Brexit – The Clock Is Ticking
Negotiating the biggest divorce of all time.
A test for the European Union, a challenge for the UK. A situation with no precedents, borne out of a succession of risky gambles starting with David Cameron’s fated referendum.
Michel Barnier, the EU chief Brexit negotiator, defends European interests. Thanks to our exclusive access, we were able to follow M. Barnier during these negotiations and on his travels across Europe to ensure the unity of the remaining 27 member states.
The stakes are huge. The entanglements almost impossible to unravel within the limited time period of two years.
But come what may, on March 29, 2019 (firstly extended to April 12, now October 31st), the die will have been cast and the United Kingdom will leave the European Union. But under which terms?
And nobody knows where a no deal scenario would lead…
Longer Synopsis
“The clock is ticking,” Michel Barnier keeps repeating. The European negotiator has two years to negotiate the biggest divorce in history. 29th March 2019 at midnight Brussels time, 23 hours Greenwich time was the original deadline. Firstly extended to 12 April, now October 31st, the European Union will have 27 instead of 28 member states and the United Kingdom will be by itself on the other side of the English Channel.
The fate of British nationals in Europe and EU citizens in the UK must be settled. As in any other divorce, the accounts of the past must be paid up. And last but not least, a solution must be found for Ireland, because all of a sudden, there will be a border on the island of Ireland, between the UK and the rest of the European Union. From the beginning to the end of the negotiations, it is on this front that the confrontation will play out.
The Frenchman leads the dance. His goal? Keep the 27 united. His tactics? Always keep one step ahead. Facing him is a divided, undecided British team: should they completely cut the moorings to sail into the big wide world or keep a foot in Europe where their true interests lie?
Will Barnier manage to achieve an orderly, amicable divorce or will we go towards a No Deal outcome, a departure without any agreement that would lead to chaos?
“BREXIT, The Clock is Ticking” offers a unique and privileged access behind the scenes of these negotiations, helping us understand what’s at stake and following all the twists and turns of these eighteen months that will make history. The film also reveals the extraordinary personality of a man, sometimes inflexible and straight, sometimes fragile and human.
This feature length documentary is a European co-production, which is heavily subtitled.