So clearly the Commission has been closely following the debate in the UK when preparing their guidelines for the future relationship - some quick thoughts 1/
Para 4, already widely remarked upon "inevitably lead to frictions in trade". " will have negative economic consequences" really shouldn't be in a formal negotiating document though 2/
Para 6 - "If these positions were to evolve, the Union will be prepared to reconsider its offer" - not usually stated so bluntly, but that's what happens in a negotiation 3/
para 7 - "ensure a level playing field". Unfortunate phrase, this para is really about no cherry picking, and "its decision-making, which excludes participation of the United Kingdom" - to be explicit - 4/
para 8 - so it's an FTA and "cannot amount to participation in the Single Market or parts thereof" which is repetition really, just to be really clear 5/
8i on goods we see "seeking to maintain zero tariffs", likely in goods, less so in agriculture. But then we also see "existing reciprocal access to fishing waters" which immediately puts pressure on the UK 6/
iv "a framework for voluntary regulatory cooperation" which is where we possibly move beyond CETA towards TTIP kind of discussions - these relatively untested in EU deals 7/
v Services - "trade in services, with the aim of allowing market access to provide services under host state rules" - sounds like standard EU services offer as forecast here - blogs.sussex.ac.uk/uktpo/2018/03/… 8/
10 - "ambitious provisions on movement of natural persons, based on full reciprocity" - not normal in trade agreements, this is presumably the big ask of newer member states 9/
11 - "agreements on other modes of transport" - a recent meeting with Turkish Ambassador stressed importance of freight transport - needs to be a UK priority - 10/
para 12 is a big one "robust guarantees.. to prevent unfair competitive advantage that the UK could enjoy through undercutting of levels of protection" - now this isn't so new but... 11/
"adequate mechanisms to ensure effective implementation" is something arguably lacking in previous EU trade deals. This will be a major part of negotiations 12/
Finally on individually clauses para 14 "it should include rules on data" - an area EU has struggled on, but " ensuring a level of protection essentially equivalent to that of the Union" gives EU strong position 13/
My single takeaway from all of this is the importance of consistent public diplomacy from the UK to achieve a good deal - because there's an awful lot in here that seems a response to past efforts that may not quite have worked as hoped 14/ ends
