When Theresa May invokes Article 50, the formal trigger on Britain’s exit from the European Union, multiple and multi-layered negotiations will begin. So far, the EU has maintained a united front on Brexit—“no negotiation before notification.” But once the real discussions begin, facing Britain across the table will not be a single person, but a set of different actors with different roles, each under different pressures.
Some of the faces we already know, like Angela Merkel of Germany, and (at least for the moment) François Hollande of France. But as Britain demands a previously unavailable mix of national immigration control and international trading rights, the day-to-day discussion will be managed by a trio of less familiar names, appointed by the three main EU institutions to hold the Brexit ring.
So what do we know about the three “Brexit leads” who could ultimately determine the UK’s fate? What formal powers do they have? How will they navigate the fiendish mix of institutional and national interests that must be respected in any outcome? And what attitude will these people, who are already balancing so many competing concerns, adopt towards anything that sounds like British special pleading?