Thread by @BrunoBrussels

What’s the Brexit mood in Brussels? It is “dark” - but too early to call until after Conservative party conference

Juncker “good mood music” is deliberately upbeat even surreally so to keep show on road even with major gaps

Barnier concerned that talks have gone "backwards”
Nothing new in the three "non-papers", which repeat positions set out by Frost over last month - and that is seen as a backwards step. Barnier hoping to hear more from Barclay today - but not holding his breath

As we know "non-papers" are on: food-safety; animal and plant health (SPS); customs and manufactured goods BUT, BUT, BUT...

It is very significant - given the government went in talking about democratic accountability for Stormont - that governance is not covered at all

Suspicion is that Johnson is playing for time: either to run down the clock or more positively waiting for right moment before moving closer to NI-only

It is all about “scope”
UK approach is to try and decouple single market market checks from pure customs and then to look for derogations and exemptions

EU side does not expect any detail/or any shift on this until after party conferences. There is political will to go beyond current WA but papers have not helped
“If things don’t change beyond after the conferences it’s looking bad” - END