EU views Johnson’s intention to legislate end date of Dec 2020 on EU-UK trade negotiations as sabre rattling. PM broke his key red line line of avoiding post #Brexit division between GB and NIreland in divorce deal. EU expects he’ll eventually back down in trade talks too /1
EU is massive trading power on world stage so Brussels believe it holds most of the cards in negotiations. Clearly EU will have to compromise too. It’s insistence the UK ‘can only have off the shelf agreement’ ie a copy of its deals with Japan/ Canada is unrealistic /2
UK is different: bigger, closer. EU knows this but expectation in Brussels is that by far the bigger compromises will be made by UK and the faster Johnson insists on getting the trade deal done, the more the EU will try to use his self-imposed time constraint against him /3
Again those who cry: « You’ve all said that before. You said Johnson couldnt get a new Brexit deal in a hurry and he did » Answer: Yes but only after EU saw he was willing to break a big red line - allowing a customs border down the Irish Sea, addressing EU’s biggest concern /4
