Brexit and Michel Barnier- Crawling Chaos Metaphors Hit Mainstream

Last Updated on June 18, 2022

Crawling Chaos Metaphors

Commission’s stance on UK and Horizon Europe will harm EU R&D

The Crawling Chaos of British Politics

An unusual, but highly appropriate usage of The Crawling Chaos, to the current shits in British politics, no less.

During the long and turbulent Brexit negotiations, the EU side maintained a simple and effective narrative: the UK had decided to leave the union, and the EU was making sure that this divorce would be implemented in a logical and responsible manner. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier played the adult in the room, a sobering contrast to the crawling chaos of British politics in those years.

Today, that spirit has all but disappeared, at least when it comes to research cooperation.

From early on in the negotiations, the European Commission showed it understood the worries of universities, and that it would use the existing instruments for association to EU programmes to alleviate these worries. Although the UK turned its back on Erasmus, the final Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) seemed to live up to the EU’s ambitions to retain research ties to the UK.

The paperwork was almost done, and association was so close that researchers across the EU were officially told there would only be a short transition, so they could safely begin to create consortia and bid for EU projects with UK partners. And so many did. Then, nothing.

Just like Nyarlothotep, The Crawling Chaos.