Put differently, Brexit isn't 'done' and UK needs a working relationship with the EU, so chucking another barrier to that on the pile doesn't strike me as a good move
Recognition would have probably gone unnoticed by all but the most bothered tbh
6/
But now it's public, it's made it harder to resolve while saving face for either side
No, it's not a direct challenge on the TCA/WA architecture, but it speaks to a wider point
7/
Decision to close down @CommonsFREU is part of this picture, namely hoping that cutting back on scrutiny and channels of communication will somehow help get this off the table
However, neglect of relations is not, and cannot be, any lasting solution
8/
A more dense network of relations is beneficial to smoother running of those relations: there's more understanding and empathy with other side's situation; more opportunities to defuse issues; and more willingness to work on hard problems
9/
Instead, we're seeing a stripping-back of the relationship, which is likely to make any emergent issue a problem, and one that is less easily solved
So we're back into the crisis management mode that has for so long framed British European policy
10/
So, a 'win' that wasn't noticed by anyone becomes another point of tension, just as it weakens the means of easing that
And if it helps, the Trump administration tried to go the same way, and had to change its position, so go figure what's likely to happen next
/end
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Just to underline the key points of this: the TCA highlights the extent to which the UK remains entangled in a dense web of international commitments, post EU-membership
With several hundred references to over 110 multilateral commitments of various kinds, the UK will find that the control it was claiming to get back will be closely bound by an international system that's very different from 1973
Those commitments are mainly focused in trade (as you'd expect), but reach across the board, into health, food and human rights
Thanks to the enlightened decision of @UniOfSurreyFASS to give us book tokens instead of an Xmas party, I will be reading lots of Dickens in 2021, since I've not done so before
Last year I read all the books in my pile that had got stuck there, so now that's done I'm trying something new this year
It's dawn(ish) on the last day of this phase of Brexit, so let's consider what we've learnt
1/
Firstly, let's be clear that Brexit isn't 'done', despite yesterday's signing of the Trade & Cooperation Agt and the passing into law of the European Union (Future Relationship) Act
A couple of caveats as we head off:
- I've read what I can of the text, but I'm relying on others' analysis
- However, any and all errors are mine
- I miss the clarity of the WA text [sic]
2/
The graphic maps out how much the outcome appears to map to each side's preferences, as set out in their opening positions
While the picture does seem to point to something closer to EU ideas, this needs important warnings, as you'll see