Any Lessons from Brexit?

Paul Fisher of the Saïd Business School, Oxford University cited six principles of negotiations. This was after reviewing the whole process of negotiating Brexit by EU and the U.K.

Principle #1: Build strong relationships ahead of time

First, the UK government should have formed durable alliances in Europe. An advance relationship building exercise is key to successful negotiations. The last-minute shuttle diplomacy proved too little, too late. Second, the EU failed to put itself in the UK’s shoes (another negotiation principle). Had they been even a little flexible over freedom of movement, they might have retained Britain within the EU family.

Principle #2: Pay close attention to process

In negotiations, it’s nearly impossible to overestimate the importance of controlling the process. The EU did just that in the first stage of the negotiation, the UK’s negotiated withdrawal from the EU. By insisting that the issues important to the EU — the Northern Irish backstop, the rights of EU and UK citizens, and the UK’s financial liabilities — be agreed upon before discussions about the future relationship were even entertained, they gained an important victory in phase one.

The UK has had less leverage in phase two (negotiating the future relationship). And leverage is key to any negotiations.

Principle #3: Remember the stakeholders

In negotiations, communicating with those who aren’t at the table is every bit as important as communicating with those who are. Individual European countries, parliamentarians on both the UK and EU sides, industry groups, and the general public on both sides of the channel may not be at the table but keeping them in perspective is important.

Frequent updates on progress is also important.

Principle #4: Avoid self-imposed deadlines

That was the case with the Withdrawal Agreement. The UK signed on to a deal that they had to start unravelling just a few months later. And that was also the case with the future trade relationship.

Principle #5: Behave like a trusted partner – or pay the price

Negotiations, particularly complex negotiations, are built on a bedrock of trust and respect and an understanding that once deals are agreed and signed, there’s no going back unless both sides decide to renegotiate.

So, the UK government’s decision to draw up legislation – the Internal Market Bill – that overrode the Northern Ireland element of the Withdrawal Agreement, broke international law and was not a good moment.

Principle #6: Don’t let political pressure get in the way of pragmatic solutions

The fisheries industry contributes only 0.1% to the UK economy and a similarly low figure across Europe. Compare this to services (over 75%) and manufacturing and production (21%) in the UK. Yet painfully the trade deal could have collapsed over fisheries.

While the right to control one’s, own waters has strong symbolic importance, great negotiators tend to put pragmatism over politics.

To reach agreement, both sides needed to be proactive and create the initiative. When Boris Johnson said things like “the likelihood of a deal is very much determined by our friends and partners in the EU,” it didn’t help anyone. There was a need for creativity on both sides.

Negotiation impasses are sometimes broken by heads of state or other senior people outside the negotiating teams speaking directly to one another to help regather momentum towards a deal. That was what took place in the end. Pragmatism is key to get a deal done!

 

Reference:

Paul Fisher, Lessons from Brexit on How (Not) to Negotiate, 8 Dec 2020, Harvard Business Review