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Well well well. @MichelBarnier has written a column for the @Telegraph. It seems like a response to the @BorisJohnson letter to @eucopresident where the PM said the backstop contravened the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement. telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/… (1).
He makes the point that the backstop is designed to maintain the status quo on the island of Ireland (a point often missed in the discussion, which is dominated by the issue of avoiding checks on the border) and that it’s already quite a big ask for the EU27.(2)
As a regular Barnier watcher, when he says he’s “not optimistic” about avoiding a No Deal I don’t think he means that he’s pessimistic and it’s becoming inevitable, just that he’s realistic. He’s always avoided giving optimism/pessimism verdicts to my great annoyance. (3)
And he says it’s time to stop kicking the can down the road. We knew from the last discussion about an a50 extension that he thinks time is up for this bit of the #Brexit process but now we’ve got it in print. (4)
