IATE Term of the Week: No Deal

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Week after week, Brexit remains a trend topic. Everyday news describe all possible scenarios about the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union. The question is, deal or no-deal? Negotiations are still in progress, but there is the possibility of a ‘no-deal Brexit’. In this case, the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the European Single Market and the customs union would occur with few or no deals in place, about, for example, EU citizens living in the UK, UK citizens living in EU countries, the Irish border, financial commitments, and so on.

In the framework of all these discussions, also new terminology is appearing in newspapers, political debates and academic papers.

The term ‘no-deal’ refers to the absence of conditions and agreements about a transaction. It is mostly used in association to the Brexit concept and it is possible to find it with adjectival functions in expressions related to the European Union membership domain, such as ‘no-deal phase’, ‘no-deal scenario’ or ‘no-deal preparedness’.

The term ‘hard Brexit’ is used as a synonym. Indeed, in other languages such as Spanish, French or Portuguese, the translation of ‘no-deal’ includes adjectives that refer to an extreme condition – ‘límite’, ‘brutale’, ‘absoluta’.

Please check our article about the Brexit glossary. The Terminology Coordination Unit of the European Parliament also did an interview with the authors of the Brexit glossary.

References:

Brexit phrasebook: a guide to the talks’ key terms, The Guardian, 23 November 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jun/19/brexit-phrasebook-a-guide-to-the-talks-key-terms

Deal or no deal? Britain’s PM hopefuls divided over Brexit, Euractiv, 11 June 2019, https://www.euractiv.com/section/uk-europe/news/deal-or-no-deal-britains-pm-hopefuls-divided-over-brexit/

Interview with authors of the Brexit glossary: the House of Commons library, Terminology Coordination Unit of the European Parliament, http://termcoord.eu/2019/02/interview-with-authors-of-the-brexit-glossary-the-house-of-commons-library/

‘No-deal’ Brexit preparedness: European Commission takes stock of preparations and provides practical guidance to ensure coordinated EU approach, European Commission – Press Release, Brussels, 10 April 2019, http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-19-2052_en.htm

Proposal for a Council Regulation on measures concerning the implementation and financing of the general budget of the Union in 2019 in relation to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union, European Commission, Brussels, 30 January 2019, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CONSIL:ST_5933_2019_INIT&qid=1560346319766&from=EN


Written by Serena Mottola, Study Visitor in Terminology at the Terminology Coordination Unit of the European Parliament (Luxembourg) and Ph.D. candidate in European Languages and Specialised Terminology at the University “Parthenope” of Naples. She speaks Italian, English, Spanish, Russian and Italian Sign Language.