Brexit terminology of the British Foreign Office: What is underlined, and what is crossed out?

(Patria) – Staff of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office have received instructions regarding the permissible terminology related to the post-Brexit phase, including established phrases such as 'no deal' and 'special partnership'.

A memorandum sent to staff conveying the directive begins with the sentence: 'Brexit is over. Therefore, no longer use the term Brexit except for the historical event that occurred on January 31, 2020.'

Staff are also advised to use the phrase 'transition period' instead of 'implementation period'.

Diplomats at the UK Foreign Office are also explained that the UK's priorities in negotiations with the EU are 'to regain our economic and political independence from January 1, 2021' as this is 'the government's primary goal'.

Words and phrases that are not favored are also 'ambitious', 'unique', 'deep', 'bespoke', or any other word or phrase 'that could refer to something that does not resemble a typical free trade agreement like the Canadian one'.

Another 'forbidden' word in the context of future relations with Europe is 'partnership', especially 'deep' and 'special'. Probably for the reason that the EU will be just one of many partners. Thus, staff are instructed to stick to the phrase 'friendly cooperation between sovereign equals'.

EU terminology such as 'state aid' will also be avoided and replaced with 'subsidies'.

- Be precise when talking about migration, the memorandum further states, giving examples such as 'immigration for living and working', and staff are further instructed 'do not give the impression that we are seeking a unique or new agreement. Emphasize that we expect an agreement based on the earlier EU model.'

The directive gives staff very precise guidelines regarding the trade agreement with the EU:

- Emphasize that we accept the following EU claims: that a free trade agreement comes with 'friction'. That we can negotiate directly only with the commission (and thus any EU member state must first convince the commission if they want continued cooperation in any segment), the instructions to the staff of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office state, reports the British Guardian.