Rooted in the historical Anglo-French alliance that was born out of the Entente Cordiale, the creation of the Europe Cordiale Circle (ECC) comes from three observations:
- Most of those who manage the Brexit process are likely to be either Eurosceptics or Federalists who have been on the opposite sides of the European debate for more than 30 years. Positions are thus likely to polarise, and tensions and arguments to rise.
- A flurry of Brexit committees, fora and working groups have emerged in anticipation of defending industry- and group-specific interests. These initiatives have mainly originated in the UK, but also from abroad — whenever those interests are directly and seriously affected by Brexit (e.g. the complex Irish border situation). Those lobbying influences need direction, in order to understand how the benefits of lateral thinking can better facilitate collective solutions to the issues that concern them.
- Franco-British relations form a significant component of the wider UK / EU relationship; while the EU will lead Brexit negotiations on behalf of Continental European countries, bilateral communication channels should play a part. Furthermore, it is important that Brexit does not eradicate or damage a century-old bilateral friendship, epitomised by the Entente Cordiale, which has historically played a positive and vital role in Europe.