,
13 tweets,
3 min read
Read on Twitter
1: With the withdrawal agreement looking all but dead, Austria's Brexit negotiator @GSchusterschitz has made some interesting remarks regarding the 'undemocratic backstop' that Boris Johnson wants to abolish.
2: Johnson has stressed the current insurance policy to avoid a hard border on Ireland after Brexit must be removed for their to be any chance of a deal. But Schusterschitz has suggested the EU doesn't believe offering concessions will deliver a Commons majority for the deal.
3: Schusterschitz says: 'The problem is even if we were to agree to the British demands and would remove the backstop for Northern Ireland, it would by no means mean that this deal would get a majority in the British Parliament.'
4: With the EU unwilling to budge on the backstop, is there any room for compromise? Brussels sees the answer in the future relationship – asking Johnson to put forward 'concrete proposals' and tweak the political declaration to provide a ready-made route out of the backstop.
5: Tory MPs have pushed for 'alternative arrangements' to replace the backstop, including tech solutions that have been described as 'magical and wishful thinking' by senior EU figures.
6: Brussels hasn't entirely disregarded the concept of using a tech solution for the border. Michel Barnier, himself, has said 'technology, drones, invisible controls' could all be used in the future. EU and UK also have agreed an 'alternative arrangements work stream'.
7: EU won't accept alternative arrangements as a working reality now – question is when does Brussels see tech replacing the backstop?
Schusterschitz thinks they could be ready in '10 to 15 years' time.
Schusterschitz thinks they could be ready in '10 to 15 years' time.
8: He says the backstop is 'the only solution to prevent a hard border in Northern Ireland. There very often is this myth of alternative arrangements that could be found, technical solutions. But, they don’t exist yet – maybe in 10 or 15 years time'.
9: The question is often asked in UK why the EU is so attached to the backstop. Brussels sees the backstop as a hard-fought compromise that actually favours and is a better deal for Britain, so why offer more concessions to UK.
10: France and Emmanuel Macron isn't a fan because the backstop grants the UK free access to the EU's single market without the need for a reciprocal fisheries deal.
European countries with mainly service-based economies will soon find Britain becoming more competitive.
European countries with mainly service-based economies will soon find Britain becoming more competitive.
11: Concerns across the EU that if the backstop becomes the long-term basis for trade, Britain will only have to align on the bloc's rules for goods and not services.
One diplomat says: 'UK would be able to diverge on services regulations making them even more competitive.'
One diplomat says: 'UK would be able to diverge on services regulations making them even more competitive.'
12: EU source adds: 'It was a compromise at best to protect the stability on the island of Ireland but it wasn't a great deal for us.'
