Tribune. Even if this is not unanimous, the British have decided what they are not: they are not European. Now they have to decide what they are, which may be even more complicated.
Today, there is at least one certainty: the United Kingdom will leave the European Union (EU) on January 31. The exit will take place in an orderly fashion, in accordance with the withdrawal agreement. A moment of joy for some across the Channel and of immense sadness for others. The transition period ensures that nothing will change on the ground before the end of the year.
But after, everything is unclear. There is even a slight uncertainty regarding the implementation of the withdrawal agreement: will the British honor their commitments to Northern Ireland? Prime Minister Boris Johnson says there will be no control between Britain and Northern Ireland, which runs counter to his legal obligations. Let's be optimistic: Johnson is a born liar and his claims should never be taken too seriously. But vigilance must remain.
"Zero tariff, zero quota, zero dumping"
Will there be a free trade agreement between the UK and the EU, which will replace membership of the single market and the customs union in late 2020? Nothing is less sure. The European Council has not yet decided which mandate to pursue Michel Barnier, the Commission's chief negotiator, in the forthcoming negotiations, but it seems likely that he will retain the formula "Zero tariff, zero quota, zero dumping". The insistence on the need for a level playing field is too deeply embedded in the political DNA of the EU, and the United Kingdom is both too big and too close for it to be otherwise.
But for their part, the British are reluctant to accept European constraints which would prevent them from legislating in the direction of their interest, because, let us not forget, they have decided and declared that they are not European. The whole political logic of Brexit is at stake. The negotiations promise to be tough.
But if the British are not European, it is even less certain that they are American. The Euroscepticism of the conservative political elites has, for the past twenty years, been fueled by the feeling that the United Kingdom was above all an English-speaking country, and that its natural political family was the "Anglosphere": Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and of course the United States. A free trade agreement with Donald Trump therefore has major symbolic and political importance for the British government which goes beyond its possible economic interest.
