Let's consider this for a bit, shall we?

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politi…

tl;dr will be: completely counterproductive move by UK

1/
UK govt argues that EU office in London shouldn't have full diplomatic status, given its "specific character"

Practically, that means no protection under Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Protection

2/
That's the UK's call, as it is for all third parties: the entire system relies on external recognition of status, so no different in that regard

However, important to keep in mind various points

3/
First: EU is recognised, without exception, by all of the 142 other places it has offices under the Convention

Second: UK recognised it as such while an EU member

Third: concerns about precedent-setting seem odd, given no other such IO exists

4/
But it's the politics of it all that really stick

UK wants a relationship of 'sovereign equals'

EU is the institutional vehicle for primary relations with EU27 states

There's a huge pile of negotiating still to be done



5/
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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More from @Usherwood

14 Jan
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
Read 7 tweets
2 Jan
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

Since I've only ever read A Tale of Two Cities (London and Paris IIRC), I feel I should find out what the fuss is about

So one volume per month it is (hadn't appreciated quite how long they are)

You're very welcome to suggest what the second half of the year should include
Read 4 tweets
1 Jan
A new year, a new phase of Brexit, so a new graphic for you, looking at the timeline for the next decade of the TCA

PDF: bit.ly/UshGraphic65 Image
And I'll update for this once I had done the family New Year's Day walk

and now available with that update (and more)

Read 4 tweets
31 Dec 20
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

consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press…

bills.parliament.uk/bills/2817
2/
Brexit is a process, not an event

The TCA is a first cut of a new relationship between the two sides, but it is not the last word on the matter

3/
Read 14 tweets
27 Dec 20
Another TCA graphic for you, on how to resolve disputes

1/
Short version is that this is very much the same as the model in the WA (and in other FTAs), but with some important caveats

2/
(if you want to compare with the WA version, try this: )

3/
Read 8 tweets
27 Dec 20
Let's have a crack at considering the TCA in light of the two side's starting positions back in March, shall we?

PDF: bit.ly/UshGraphic64

1/
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

So let's run through the headings

3/
Read 21 tweets

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