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James Crisp
@JamesCrisp6
, 12 tweets, 3 min read Read on Twitter
NEW: Brussels nicknamed Dominic Raab 'The Turnip' during his disastrous spell as Brexit secretary 1/
telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/… via @Telegraph
Brussels sources said that Mr Raab was not the fully-briefed details man or tough negotiator meting out home truths to the EU he claims to be in his Tory leadership campaign speeches.
2/
“The Turnip”, a play on raap, the Dutch word for the vegetable, allegedly "chickened out" when confronted by Michel Barnier over empty threats he made about the Irish border in a “very tense” meeting, according to the insiders.

3/
Raab insists that this clash , first revealed by @pmdfoster , shows he was only one willing to take on the EU. 4/
telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/…
He even mentions it in his campaign videos... 5/
Raab never mentions that Barnier called his bluff,” EU source tells me, “Barnier told Raab that he would tell the member states the UK wanted to blow up the negotiations and didn’t give a s*** about the Irish border.”
6/
7/ “Raab backed down. He chickened out. Which shows he was a naive negotiator. You should never make a threat you are not able to back up.”
Over his four months as Brexit Secretary - Raab convinced people in Brussels he was
- ideologically wedded to no deal
- intentionally misrepresenting EU position
- sewing division in British ranks
- trying to sabotage the deal
- trying to raise his profile to become leader
8/
People will of course say Brussels would say all this because they fear Raab. I don't think that's it, although he is seen as nuts enough to go for no deal as a preferred option.
9
Question is - can a man so unpopular in Brussels succeed in Brexit negotiations as PM when others, including himself, have already failed?
telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/…

10/
For reasons of balance. Here is why Brussels won't respect Jeremy Hunt.
telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/…
And why PM Boris Johnson could put the EU under pressure to be even tougher on Britain.
telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/…
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More from @JamesCrisp6 see all

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James Crisp
@JamesCrisp6
In Boris' interview w/ @bbclaurak , he claimed that the political atmosphere on the Continent had changed and the EU would be willing to renegotiate the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.
I asked the European Commission if that was true..
1/
audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-174…
Q: "Can you confirm that the European Commission will never renegotiate the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, even if it means no deal & a hard border in Ireland?"

"I can confirm that," commission spokeswoman said, "We will not be renegotiating the Withdrawal Agreement full stop."
2
Here is the video from the European Commission's daily midday press briefing.

audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-174…

3/
Read 6 tweets
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James Crisp
@JamesCrisp6
NEW: Nigel Farage has been given 24 hours to come to Brussels and explain himself over 450k pounds of allegedly undeclared gift from Arron Banks or face being banned from the European Parliament.
1/
European Parliament code of conduct committee have met and set the deadline, which is less than the usual week accorded to errant MEPs. This is explained away as being because of the short time left in current parliament term.
2/
Nigel was reported after it was noticed he had not declared Banks gifts such as chaffeured car on register. EP says he must be in Brussels at 5pm local time to explain
3/
Read 18 tweets
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James Crisp
@JamesCrisp6
Street in heart of Brussels EU quarter closed during bomb scare. Britain's embassy to the EU is on the street which has been cordened off. Staff not at liberty to comment.
Street close to European Commission and EU Council building. Fire and police present. Metro nearby still open
EU Europe ministers meeting close by cordoned off area.
Read 25 tweets

Related threads

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Peter Foster
@pmdfoster
So what to make of @BorisJohnson comments on #Brexit and the Irish border?

My guess is that it is aimed more at Dublin than at Brussels....some thoughts. 1/thread

telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/…
@BorisJohnson First, the content of what he is saying.

1. The Bill. He wants to attach strings about "when and how" the money is paid over.

This is old Brexiteer (@DavidDavisMP) thinking - the 'bill' as down payment on future, rather than EU view of settling debt /2
@BorisJohnson @DavidDavisMP It's a sensitive subject in Brussels, but I think it's about wanting to argue for a changed dynamic in phase 2.

Boris will argue he will 'tackle hard' in second half, but needs more than warm words. Needs to point to leverage. /3
Read 22 tweets
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Peter Foster
@pmdfoster
EXC: If @BorisJohnson wants to make good on his threat to withhold £39bn #Brexit bill he will need to over-turn existing legal advice from AG Geoffrey Cox - who supports him. Could be awkward. 1/Thread
@BorisJohnson Just to recap, Boris opened his campaign with a big promise to re-open the linkage between the #Brexit bill and outcome in the future relationship - which @DavidDavisMP one said would be the 'row of the summer' (that lasted a day) /2
@BorisJohnson @DavidDavisMP The Boris intervention surprised some of my regular contacts in Brussels.

They felt that Boris might work up to that level of 'threat' as the rhetoric of the leadership campaign escalated.

But no, he went in two-footed, studs-up from the outset. That rattled a few cages. /3
Read 16 tweets
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Peter Foster
@pmdfoster
Right. It's the £39bn question...could @BorisJohnson or other hard brexiteer PM really withhold payment of the #Brexit bill. Legally? Politically?

(Shorter: not really)

1/thread

telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/…
@BorisJohnson Let's start with the legal position. Brexiteers often sight this March 2017 House of Lords Cmme report as grounds for saying that in a 'no deal' the UK would have no obligation if Article 50 lapsed. /2

publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201617/ld…
@BorisJohnson But as @IainBeggLSE and others explain here, the actual position is more nuanced than that... in truth, you would not really find out until it ended up in the International Court of Arbitration in the Hague. /3

channel4.com/news/factcheck…
Read 19 tweets
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Peter Foster
@pmdfoster
So @DominicRaab tells @katyballs he was "on the brink" of a #Brexit breakthrough on Ireland, but was thwarted by @DLidington - this is a gross distortion of the truth. It mustn't stand. 1/thread

spectator.co.uk/2019/06/fighti…
@DominicRaab @katyballs @DLidington As it happened, I broke the story of Raab using his dinner with @simoncoveney to demand a unilateral three-month time-limit to the backstop - the story was published on November 5...as it reported, Raab's gambit "stunned" Irish officials. /2

telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/…
@DominicRaab @katyballs @DLidington @simoncoveney Let's put aside David Lidington's alleged role in scuppering @DominicRaab grand plan, and consider the likelihood of a three-month, or six month maximum time limit succeeding at that point, as the Withdrawal Agreement was on the cusp of being agreed. It was clearly nonsense./3
Read 19 tweets
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Peter Foster
@pmdfoster
Brexit is the backstop; the backstop is #Brexit.

After 3 days in Belfast, talking to all sides, here's what I've learned - on the business and the politics of this deal. And its viability.

1/Thread
First the business/technical aspects of how a backstop would work.

I talked to business lobby groups, Stephen Kelly from @ManufacturingNI fresh back from talks with Barnier. And bosses of big companies.

The are surprisingly sanguine. /2

telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/…
@ManufacturingNI If the backstop emerges as the British want (and that is still an 'if') it would look as follows:

- all-UK in a temporary customs Union
- Northern Ireland only in Single Market for goods, via devolution
- no checks GB-NI
- 'de-dramatised checks on regs NI-GB

/3
Read 26 tweets
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Peter Foster
@pmdfoster
So. #Brexit has slipped out of the headlines - but like two prizefighters, both sides are setting themselves for the fight to come. Some of the battles are EU v EU, some UK v UK.

So what's going on? Here's a quick overview from what I know.
1/thread
First the UK v UK debate.

As we report today, David Davis and Olly Robbins are representing conflicting views over how 'ambitious' the UK should be in the scope of the non-binding annex on trade and the future relationship. /2

telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/…
It seems DD got his way in sending a letter asking Govt departments to tool up for Brexit negotiations, including teams of specialists.

Time will tell if this was a face-saving measure for the Brexit Secretary who has long argued UK must seek guts of a trade deal in A50. /3
Read 18 tweets

Trending hashtags

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