What you might need to know

This video includes AI-generated content produced under human supervision. Script by Dr Emmanuelle Schön-Quinlivan.

We try and get the children to take a balanced view on Brexit. Brexit was always a lose/lose situation for the EU and the UK.
The EU was losing a member, a large one at this, which brought balance in the Franco-German tandem at the top of the EU and was a contributor to the EU budget.

For the UK, it was going to imply barriers to movement and trade with a large club of countries which are on their doorstep. Everyone knows that life is easier if you have a harmonious relationship with your neighbours.

For Ireland, Brexit was specifically difficult because the UK is a significant partner. The only land border between the EU and the UK is also on the island of Ireland, which complicated things. The EU wanted to make sure that Ireland wasn’t going to be used by the UK as the back door onto the Single Market for British goods which do not comply with European standards. For example, meat injected with hormones might be cheaper to produce but it is forbidden in the Single Market. The EU didn’t want such British produce being sold in the EU and being unfair competition to European-produced meat.

It took four years to negotiate a deal. It was done in 2 steps:
– A Withdrawal Agreement with a Northern Ireland Protocol. It means that Northern Ireland stays in the Single Market for goods but not services, capital or people. The border is now between Great Britain and the island of Ireland. As a result, there is no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. This would have breached the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

– The second step is a Brexit deal called the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. This was negotiated in a few months. Officially the UK left the EU on 31 January 2020. Then started a transition period during which the UK still had to apply all the EU rules but had nobody sitting in the European institutions. During those 11 months, the UK and EU negotiated and finally agreed on a deal which covers the trading of goods. Trading services like banking, IT or healthcare will require further individual negotiations. There is no more automatic mutual recognition of professional qualifications between the EU and the UK.

Why did it happen?

The UK left because it wanted to take back control of the rules applying to their country. The EU is based on shared sovereignty. When countries sign up to be part of the EU, they agree to share their ability to make decisions with other countries in certain areas like environment or agriculture. Sometimes it goes against what you would have decided by yourself as a country. Overall countries in the EU still think that they are stronger by being inside the EU and enjoying more benefits than if they were on their own, outside of the club.

By leaving the EU, the UK can make its own rules. However they cannot have a detrimental impact on the Single Market. It means that the UK can use other means but they have to keep to the same goals as the EU for the most part. For many who voted for Brexit, this is not what they wanted.

For this lesson, children really need to understand that the UK is a four piece puzzle country and that it’s not England leaving but the whole of the UK despite Scotland and NI voting to remain in the EU.

There could still be a lot of British drama on the cards from a trading perspective since services haven’t really been dealt with, from a constitutional perspective with a possible independence referendum in Scotland and from the movement of people perspective which will generate many legal battles.

After 2021, practical challenges emerged, especially around the Northern Ireland Protocol: rules to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland by keeping NI aligned with some EU standards, which caused political tension and trade friction.

Over 2022–2023, the UK and EU negotiated adjustments. In 2023, the Windsor Framework was agreed to simplify checks and ease tensions. In particular, the Windsor Framework created a “green lane” for goods staying in Northern Ireland, reducing routine checks on products coming from Great Britain.

Brexit has meant more bureaucracy for UK-EU trade, ongoing political debates in the UK about EU relations, and continuing discussions on implementing agreements, particularly for Northern Ireland.