Analyse how Britain and EU have negotiated so far and what insights you have gained from the Brexit negotiations.

To use the following 2 articles relating to Brexit negotiation for your analysis. The analysis should include the negotiation skill set and various negotiation tool kits and negotiation approaches used.  you can also use other articles or paper from outside resources. Please ensure 10-12 quality refernces with proper intext citationsin harvard format.

Words 2400

structure will be

Intro, discussion and analysis, conclusion, references

Contents

Introduction

Background for the Brexit

The intentions and the preparatory work for Brexit

UK negotiation

EU negotiation

Negotiation policy

Hard bargaining strategy of UK

Negotiation skills

Key issues of security and immigration

EU27’s Achilles heels

Conclusion

References

Introduction

“Brexit means Brexit” was the mandate established by the plebiscite under the Theresa May’s conservative government to take UK out of the European Union. The UK parliament approved the mandate and May triggered the Article 50 on 29^th march 2017 which triggered the two year period allowed by the Treaty of Lisbon for negotiating the terms of withdrawal. After the issue of the referendum by the UK government, the EU council started to serve the needful and appointed a negotiating council to conduct the negotiations between European Union and UK (Sparrow, 2017).

European Union have stood united against the UK’s withdrawal referendum and were ready to negotiate with their UK counterparts. The negotiation deal was not going to be all that easy for both the parties as they both have to deliver on the promises they have made to their people and the representatives but as for the fact the UK has to get the best of the deal in order to restore the faith of their voters on all fronts.

Theresa May was the chief negotiator from the UK and EU has appointed Michael Barnier as their chief negotiator representing the 27 European countries. The process was invoked on 19^th June, 2017 in Brussels with the arrival of the British Brexit secretary. Negotiations on all the fronts and especially on free trade and immigrations were started to roll out of both the parties. After all the negotiations UK will leave the EU legally on 29^th March 2019 (Hughes,2017).

Through this paper we will analyze the negotiation process between the EU and UK and what are the insights that we have thus far from all the negotiation process. We will also be discussing about the various negotiation skill set and various negotiation tool kits and negotiation approaches that were being used between EU and UK.

Background for the Brexit

The conservative party of UK promised an EU referendum in their manifesto for the general election in May 2015. It was an deliberate effort by the conservative party’s head Theresa May to garner attraction and votes of the general public in the election of 2015. The move got a mixed response from the parliament but got a huge response from the general public.

The intentions and the preparatory work for Brexit

As soon as the conservative party came into power after the general election in 2015 they started on the process of bringing an EU referendum for Brexit. As per the European parliament, “For the moment, it appears that the two sides have different views on the sequencing and scope of the negotiations, and notably the cross-over between the withdrawal agreement and the structure of future relations, and this divergence itself may be one of the first major challenges to overcome.” (Perraudin, 2015)

UK negotiation

The department for exiting the EU was constructed and is responsible for monitoring the process of negotiations to exit the European Union and it will also be responsible for establishing future relationship between European Union and United Kingdom. Following are the UK’s proposed principles that were set out in the article 50:

• Citizens first

• Constructive discussions

• Minimize disruption

• Comprehensive agreement

• Technical discussions and talks on the proposed detailed policies

• Position of Ireland and the northern Ireland

• Working together towards the collective European values

The official or the formal letter from the Prime Minister of UK was delivered on 29^th march 2017 at Brussels. Following are the proposed agreeing principles for the smooth conduct of the withdrawal referendum:

• Constructive and respectful engagement with one another and in a spirit of sincere co-operation

• Striking an early agreement for the immigrants from both the sides living in each other’s territories

• Aiming to achieve a comprehensive agreement both in terms of security and economic co-operation

• Minimizing disruption and allowing a smooth transition window for the business houses of both the parties

• Paying proper and special attention to the unique relationship between UK and Ireland and giving enough importance to the peace process in the Northern Ireland

• Sharing and protecting the European values

• Sharing technical and detailed talks on the proposed policies

EU negotiation

Michel Barnier was appointed as the chief negotiator for the 27 countries of the European Union and his team of representatives were overseeing the negotiation process. The guidelines were drafted and were sent to the heads of all the 27 countries. The draft contained all the negotiation policies and it states that under all the circumstances it will preserve the best interests of all the countries of the European Union. The two core principles of the draft were:

• The European council was and will continue to work as per their principles that were guided in the statement of heads and under no means they will be allowing other countries that from the European Union to enjoy the same benefits as the member countries. However, European Union would like to work closely with the UK in future and is welcoming the idea of the four freedoms of the single market by UK.

• All the negotiations will be held under the Article 50 of Treaty on European Union and will be processed as one single package. No separate or individual negotiations will be made between any member state and UK.

Negotiation policy

The negotiation between European Union and UK is still under process and for that matter it will be impossible to predict about the outcome but as of now the position of UK in the negotiation process is in a precarious situation as PM may has just lost the bill to the house of commons and the bill cannot be passed until she get a better deal from the EU. The negotiation process is heading towards a ‘no-deal’ and that will be bad for the UK. However, PM May is insisting that it might help them save 39 billion pounds as the concessions that has to be paid to EU if any deal will be made (Beech, 2011).

UK has opted for hard bargaining policy in the negotiation process with the European Union and for that matter the negotiation process have not reached a consensus. UK is trying to showcase its bargaining powers but as per the norms only the strong party can wield supreme bargaining powers and in this case it is quite evident that EU 27 is in better bargaining position than that of UK. The negotiating strategy of UK thus bears all the important aspects of hard bargaining and that for us is one of the prime reason behind the negotiation process not reaching a proper consensus. This simply will lead to an immediate failure and that will only cause harm to UK on all the fronts (Campbell, 1998).

Hard bargaining strategy of UK

Bargaining powers can only be justified by material capabilities, domestic constraints and feasible alternatives. In order to make hard bargaining one must possess all or any of the above mentioned abilities to make advantageous moves over their opponents. And in the case of Brexit we have seen how UK is making hard bargaining despite not being in an advantageous position. UK lacks all the criteria that precedes hard bargaining and that can only lead to reputational costs, no-deal situation and eventually it will diminish the credibility of the UK in the negotiation process. UK undoubtedly is economically and politically stronger that many of the members of the EU27 but it definitely lacks in every measure of the material capability as compared to the European Union. The alternatives to the trade deal with the European Union also will not have any immediate advantage thus denying any leverage to UK. However, the domestic constraints are high in the UK but are not credible enough to gain any leverage that will help to get what they want for themselves in the negotiation process. This hard bargaining negotiation strategy is not helping the cause of the UK and thus not helping the negotiation process to reach any consensus (Clarke, 2017).

While dissecting the hard bargaining strategy of UK one can say that it may have spurted because of the promises made by the PM may during her campaigning for the general elections of 2015. She made some unrealistic promises made on false facts and figures and in the process reached the stage where she had to take stand in order to justify her sayings and that in turn is making her to take a hard bargaining stature during the negotiation process. The ongoing process is heading towards ‘no-deal; zone and that will have adverse effect on the economic policies of the UK. Hence, they must change their stance in order to reach a genuine consensus and must start constructive argument with their EU counterparts so that ‘all win’ deal can be reached (DI Fabio, 2016).

Negotiation skills

There is no doubt regarding the negotiation skills of the chief negotiators from both the sides representing European Union and UK. However, the negotiation process is not reaching the final stage and is heading towards no deal Brexit. While negotiating a problem and in this case the Brexit, both the parties first must chart out the proper plan before working on the details. While doing so they must respect each other’s needs and limitations and must show some empathy in order to reach a consensus where both the parties leave the scene happily. The problem in this case is that both are looking at the matter from the height of supremacy and no one is willing to bow down on certain aspects and that is leading to deadlock (Minelle, 2017).

A good and effective negotiator must first analyzed the problem and prepare a proper plan in order to sort out the problem while keeping an eye on the welfare of both the parties. The problem with the UK in this issue is that they have embarked the negotiation strategy on the basis of the promises they have made to their general public and now they are way too forward in accepting their mistakes. They do not have the required leverage to inflict a deal that will be suitable for them in every aspect and hence are in a position where they are not been able to call the shots (Heguy, 2017)

Key issues of security and immigration

While following the negotiation process one must see the impact of the delayed process on the security and immigration policies of both the parties. UK might have some leverage in this area over their EU counter parts and for that matter they are playing it as leverage for their negotiation deals. Immigration is the foremost reason behind the Brexit and for that matter the UK is very much keen on pressing the issue to all the policies that will affect the immigration policies during the negotiation talks (De Burca, 2018).

Security is another area where UK leapfrogs the EU and it was evident in the letter issued by the PM may in the Brussels. However, EU rejected the fact by stating that it was sheer blackmail on the part of the UK government to raise the issue of providing security against terrorism. Despite this it is well known that UK do have the required expertise in terms of fighting with terrorism and they have this time and gain and they must play this to their advantage in order to get the best out of the negotiation process (Ceadel,1987).

Hence, as per our analysis we can say that raising these two issues while negotiating can add some required leverage to the talks and can add to the advantage of the UK in getting the best of deals from the EU.

EU27’s Achilles heels

Despite being in an advantageous position EU27 is lacking the required vision in the negotiation process. The chief negotiator in the Brussels is continuously saying that the EU27 is not providing ample authorities to his team so that they can provide a bespoke deal to the UK in order to get the things going for te negotiation process. The EU27 is playing on the fact that if they keep refusing the required deal to the UK they will have a unity amongst its member states and hence are not being that co-operative with the UK in terms of penning out a deal.

EU27’s Achilles heels has been the issue regarding the fact that if they dole out a good deal to the UK then their other member states will also try to get away from the Union and for that matter they are not been able to close the deal as per the needs and the requirements of the UK. No party is in mood for a compromise and hence are fighting over issues that easily be sorted out but as a matter of fact no one is willing to shed some ground beneath them to be seen as weaker (De Rynck, 2018).

Implying empathetic solution could well play an important role while negotiating a deal and both EU and UK must keep in mind regarding the social values and cultures of their respective territories while negotiating in order to get the best of the process. It will not only help them in reaching a consensus but will also help them in do it in more harmonious way or otherwise it will remain an apple of discord for both the parties in the coming years.

Conclusion

Negotiation theories depicts the importance of bargaining powers and the stature of both the parties while negotiating over a deal. Brexit has definitely raised many issues concerning the negotiation process and the policies of both the parties and hence has been researched by many scholars to get proper insights on the issue.

As per our analysis we can state that the UK has adopted a hard bargaining policy due to the false promises they have made to their general public about the advantages of the Brexit and hence have to stand their ground while negotiating and thus not reaching any consensus or deal. The needs and interests of both the parties are clashing and that have become contentious and no one is ready to settle down for a compromise or lend an empathetic ear for each other’s issues. The talks are being stalled and that is not making things easier and hence both the parties must look to find a way to kill the deadlock as the issue is very important for the general public that have voted for the Brexit and also for the general public in particular.

References

1. Beech, M. (2011) ‘British Conservatism and Foreign Policy: Traditions and Ideas Shaping Cameron’s Global View’. British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 13(3), pp. 348–363.

2. Campbell, J.L. (1998) ‘Institutional Analysis and the Role of Ideas in Political Economy’. Theory and Society, 27(3), pp. 377–409.

3. Clarke, H.D., Goodwin, M. and Whiteley, P. (2017) Brexit: Why Britain Voted to Leave the European Union. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).

4. De Búrca, G. (2018) ‘How British was the Brexit vote?’ In Martill, B. and Staiger, U. (eds.) Brexit and Beyond: Rethinking the Futures of Europe. (London: UCL Press), pp. 46–53.

5. De Rynck, S. (2018) ‘The Brexit Negotiations: The View from Brussels’. Lecture delivered at the London School of Economics, 5 March 2018. Available at: http://www.lse.ac.uk/website-archive/newsAndMedia/ videoAndAudio/channels/publicLecturesAndEvents/player.aspx?id=4031.

6. Sparrow, Andrew (19 June 2017). “UK appears to capitulate on sequencing on first day of Brexit talks – as it happened”. The Guardian. Retrieved 23 June 2017.

7. Hughes, Valerie (26 September 2017). “Brexit and International Trade: One Year after the Referendum”. Centre for International Governance Innovation. Retrieved 3 April 2018.

8. Perraudin, Frances (14 April 2015). “Conservatives election manifesto 2015 – the key points”. the Guardian. Retrieved 22 September 2018.

9. Di Fabio, Udo (7 July 2016). “Future of the European Union – Chin up!”. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Retrieved 29 October 2016.

10. Minelle, Bethany (18 April 2017). “Election call likened to Hitchcock film by EU’s Donald Tusk”. Sky News. Retrieved 19 April 2017.