The Brexit Negotiations
In cooperation with the Brandeis Department of Politics and the International and Global Studies (IGS) Program
Monday, November 16, 2020
12-1:30 pm Eastern Time (US) / 6-7:30 pm German time
Zoom Webinar
You can watch a recording of the complete event by clicking the button above.
About the Event
In December 2019, Boris Johnson won a landslide victory promising that he would make Brexit a reality, and the UK officially withdrew from the European Union on January 31st 2020, making it the first and only country to formally leave the EU since its founding. However, many tough questions remain about the future UK-EU relationship, and must be agreed on by the end of the transition period, midnight of December 31st, 2020.
With no agreement in sight, what are the main points of contention? What do the Europeans and what do the British hope to gain from an agreement? Finally, what happens if no agreement can be reached -- and what do these protracted and sometimes rancorous negotiations mean for British politics and the future of a “United Europe”?
About the Speakers
Sam Lowe is a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform. He is also a visiting research fellow at The Policy Institute, Kings College London and a co-founder of the UK Trade Forum. He works on trade issues, with a focus on Brexit, customs and regulatory barriers, and trade in services.
He regularly briefs businesses, government officials, politicians and European institutions, including Parliamentary select committees and the European Central Bank and was previously a member of the British government's Strategic Trade Advisory Group (2019-2020). Sam often appears in the media, including the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme, The Financial Times, The Times, Politico, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal and Sky News.
Sam Lowe can be followed on twitter at @SamuelMarcLowe
Georgina Wright is a senior researcher at the Institute for Government, a leading think tank working to make government more effective. She is a member of the institute's Brexit team where she focuses on UK engagement and influence in the EU after Brexit. Her research interests include the EU27’s views of Brexit, Franco-British relations and the future of the EU.
Prior to joining the Institute, she was a research associate at Chatham House and has worked for the European Commission and NATO in Brussels. She frequently gives evidence to select committees in the House of Commons and House of Lords.
Georgina read Politics at the University of Edinburgh and holds an MA in EU International Relations and Diplomacy Studies from the College of Europe (Bruges). She speaks English, French and Italian.
Sarah Lyall will moderate the conversation. She works for The New York Times as a writer at large, covering a variety of desks, including sports, culture, media and international.