1. Have been 🤔 on the reaction to Barniers’ speeches which seemed objective & rational to me. Perhaps, for the ...
2. first time an overtly ‘us & them’ character has emerged. In both speeches Barnier is categoric about the hour of leaving - it’s settled &
3. any idea of a ‘Soft Brexit’ is extinguished - no EEA & no Customs Union. This is the EU perspective which has been imposed by @DExEUgov
4. Third Country status is now a given & this means that the EU can move ahead with clarity. It must now act to secure its borders & the UK
5. will be external to them. This brings clarity to the position of companies & agencies who can now implement clear strategies for Brexit
6. the speeches are therefore important guidance for forward planning to midnight 29 March 2019.
7. Especially in the circumstances of @DExEUgov non-disclosure of impact assessments & other information so important for the UK public.
8. Here are some snippets. 
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13. When all is said & done the EU is moving forward very rapidly - a new Capital Markets Union, new trade deals, a new European Defence Cooperation but with the UK on the margins as a Third Country - the UK chose this & can have no cause for complaint.
