Acquis communautaire
The entire body of European laws: all the treaties, regulations and directives passed by the EU’s institutions, plus all the rulings of the European court of justice (see below). Every member state has incorporated the acquis into their legal system.
Article 50
The formal mechanism for exiting the EU: the clause in the 2007 Lisbon treaty that allows any member state “to withdraw from the union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements”. The two-year article 50 negotiations, which among other things must settle citizens’ rights, the question of the Irish border and the UK’s exit bill, are in effect the divorce talks.
Backstop
The combination of a comprehensive UK-EU free trade agreement and new technology could theoretically avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland – the EU’s future land border with Britain – but not for some years, so the EU has insisted on a “backstop” guaranteeing no hard border until new trade arrangements are in place. The withdrawal agreement includes a backstop that leaves the whole of the UK inside a customs union with the EU, satisfying the UK’s demands that its territorial integrity must be preserved. In return, Britain will not be allowed to exit the backstop “unless and until” the EU agrees, and must also accept special “deeper” customs arrangements, closer to the single market, for Northern Ireland, plus EU so-called “level playing field” conditions for the whole of the UK.
Blind Brexit
The withdrawal agreement includes a political declaration on the future trading relationship between the two. A “blind Brexit” refers to the possibility that this declaration is so vague (in order, presumably, to make it palatable to all the various Brexit factions in the UK) that Britain would leave with no clear idea of what Brexit might finally look like.
Canada-plus deal
A free trade agreement identical to the EU’s deal with Canada (Ceta) would abolish almost all tariffs on goods and reduce some – though by no means all – non-tariff barriers through mutual recognition of selected standards. But it would not cover some sectors, such as food or chemicals, that are important to the UK, nor many services, which account for 80% of Britain’s economy. In a Canada-plus deal, the UK would therefore be looking for more mutual recognition of standards in sectors that matter to it, and a greatly enhanced services component.
Canada plus plus plus, or SuperCanada
Leading Brexiters David Davis and Boris Johnson have outlined greatly improved Canada-style free trade agreements they believe the UK can negotiate with the EU. Johnson’s “SuperCanada” plan would include zero tariffs and zero quotas on all imports and exports; cover services as well as goods; ensure full mutual recognition of regulations and standards; and rely on technology to keep supply chains smooth. Many trade experts doubt such a deal is achievable, and if it were it could take decades (the basic EU-Canada Ceta deal took seven years).
Chequers plan
Named after the British prime minister’s country retreat where it was hammered out, this plan for the future relationship between Britain and the EU would have seen the UK’s departure from the single market and customs union offset by a pledge to maintain a common standards rulebook for goods, food and agriculture, along with other continued regulatory alignments. The EU dismissed it as impracticable cherry-picking (see below) and Brexiters said it would mean a post-Brexit UK was tied to the EU without a say on future rules. Elements, notably on a possible customs plan, have survived in the political declaration, but Chequers as a whole has not.
Cherry-picking, or having one’s cake and eating it
What the EU wants at all costs to prevent the UK from doing: continuing to enjoy all (or even some) of the benefits of Europe’s single market without any of the obligations, namely paying into the collective EU coffers, accepting the jurisdiction of the European court of justice (see below), and upholding the four freedoms that are considered fundamental (see below).
Citizens’ rights
The rights and protections offered to all EU citizens under EU law, including free movement and residence, equal treatment and a wide range of other rights related to work, education, social security and health. Read more
Cliff edge
The consequence of leaving the EU, its single market and customs union without a future trade deal lined up. This could mean big tariffs on some UK exports, British goods no longer accredited for sale on the continent, planes grounded, lengthy customs checks at ports and administrative and legal chaos.
Crashing out
see cliff edge and no deal
Customs union
EU members - plus Turkey, Andorra, Monaco and San Marino - trade without customs duties, taxes or tariffs between themselves, and charge the same tariffs on imports from outside the EU. Customs union members cannot negotiate their own trade deals outside the EU, which is why leaving it – while hopefully negotiating a bespoke arrangement – has been one of the government’s Brexit goals.
European council/European commission
The European council, headed by Donald Tusk, is the gathering of heads of state or government that sets the bloc’s priorities and strategic goals. The commission, headed by Jean-Claude Juncker, is often called the EU’s civil service but is more than that. Its 28 member-appointed commissioners formally initiate EU legislation.
European court of justice (ECJ)
The Luxembourg-based ECJ rules on disputes over EU treaties and legislation. Cases can be brought by governments, EU institutions, companies or citizens. Leaving the ECJ’s jurisdiction has been one of the government’s requirements for Brexit.
EEA/EFTA
The European Economic Area is made up of the EU’s single market (see below), plus three European Free Trade Association members - Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. They trade freely with the single market in exchange for accepting its rules. Switzerland is in EFTA but not the EEA. Bilateral accords give it special access to the single market. The four EFTA countries are not in the customs union, and can negotiate trade deals with third countries such as China.
Exit bill/divorce settlement
See Reste à liquider
FCA (facilitated customs arrangement)
A compromise proposal for post-Brexit customs arrangements (see MaxFac and customs partnership), this aims to minimise border frictions while keeping the UK outside the EU’s single market. In a proposed “combined customs territory” for goods, the UK could control its own tariffs to allow it to pursue an independent trade policy, but British customs officials would collect and pass on the higher EU tariff to Brussels for goods passing through the UK en route to the continent. Customs experts have said this is unworkable and the EU has said it is illegal.
Four freedoms
The fundamental pillars of the EU’s single market: free movement of goods, capital, services and people.
Free trade agreement (FTA)
Typically long and complex to negotiate, an FTA is an agreement between at least two countries to cooperate on reducing trade barriers such as import quotas and tariffs so as to increase the trade of goods and sometimes services between them. An FTA between the UK and the EU will define the two parties’ future relationship after the divorce under article 50.
Frictionless trade
A Theresa May mantra, “frictionless trade” would require a “bespoke arrangement” with the EU creating a “new free trade area” for goods and a “combined customs territory” that together would protect supply chains and just-in-time delivery with a bare minimum of customs and regulatory controls. The EU sees frictionless trade as something that can only come with being in the single market, so is incompatible with Britain’s plan to leave both. The term does not appear in the withdrawal agreement.
Great repeal bill
A piece of legislation that will transpose, at a stroke, all existing EU legislation affecting Britain into domestic UK law to avoid a legal black hole and prevent disruption the day after Britain leaves. The British parliament is then meant to “amend, repeal and improve” each law as necessary – a gargantuan task.
Hard Brexit
A hard Brexit would take Britain out of the EU’s single market and customs union and end its obligations to respect the four freedoms, make big EU budget payments and accept the jurisdiction of the ECJ - what Brexiters mean by “taking back control” of Britain’s borders, laws and money. It would mean a return of trade tariffs, depending on what, if any FTA was agreed.
MaxFac and customs partnership
Models previously floated by the UK to facilitate its future customs relationship with the EU. “MaxFac” (maximum facilitation) involved using new technology to minimise border checks, while the customs partnership entailed Britain collecting tariffs on the EU’s behalf. Both were rejected by the EU and have since been superseded by the FCA (see above), which the bloc has also said is unlikely work but is willing to explore.
No deal
Like “cliff edge”, except worse. No deal implies slamming the door on the article 50 talks, which would make the prospect of a future FTA extremely remote. The chaos that would ensue is difficult to exaggerate.
Norway model
See EEA/EFTA and soft Brexit. This would see the UK out of the EU and customs union (so able to negotiate independent free trade agreements with third countries) but with enhanced access to the single market and selected EU programmes. But it would entail continued financial payments and acceptance of the core principles and legislation of the single market, with no participation in EU decision-making, so is seen by Brexiters as a betrayal of the referendum vote.
Political declaration
A non-binding document setting out the aspirations of both sides for the talks to decide the future trading relationship, which are due to begin once the UK has left on 29 March. Part of the withdrawal agreement (see below), it runs to 26 pages and, beyond making clear the EU’s bottom line that a non-member cannot have a deal as good as membership, leaves lots open.
Reste à liquider
This is the the sum of the UK’s outstanding financial commitments – those which have been agreed to in past EU budget negotiations, but have not yet translated into payments. Defining this amount – the UK’s exit bill or divorce settlement – could be a major issue in the article 50 talks. Read more
Single market
The EU’s single market is more than a free-trade area. It aims to remove not just the fiscal barriers to trade (tariffs) but also the physical and technical barriers (borders and divergent product standards) by allowing the freest possible movement of goods, capital, services and people. In essence, it is about treating the EU as a single trading territory.
Soft Brexit
A soft Brexit, which not officially defined, would keep Britain in either the single market or the customs union or both. It could be achieved along the lines of the Norway model - see EEA/EFTA - or via an FTA, but would require concessions on free movement, ECJ jurisdiction and budget payments. Brexiters do not consider a soft Brexit as really leaving the EU.
Transition period
A period designed to bridge the gap between the end of article 50 talks, when the UK leaves the EU, and the start of a future FTA. The two sides have agreed to a transition period - the UK calls it an “implementation phase” - to avoid the cliff edge outlined above that will end on 31 December 2020, although this may be extended by one or two years.
Withdrawal agreement
The 858-page agreement published in mid-November that will regulate the UK’s formal divorce from the EU. It addresses points such as the transition period; the financial settlement (“divorce bill”) to cover the UK’s past and ongoing commitments to the bloc; the rights of EU citizens in the UK and British nationals on the continent, and (most controversially) how to ensure there will be no hard border on the island of Ireland after Brexit.
WTO terms
Without an FTA, trade between the UK and the EU would happen under the rules of the 164-member World Trade Organisation, of which the UK is an independent member (although it applies the EU tariff schedule). After Brexit, Britain could set its own import tariffs providing they are no higher than its current (EU) schedule, which might in some circumstances be beneficial. But UK exports to the EU would be subject to the EU’s schedule, which for many product categories would prove punitive. Trading on WTO terms would also raise big practical and logistical problems around things such as product approval and customs checks.