EU preparing to allow the PM his moment in the sun when he arrives here in Brussels /1
EU always said to UK Prime Minister(s) -as long as they agreed an exit deal that covered EU priorities: citizens’ rights, ‘Brexit bill’, Irish border then the EU would be happy to dress up the deal however the PM wished ie /2
So don’t expect the EU to trumpet that NIreland, practically speaking, remains tied to its customs code and regulations with this new Brexit agreement. Although legally it remains in UK customs territory after Brexit, practically it will be separate in terms of customs, VAT../3
This is a séparation Boris Johnson pledged not to allow. The role of NIreland in any new trade deals the UK may agree after Brexit is unclear /4
Don’t expect EU to point out either that -whatever the PM negotiated to be written in the Political Déclaration on EU-UK future -ie a far less ambitious partnership than Theresa May envisaged, in order Johnson hopes to appeal to Brexit hardliners .. it doesn’t really count /5
The declaration text is not legally binding. Only after a Brexit agreement has been approved by the European Parliament and by Parliament in the UK, ONLY THEN the tortuous process of negotiating a future trade etc begins /6
Right now there’s no way of predicting how close or distant UK-EU future relations will look at the end of that process. It will take a long time to agree. This Leaving bit was supposed to be the easy part /7
