Hey, everyone, as it's a snowy Sunday evening and Christmas is around the corner, let's play one of our newest traditional parlour games: translating David Davis.
Sometimes I think not even he knows how to do this, but let's give it a go.
Sometimes I think not even he knows how to do this, but let's give it a go.
1/ Canada +++ is not an option. First because EU has repeatedly ruled it out, second because EU would then have to offer the same terms to Canada & Korea under the Most Favoured Nation clause. So this translates either as 'I want the impossible' or 'I want the single market' 
2/ This is an easy one. It means 'it's not legally enforceable but if we don't treat it as such, we won't get any deal, and that will mean a no-planes, no-free-trade-with-anyone, no-nuclear material cliff-edge. Which would be disagreeable.' 
3/ As confirmed helpfully by the Irish government in their translation. We shaft them on the phase 1 deal, we don't get any deal at all. 
4/ This translates as 'if we ignore our commitments, we'll shatter our reputation for good, and so nobody will touch us with a bargepole in future negotiations as we'll have shown we can't be trusted and will just shaft them in a temper tantrum if we don't get what we want.' 
4 (continued) 'EU will take us to ICJ if we don't pay. So yes, we'll pay our commitments in full' 
5/ This translates as 'if there is a no-deal Brexit, Ireland will be compelled under international law to collect tariffs and conduct regulation checks, but as a hard border is an economic disaster which breaches the GFA, no-deal Brexit actually means no Brexit' 
PS How many people voted for no-deal? 10%? Less than 48%, certainly. No deal has no mandate.
Once again, we can translate Davis as clueless, cunning, or delaying the inevitable concession: Brexit is soft or it is dead.
Once again, we can translate Davis as clueless, cunning, or delaying the inevitable concession: Brexit is soft or it is dead.
