit should continue to circulate freely in the UK, without additional requirements or restrictions.

The target for a continued oversight of EU (as well as UK) supply chain and market surveillance authorities for goods in both markets.

The above examples clearly highlight two things. Firstly, that the British government is trying to provide more certainty that it does not wish a radically (if at all) changed economic landscape in the post-Brexit era.

Secondly, that this message cannot conflict with its motto that “Brexit means Brexit”. Unfortunately, it cannot succeed in both accounts. European officials are quick to point this out and I expect they will continue to do so in an unwavering fashion.

Ultimately, either the stance or the motto of the British government will have to change. Let’s see which one it will be.

Published 29 August 2017

You might also like

Head of ICMA Centre wins award

17 July 2019
Dr Carol Padgett has won the 2019 University Teaching Fellowship scheme. Hosted by the Centre for Quality Support and Development, the award recognises staff who demonstrate individual excellence in teaching and support of student learning.
Press releases

ICMA Centre Academic Delivers Keynote Speech on the Future of Shipping Finance

13 March 2019
As part of their MSc International Shipping and Finance programme, students from the ICMA Centre, Henley Business School participated in a major shipping industry event, in London.

Top Chinese University Delegation Visits the ICMA Centre

14 November 2017
The ICMA Centre had the pleasure to welcome a delegation from Dalian Maritime University as part of ongoing discussions for potential collaboration between the two Universities in the Maritime Shipping and Finance field. This would further extent existing ties between DMU and Henley Business School in the field of Informatics.