The Cultural Impacts of Brexit

Abstract

This chapter examines the cultural aspects of Brexit. The most obvious such aspect is the likely impact on the European Union’s (EU) language regime. English has steadily replaced French as the most used working language within the EU and this chapter concludes that this is unlikely to be affected by Brexit, and that English might even be seen in future as a more neutral “lingua franca”. In addition to the linguistic aspect, wider cultural aspects of Brexit are also considered in the chapter. So, for example, the UK has helped to shape certain EU working practices and procedures, such as question time in EP plenaries, impact assessments on legislation and other aspects of better regulation. The UK has also influenced EU attitudes on such matters as lobbying, codes of conduct and openness of meetings.