This article explores the UK vote in 2016 to exit the European Union, colloquially known as ‘Brexit’. Brexit has been portrayed as a British backlash against globalisation and a desire for a reassertion of sovereignty by the UK as a nation-state. In this context, a vote to leave the European Union has been regarded by its protagonists as a vote to ‘take back control’ to ‘make our own laws’ and ‘let in [only] who we want’. We take a particular interest in the stance of key ‘Brexiteers’ in the UK towards regulation, with the example of the labour market. The article commences by assessing the notion of Brexit as a means to secure further market liberalisation. This analysis is then followed by an account of migration as a key issue, the withdrawal process and likely future trajectory of Brexit. We argue that in contrast to the expectations of those who voted Leave in 2016, the UK as a mid-sized open economy will be a rule-taker and will either remain in the European regulatory orbit, or otherwise drift into the American one. JEL Codes: F2, F53, F55, F66, K33

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This monograph seeks to examine the motivations for the European Union’s (EU) policy towards the Common Market of the South (Mercosur), the EU’s most important relationship with another regional economic integration organisation. This monograph argues that the dominant explanations in the literature -- balancing the US, global aspirations, being an external federator, long-standing economic and cultural ties, economic interdependence, and the Europeanization of Spanish and Portuguese national foreign policies – fail to adequately explain the EU’s policy. In particular, these accounts tend to infer the EU’s motives from its activity. Drawing extensive primary documents, this monograph argues that the major developments in the relationship -- the 1992 Inter-institutional Agreement and the 1995 Europe Mercosur Inter-regional Framework Cooperation Agreement – were initiated by Mercosur and supported mainly by Spain. This means that rather than the EU pursuing a strategy, as implied by most of the existing literature, the EU was largely responsive.

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List of boxes, fi gures and tables page ix Acknowledgements xi Abbreviations xiii 1 Introduction: the study of European Union relations with Mercosur 1 2 Analytical framework: relations between the European Union and Mercosur 21 3 European Union policy-making towards Mercosur 51 4 Non-institutionalized relations between the EU and Mercosur 70 5 The most productive years of EU-Mercosur relations 6 The fi rst attempt to negotiate the association agreement 7 The second attempt to negotiate the association agreement 8 Lessons to be learned from the EU policy towards Mercosur References Index Boxes, fi gures and tables Boxes 3.1 Article 133 (ex Article 113) page 3.2 Article 181 (ex Article 130y) 3.3 Article 300 (ex Article 228) 4.1 The European Parliament ' s support for links with Mercosur at the political and economic level 4.2 European Parliament resolutions supporting the relations between the EU and Latin America 4.3 Final Act, Joint Declaration of Intent on the Development and Intensifi cation of Relations with the Countries of Latin America 4.4 Final Act Declaration by the Kingdom of Spain on Latin America 5.1 Options for EU-Mercosur relations Figures 1.1 Timeline of development of Mercosur 1.2 Mercosur institutions 2.1 Levels of ambition 2.2 Levels of commitment 4.1 Spain and Portugal ' s EU membership: bottom-up outcome 95 4.2 Spain and Portugal ' s EU membership: 'top-down' in relation to trade 97 4.