Thoughts from EU sources in Brussels this morning:
1. All eyes on Westminster, says one source, everyone is holding their breath, but the UK has gone off on that dynamic which is very hard to predict and which may not have much to do with what's in the agreement
1. All eyes on Westminster, says one source, everyone is holding their breath, but the UK has gone off on that dynamic which is very hard to predict and which may not have much to do with what's in the agreement
2. It's a balanced deal: the UK get duty-free, quota-free access + half a foot in the single market with a temporary customs union. "That’s quite a bit. We get level playing field + other things that are good. We hoped to push it further on fish but that will probs be in the FTA"
3. [On the @WeyandSabine quote in the @thetimes] there is considerable dismay [and from the second source] that the quote was leaked, and that it was not an accurate reflection of the EU's position.
4. One source says: "I don’t think that’s a fair quote. That’s not my impression of what happened." The temporary customs arrangement is a base line, a guarantee that we have something to start out from. The TCA is a backstop, not the intention for the future relationship.
5. Essentially the WA was supposed to be strictly about the divorce, but then with the inclusion of the TCA - which London wanted in the WA - there has been a blurring of the divorce and the future relationship, and for that reason member states have wanted some assurances.
6. "The UK wanted this [TCA] safeguarded so they could be sure it would uproot the NI-specific backstop. The other things were downstream from that, but it also means it’s a point of departure and a platform to discuss" the future, ie it was never intended as an end product.
7. So, all eyes on the cabinet meeting. The briefing of EU ambassadors, probably by @WeyandSabine rather that @MichelBarnier, will not happen until there's a clear line from the UK cabinet.
