1/ EU capitals have concluded PM Johnson's offer was 'drafted to be rejected' as part of the 'blame game' after studying the legal text and being alarmed by numerous gremlins within. Their main concerns were peerlessly outlined by @DanielBoffey yesterday. thesun.co.uk/news/brexit/10…
2/ Yesterday the UK tabled 'additional legal text' with further clarifications of its proposals on customs. But EU diplomats were briefed by the Commission that it contained little to note in terms of progress. It has been described as 'not a 2.0 version of the text, more a 1.1'.
3/ It cites bits of the EU Customs Code to add 'layers of detail' to the plans UK has already laid out. Diplomat: 'The UK has sought inspiration in the EUCC to try and make some of their drafting more solid, aiming for more legal operability, highlighting how things would work.'
4/ The Brits are still seeking what the EU describes as sweeping derogations from the Customs Code for Northern Ireland that would lead to an 'ad hoc means of managing regulatory declarations'. This can't be agreed in 10 days, so would have to be hashed out during the transition.
5/ This means both sides would have to 'work out the regulatory governance' of such customs arrangements after the UK has left via the Joint Committee in the Withdrawal Agreement. But that creates uncertainty. 'If the Committee doesn't manage to agree what is our solution?'
6/ Given the fact the UK was well aware of the EU's concerns before tabling the additional text, diplomats are skeptical that it was designed to move things on much. 'There wasn't a sense yesterday that Frost had a mandate to take things into a distinctly different zone.'
7/ No real movement on the other big sticking point, Stormont consent. Here EU is willing to talk even though 'what you need is essentially a time limit so that's a big leap'. EU view is 'as long a you haven't found a workable answer on customs it's not really worth looking at.'
8/ All of this may very well turn out to be entirely irrelevant, given that the negotiations appear to be imploding politically today. EU officials now anticipate the UK walking out of the talks at some point this week. But this is where things are at the technical level.
