Thread by @mafevema

A few comments:
1. To see how something work, first it has to be implemented. The EU was waiting for the UK to implement. The UK delayed & made things as difficult as possible
2. The EU demands on data sharing & labelling were agreed by the UK in the December Declaration

https://twitter.com/RaoulRuparel/status/1448360269240020996

So they are not just "reasonable", they are a sign of extreme patience: the WA was signed in January 2021!
3. Johnson agreed to & proposed border posts in the note appended to his letter of 2/10/2019 to the EU. Then halted the construction.

Why would the EU go to the trouble of drafting hellishy complicated customs rules before knowing if the UK is happy in principle?
Did the UK draft the legal text in its "command paper"? NO. It was very vague. Maybe the EU is tired of doing drafting work only to have it rejected?

Listing the exemptions in advance would just lead to the UK adding many others, taking for granted the ones already on the table. It is basic negotiating strategy. You don't put your full offer on the table first!

Well obviously: sausages & chilled meat products are the most dangerous- hello BSE, Turkey twisters, porcine flue. Instead of asking for a whole SPS Agreement, the EU standards would only continue to apply to a very limited category of food which currently applies them. If this

is an intolerable infringement of sovereignty the UK can chose to have the full range of controls rather than a vet agreement "a la carte". The EU has to protect consumers.

What's wrong with the solution proposed? It worked.

If those proposals are rejected, this will also engrain the view in the EU that the UK only understands aggressive tactics. It is very much a double edged sword in my view.