The New Transatlantic Trigonometry: Brexit and Europe’s Treaty Relations with the United States

Larik, J.

The withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Brexit) is not only a source of political and legal upheaval in Europe but will also prompt a recalibration of transatlantic treaty relations. This Article argues that it is a gross oversimplification to conceive of the latter as sets of old and new bilateral relationships. Instead, Brexit affects many existing and interdependent triangular relationships that the United States maintains with the EU and its Member States, which are conditioned also by the foreign relations laws of these polities. Perhaps counterintuitively, recalibration in the “high politics” area of security and defense will be easier than in the “low politics” of trade and regulation. In elaborating on these arguments, this Article delves into three levels of complexity: First, the empirical challenge of determining the treaties in force between the EU and United States and by which the UK will cease to be covered; second, the transatlantic...Show moreThe withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Brexit) is not only a source of political and legal upheaval in Europe but will also prompt a recalibration of transatlantic treaty relations. This Article argues that it is a gross oversimplification to conceive of the latter as sets of old and new bilateral relationships. Instead, Brexit affects many existing and interdependent triangular relationships that the United States maintains with the EU and its Member States, which are conditioned also by the foreign relations laws of these polities. Perhaps counterintuitively, recalibration in the “high politics” area of security and defense will be easier than in the “low politics” of trade and regulation. In elaborating on these arguments, this Article delves into three levels of complexity: First, the empirical challenge of determining the treaties in force between the EU and United States and by which the UK will cease to be covered; second, the transatlantic implications of available alternative models to EU membership for the UK; and third, the way forward in ensuring continuity and bringing about future agreements and cooperation in the EU-UK-U.S. triangle, seeing that the EU itself is a moving target due to ongoing reform efforts.Show less

Leiden University Scholarly Publications

View statistics

Documents

In Collections

The New Transatlantic Trigonometry: Brexit and Europe’s Treaty Relations with the United States