Special World and Press: Brexit

B2–C2
Original Pressetexte
auf Abiturniveau
t h e m e n h e f t

Pressetexte auf Abiturniveau
|Photo: Picture Alliance
Carl Ed. Schünemann kg

content
Chapter Text Page
The path to Brexit
What is happening with Brexit now?
© 2019 The Washington Post
4
The referendum The Leave campaign’s promises © 2016 Guardian News and Media Ltd 6
An end to freedom of movement © 2020 The Washington Post 8
Freedom
of movement and
immigration
Economic impact
Ireland and
Northern Ireland
Descendants of Jewish refugees seek German citizenship
after Brexit vote © 2016 Guardian News and Media Ltd
Sharp rise in Britons making applications for Irish passports
© 2019 Guardian News and Media Ltd
Xenophobic bullying souring lives of eastern European pupils
in the UK © 2019 Guardian News and Media Ltd
Why untangling UK industry from Europe may be ‘impossible’
© 2016 Guardian News and Media Ltd
Britain braces for an exodus of EU doctors and nurses
© 2018 The Washington Post
British strawberry crop may rot as EU pickers stay away
© 2019 Guardian News and Media Ltd
Why Ireland’s border commands its own Brexit backstop
© 2019 Bloomberg
After Britain’s elections, people are talking about a united Ireland
© 2019 The Washington Post
Brexit vote reignites the debate on Britishness in Northern Ireland
© 2016 Guardian News and Media Ltd
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16
18
19
21
23
Scotland
Scotland’s independence © 2019 Bloomberg 25
Scotland dreads Brexit. But is it enough to boost Scottish
independence? © 2019 The Washington Post
27
Gibraltar
The Queen
Will the UK
remain united?
As Brexit tremors ripple, the Rock of Gibraltar shudders
© 2017 The Washington Post
Stop bickering about Brexit. The queen is not amused.
© 2019 The Washington Post
Rethinking the UK is an idea whose time has come
© 2016 Guardian News and Media Ltd
Boris Johnson sees ‘wonderful adventure’ after Brexit
© 2019 The Washington Post
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Comments
Supplementary
material
It’s not just British Leavers – the rest of Europe is responsible
for Brexit, too © 2020 Guardian News and Media Ltd
Which is worse: Brexit or Trump? © 2019 The Washington Post 37
Graphics and photos 39
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exit
Liebe Leserin, lieber Leser,
mit der Reihe Special World and Press bieten wir Ihnen eine Sammlung mit original
Pressetexten zu lehrplanrelevanten Themen des Englischunterrichts an. Die Reihe
versteht sich als Sonderpublikation zu unserer Sprachzeitung World and Press.
Zu einzelnen abiturrelevanten und aktuellen Themen sind original Zeitungsartikel in
einer Sammlung zusammengestellt. Dieses Special ist eine Sammlung original
journalistischer Texte rund um das Thema Brexit.
Das Heft richtet sich an Lernende des Sprachniveaus B2 – C2. Die Sammlung bedient
das Abiturthema Internationale Beziehungen Großbritanniens, insbesondere zur
Europäischen Union und ist daher vor allem in der gymnasialen Oberstufe in Vorbereitung
auf das Englischabitur gewinnbringend einzusetzen.
Original Pressetexte aus der Washington Post, dem Guardian und von Bloomberg
geben fundierte Einblicke in die Historie des Referendums sowie seine Auswirkungen
auf die Europäische Union, aber auch auf die Zusammenarbeit z.B. mit den USA.
Dabei werden Texte herangezogen, die den Blick auf Nordirland, Irland und Schottland
richten und Konsequenzen des Brexits für die Wirtschaft und das britische
Gesundheitssystem fokussieren. Aber selbstverständlich stehen auch die Menschen im
Mittelpunkt: Was bedeutet der Brexit für die Menschen in Großbritannien, aber auch
für Briten in den EU-Ländern? Und welche Rolle spielt eigentlich die Queen?
Informative Grafike und journalistisches Bildmaterial runden das Angebot ab.
Wie in unserer Sprachzeitung World and Press werden jeweils am Ende der Texte
die Vokabeln erläutert. Anders als in der Zeitung sind die Texte ein- oder zweispaltig
abgedruckt, damit für die Lernenden genügend Platz für Notizen am Rand bleibt.
Diese Materialsammlung verzichtet bewusst auf Trainingseinheiten und Aufgabenblätter,
sondern versteht sich als ein thematisch zusammengestelltes Zusatzangebot
für den Englischunterricht in der gymnasialen Oberstufe.
Wir wünschen einen interessanten sowie anregenden
Unterricht und natürlich viel Spaß!
Ihr Sprachzeitungsteam
3

the path to brexit
What is happening with
Brexit now?
Q & A Confused about Brexit? We’ve tried to answer some
of the most fundamental questions about Britain’s negotiations
to leave the European Union.
By Adam Taylor
What is Brexit?
1 As former British Prime Minister Theresa May
has said, “Brexit means Brexit.” But what that
means is that Britain plans to leave the E.U., gaining
the ability to control its borders and make its
own trade deals – or, as some people see it, losing
the automatic free-movement and free-trade
rights that come with membership in the bloc.
Why is Britain leaving the E.U.?
2 Because Britons voted for it, 52 – 48 percent, in
a referendum on June 23, 2016. Concerns about
immigration and sovereignty were the top reasons
people voted to leave.
Who voted for Brexit?
3 England and Wales voted to leave, while Scotland
and Northern Ireland wanted to remain in
the E.U. London was strongly for remain. The vote
divided both main political parties: Conservatives
and Labour. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn voted
to remain although he is lukewarm on the E.U. and
has regularly criticized it as a capitalist club. Some
Conservatives voted to remain although they are
currently dominated by a pro-Brexit faction, chief
among them Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who
led the official campaign to leave the E.U.
What is the deal that Johnson worked out in
Brussels?
4 The proposed withdrawal agreement would
set out things such as a timetable for a transition
period, what happens to E.U. nationals living in
Britain, and the amount of money Britain has to
pay the E.U. It doesn’t get into anything about
trade deals or other aspects of the future relationship
between Britain and the E.U. That’s saved for
a separate set of negotiations.
What is new in Johnson’s deal?
5 Much of Johnson’s deal remains the same as
his predecessor’s, with language on the transition
timing, the rights of E.U. nationals, and the
amount of money Britain has to pay the E.U. – the
“divorce bill” – largely the same. Where it differs
significantly, however, is how it handles Northern
Ireland and the risk of a hard border with Ireland.
6 Johnson’s deal says that the entire United
Kingdom will leave the E.U. customs union and
that there will be a legal customs border between
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. In
practice, it could be argued that this means the
customs border would be across the sea between
Britain and Northern Ireland.
How would this work in practice?
7 For example, if goods are being sent from London
to Belfast, they would be checked at points of
entry into Northern Ireland. If something is at risk
of being transported onward to the Republic of Ireland,
duty would be paid on the goods, with firms
eligible for refunds if they can prove that the goods
remained in Northern Ireland. The deal also says
that Northern Ireland lawmakers will get a vote
on how closely they want to stay aligned with the
E.U. after four years and that Northern Ireland will
remain aligned with E.U. law on value-added tax
on goods.
How is this different from May’s deal?
8 May had taken a different approach, proposing
what was known as a “backstop” for the Irish border,
essentially an insurance policy against a hard
border.That idea argued that until a future trade
deal somehow dispenses with the need for border
checks, or until technology is developed that does
the job of border agents and achieves an invisible
border, the backstop would require Britain to remain
in the E.U. customs union and parts of the
single market. That idea was controversial in part
because Britain would be subject to E.U. rules even
after losing its say over them, provoking a fierc
response from hard-line Brexiteers.
4
0 – 3 NEGOTIATIONS “nIÆg´USi"eIS´nz‘ Verhandlungen — trade deal Handelsabkommen — free-movement right
Freizügigkeit — concerns “k´n"s‰…nz‘ Bedenken — sovereignty “"sÅvr´nti‘ Souveränität — to divide spalten — lukewarm
“Ælu…k"wO…m‘ lauwarm; h.: mäßig begeistert — faction Fraktion; Lager — campaign Kampagne
4 – 6 withdrawal agreement “wID"drO…´l‘ Austrittsabkommen — to set out im Detail darlegen — transition period
Übergangszeitraum — national Staatsbürger(in) — to get into s.th. s. mit etw. näher befassen — predecessor “"pri…
dIÆses´‘ Vorgänger(in) — customs union Zollunion
7 point of entry Grenzübergangsstelle — to be at risk of doing Gefahr laufen zu tun — to transport onward
weitertransportieren — eligible for refunds “"elIdZ´b´l‘ rückerstattungsberechtigt — lawmaker Abgeordnete(r) — to
stay aligned with s.th. “´"laInd‘ an etw. gebunden bleiben — value-added tax Mehrwertsteuer
8 backstop Vorsichtsmaßnahme; h.: Backstop — insurance policy “In"SU´r´ns‘ (fig) Absicherung — to dispense
with s.th. etw. unnötig machen — to be subject to s.th. etw. unterliegen — say Mitsprache — to provoke “-"-‘ hervorrufen
— fierce response “fI´s‘ heftige Reaktion — Brexiteer Brexit-Befürworter(in)

the path to brexit
Michael Gove (left) and Boris Johnson. | Photo: Picture Alliance
Why is Ireland such a big deal in Brexit?
9 An open border on the island of Ireland has
helped to resolve decades of conflict – allowing
“unionists” in Northern Ireland to feel securely
part of Britain while Northern Irish “republicans”
can feel connected to the Republic of Ireland in
the south. But that open border has been possible
only because the E.U.’s customs union and single
market avoid the need for border checks. If Northern
Ireland leaves the E.U., along with the rest of
Britain, there will have to be a different way to preserve
an open border and maintain peace.
Why does Parliament need to approve
a Brexit deal, given that there was already
a referendum?
10 The referendum wasn’t legally binding, and it
asked people only whether they wanted in or out
of the E.U. – not how they should leave. Because
Britain is a parliamentary democracy, meaning
Parliament is sovereign, it was agreed after a
lengthy legal debate that Parliament would get a
“meaningful vote” on the deal – a decision that significantly
complicated Britain’s negotiations. …
How did Johnson become prime minister?
11 After May announced she would step down
as prime minister, the Conservative Party held
an other leadership contest. Johnson quickly
emerged as a front-runner, winning considerable
support from Conservative Party members. He became
prime minister on July 24, 2019.
What happened to him suspending Parliament?
12 Shortly after becoming prime minister, Johnson
announced that he intended to suspend Parliament
for five weeks ahead of the Oct. 31 Brexit
deadline, a move that critics said was designed to
limit the amount of time that lawmakers could debate
his deal. However, Britain’s Supreme Court
soon ruled that his decision was unlawful and ordered
the suspension void.
Why do people think a “no-deal Brexit”
could be bad?
13 Most economists would say a no-deal Brexit, a
scenario in which Britain leaves without an agreement
with the E.U. and without the two-year transition
period that comes with it, would significan -
ly disrupt Britain’s foreign trade. Most probably,
Britain would revert to World Trade Organization
trade rules at its borders. But the sudden break
could cause major disruptions to trade and travel.
The International Monetary Fund projected that
up to 8 percent of Britain’s gross domestic product
could be lost.
© 2019 The Washington Post
9 – 11 to resolve beilegen — unionist “"ju…nj´nIst‘ Befürworter(in) der Union Nordirlands mit Großbritannien — republican
Befürworter(in) eines vereinigten Irlands — single market Binnenmarkt — given angesichts — legally
binding rechtsverbindlich — sovereign “"sÅv´rIn‘ souverän — lengthy “"leNTi‘ langwierig — meaningful bedeutsam
— to step down zurücktreten — leadership contest Kampf um den Parteivorsitz — front-runner Favorit
12 to suspend parliament “s´"spend‘ das P. in e-e Zwangspause schicken — move Schritt — to limit beschränken
— Supreme Court “su…Æpri…m"kO…t‘ oberstes Gericht — to rule entscheiden — unlawful “øn"lO…f´l‘ gesetzwidrig — to
order s.th. void etw. für nichtig erklären — suspension Aussetzung; Sperre
13 to disrupt durcheinanderbringen; s.w.u. disruption Störung; Behinderung — foreign trade Außenhandel
— to revert to s.th. “rI"v‰…t‘ zu etw. zurückkehren — World Trade Organization Welthandelsorganisation —
Inter national Monetary Fund “"mønIt´ri‘ Int. Währungsfonds — to project “-"-‘ prognostizieren — gross domestic
product Bruttoinlandsprodukt
5

the referendum
The Leave campaign’s promises
CAMPAIGN The Vote Leave campaign made at least
three key promises that were the basis of their victory, but just
how possible are they in reality, asks Alan Travis.
A Vote Leave battlebus outside the Houses of Parliament. The bus was later repainted.
| Photo: Getty Images
‘Let’s give our NHS the £350m the EU
takes every week’
1 This promise was so central to the Leave campaign
that Boris Johnson and Michael Gove repeatedly
appeared on platforms with it as their
main backdrop. Indeed, it was famously painted
on the side of their battlebus that toured Britain.
It was first made by the Labour MP and co-chair of
Vote Leave, Gisela Stuart, at the beginning of the
campaign: “Every week we send £350m to Brussels.
I’d rather that we control how to spend that
money, and if I had that control, I would spend it
on the NHS,” she said on 15 April.
2 The £350m figure was immediately the subject
of dispute. It was pointed out that it was the
gross figure for the UK contribution. The £74m a
week UK rebate negotiated by Margaret Thatcher
is never sent to Brussels, which brings the figur
down to £276m a week. That £276m figure includes
£115m spent on things such as support for
farmers, aid payments to British regions, and research
by UK universities and companies. If those
payments continue then at the very most it would
leave £161m to be diverted to the NHS.
3 Two weeks before the vote, Andrew Dilnot,
the chair of the UK Statistics Authority, criticised
it in the strongest terms: “As we have made clear,
the UK’s contribution to the EU is paid after the application
of the rebate. We have also pointed out
that there are payments received by the UK public
and private sectors that are relevant here. The continued
use of a gross figure in contexts that imply it
is a net figure is misleading and undermines trust
in official statistics,” he said.
4 The battlebus was repainted. On Friday, Nigel
Farage was the first to disown the pledge. Farage
said: “It wasn’t one of my adverts, I can assure you.
I think they made a mistake in doing that.”
Verdict: Promise dropped
A vote for leave will be a vote
to cut immigration
5 When the net migration figure of 333,000 was
published on 26 May, Johnson said he was proimmigration,
but the figure showed there was “no
public consent for the scale of immigration we are
seeing” and the situation was “completely out of
control”. Coupled with Ukip’s “breaking point”
poster featuring a column of Syrian refugees, it
was not surprising that many voters believed the
Leave campaign was promising deep cuts in r
6
0 – 2 CAMPAIGN Kampagne — repeatedly “rI"pi…tIdli‘ wiederholt — backdrop Hintergrund; Kulisse — battlebus
Wahlkampfbus — co-chair Co-Vorsitzende(r) — dispute Streit; Debatte — gross figur Bruttobetrag — contribution
“ÆkÅntrI"bju…S´n‘ Beitrag — rebate “"ri…beIt‘ Nachlass — to negotiate “nI"g´USieIt‘ aushandeln — aid payments
Hilfszahlungen — to divert “daI"v‰…t‘ abzweigen
3 – 4 Statistics Authority “O…"TÅr´ti‘ Statistikbehörde — application Anwendung; h.: Anrechnung — to imply
“Im"plaI‘ andeuten — misleading irreführend — to undermine unterminieren — to repaint neu anstreichen — to
disown a pledge “dI"s´Un‘ s. von e-m Versprechen distanzieren — to assure s.o. “´"SO…‘ jdm. versichern — verdict Urteil
5 – 6 net migration Nettomigration — consent Zustimmung — coupled with gekoppelt mit — Ukip = UK Independence
Party — breaking point (fig) Belastungsgrenze — column Kolonne — main concern “k´n"s‰…n‘ größte
Sorge — to commit to s.th. s. zu etw. verpfli hten — joint statement gemeinsame Erklärung — to stress betonen —
general election Parlamentswahl — points based-system Punktesystem

the referendum
to the single market. There has to be a trade-off,”
adding that the Leave campaign had made “contradictory”
and “mutually incompatible” promises
to the British people.
8 Verdict: It’s complicated. Leave and Ukip left a
clear impression they would cut immigration, but
their policy statements were careful only to promise
to bring it under control. Iain Duncan Smith’s
claim to still support the net migration target of
below 100,000 is not operable in Leave’s terms
while Britain remains in the EU.
A young woman taking part in a pro-Europe
demonstration in Brussels in March 2019.
| Photo: Getty Images
Pro-Brexit protesters demonstrating in
Westminster. | Photo: Getty Images
r immigration. Ipsos Mori found that immigration
rather than the economy was the main concern
of voters in the last two weeks of the campaign.
6 The Leave campaign and Ukip never committed
to any new target to replace David Cameron’s
failed pledge to reduce net migration to the “tens
of thousands”. The key joint statement on immigration
signed by Johnson, Gove, Stuart, and
Priti Patel was careful to stress that they wanted
to bring immigration under control. Instead they
promised to introduce by the next general election
Ukip’s policy of an Australian-style points basedsystem,
saying the automatic right of EU citizens
to come and work in Britain would come to an end.
7 The foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, said it
was not possible to “negotiate control of migration
from the EU and at the same time [have] full access
‘Five million more migrants could enter
Britain by 2030 if Turkey and four other
applicant countries join the EU’
9 The claim that Turkey, with its population of
78 million, was close to joining the EU formed the
main plank of Gove’s successful Brexit fightbac
when the Leave campaign was drowning in a sea
of Remain economic warnings. He said that the EU
had responded to the migration crisis with a “freefor-all”
invitation to Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia,
Albania, and Turkey to join.
10 The Leave campaign backed this up with a
leaked Foreign Office memo about a small diplomatic
unit said to be helping Turkey’s application.
Cameron responded by arguing that on the current
rate of progress Turkey was unlikely to join until
the year 3000. He said agreement had only been
reached on one out of the 35 chapters. Leave did
not withdraw the claim and even highlighted it
on its final campaign leaflet, which implied that it
would open the door to Syrian and Iraqi migration
as well.
11 The argument went full circle when the Turkish
president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, suggested
he may hold a referendum to see whether Turkey
should continue with its EU application: “We can
stand up and ask the people just like the British are
doing,” he said.
12 Verdict: Turkey was first promised EU membership
in 1963 and is a candidate to join the EU,
but this is unlikely to happen any time soon.
13 Finally, with the Leavers backing away from
some of their campaign promises and statements,
can the EU referendum result legally be declared
invalid? No. While legal action can follow in the
case of a commercial contract or the public floa -
ation of a company if false statements are made,
there is no advertising code that requires political
statements to be “legal, decent, honest, and truthful”.
© 2016 Guardian News and Media Ltd
7 – 8 foreign secretary Außenminister(in) — single market Binnenmarkt — trade-off Zugeständnis — contradictory
“ÆkÅntr´"dIkt´ri‘ widersprüchlich — mutually incompatible “"mju…tSu´li‘ nicht miteinander vereinbar — to leave an
impression den Eindruck vermitteln — claim Behauptung — operable “"Åp´r´b´l‘ umsetzbar
9 – 10 applicant country “"œplIk´nt‘ Bewerberland — main plank (fig) Kernelement — fightbac “"--‘ Gegenwehr
— to drown “draUn‘ ertrinken — Remain economic warning Warnung der Brexit-Gegner zu wirtschaftl. Folgen —
free-for-all offen; unbeschränkt — to back s.th. up etw. stützen — Foreign Office brit. Außenministerium — rate of
progress h.: Tempo — to withdraw “wID"drO…‘ zurücknehmen
11 – 13 to go full circle zum Ausgangspunkt zurückkehren — Leaver Brexit-Befürworter(in) — to back away from
s.th. von etw. abrücken — to declare invalid “In"vœlId‘ für ungültig erklären — legal action rechtliche Schritte —
commercial contract Handelsvertrag — public floatatio Börsengang — advertising code Werbekodex — decent
korrekt — truthful wahrheitsgetreu
7

freedom of movement and immigration
An end to freedom
of movement
SOCIETY After the end of the Brexit transition period,
E.U. citizens will no longer be able to move freely to Britain,
Karla Adam and William Booth write.
Protesters in London in September 2019. | Photo: Getty Images
1 DAMIAN WAWRZYNIAK,who has cooked
for the British royal family and was a top chef at
the London Olympics, said he felt gutted when
he was turned down for permanent residency in
Britain, despite living here for more than 15 years,
paying his taxes, and “speaking good English.” “It
wasn’t a really nice feeling,” said the 39-year-old
chef, whose understatement may be a byproduct
of his long residency in England. “I’d spent more
time in my adult life in the U.K. than in Poland, and
I suddenly felt like a second-class citizen.”
2 He is one of millions of Europeans who have
easily lived and worked between and among the
28 member states, embracing one of the pillars of
the European Union: freedom of movement. But
as Britain prepares to leave the E.U. this week and
enter an 11-month transition period, free movement
here is nearing an end.
3 For more than four decades, Londoners have
been able to pack off to Lisbon, Berliners to Birmingham,
Mancunians to Milan. Freedom of labor
– beside the free movement of goods, capital, and
services – was one the biggest, boldest ideas of the
1957 Treaty of Rome. It was an audacious gambit
that the people who had torn themselves to pieces
in two world wars should be able to settle across a
borderless continent.
4 But Brexit campaigners pushed the notion that
Britain needed to “take back control” of its borders.
Europeans, the Brexiteers claimed – looking pointedly
at the poorer countries on the eastern edge of
the bloc – took British jobs and strained British social
services. E.U. citizens will be able to continue
to move here freely through the Brexit transition
period, until at least December. But afterward,
they will need to apply – and will no longer get
preference over applicants from other continents.
5 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has talked up a
“points-based” system, similar to Australia’s, that
would draw the “best and brightest.” The number
of low-skilled immigrants will be slashed. In
the meantime, E.U. citizens – some of whom have
called Britain home for decades – must apply if
they want to stay. If they don’t register by June
2021, they will in effect be in the country illegally.
6 Advocates estimate there are around 3.6 million
E.U. citizens in the U.K., but add in non-E.U.
dependents and that figure could be closer to r
8
0 – 2 FREEDOMof movement Freizügigkeit — transition period Übergangszeitraum — to feel gutted “"gøtId‘ am
Boden zerstört sein — permanent residency “"rezId´nsi‘ Daueraufenthaltserlaubnis — byproduct “"-Æ--‘ (fig) Nebenwirkung
— to embrace s. zu eigen machen — pillar “"pIl´‘ Säule
3 – 4 to pack off s. davonmachen; h.: (coll) umziehen — freedom of labor Arbeitnehmerfreizügigkeit — Treaty of
Rome Römische Verträge — audacious “O…"deIS´s‘ waghalsig — gambit Schachzug — to tear o.s. to pieces “te´‘ s. zerfl
ischen — campaigner Aktivist(in) — to push a notion e-e Ansicht mit Nachdruck vertreten — Brexiteer “ÆbreksI"tI´‘
Brexit-Befürworter(in) — pointedly demonstrativ — to strain belasten — to get preference “"pref´r´ns‘ bevorzugt
werden — applicant “"œplIk´nt‘ Bewerber(in)
5 – 6 to talk s.th. up für etw. werben — points-based system Punktesystem — low-skilled gering qualifizie t — to
slash drastisch reduzieren — to register s. anmelden — in effect faktisch — advocate “"œdv´k´t‘ Rechtsbeistand —
to add in dazurechnen — dependents “-"--‘ Familienangehörige — officia Behördenmitarbeiter(in) — pre-settled
status vorgelagerter dauerhafter Status — settled status dauerhafter Status