Some thoughts on the state of Brexit talks:
On NI border: latest UK proposal (CRAP) won’t work.
Other pending issues (governance) have yet to be agreed. On others, UK doesn’t yet have a position. On the future relationship, the UK seems to not accept that “Brexit means Brexit”
On NI border: latest UK proposal (CRAP) won’t work.
Other pending issues (governance) have yet to be agreed. On others, UK doesn’t yet have a position. On the future relationship, the UK seems to not accept that “Brexit means Brexit”
There are bigger points here, which seem to cut across UK position & proposals:
1) UK seems to have realised there are gaps between EU membership and third country status. The problem is that these gaps are called Brexit. And they've been defined by Theresa May’s red lines
1) UK seems to have realised there are gaps between EU membership and third country status. The problem is that these gaps are called Brexit. And they've been defined by Theresa May’s red lines
2) So the UK is in effect asking the EU to pick and choose benefits of EU membership without all the responsibilities, and, in some cases, with fewer strings and guarantees asked of member states
“The UK thinks that everything has to change on the EU side, so that everything can stay the same on the UK side,” really is the perfect summary of the UK position.
3) But it won't fly. So ministers blame the EU. It would seem that the UK wants to shift responsibility of its own decisions, and of the consequences of Brexit, onto the EU
All this leads to obvious questions: What exactly does the UK think the EU is? And what exactly is it that the UK wants to leave?
Finally, on Galileo: worth repeating that EU doesn’t negotiate in a vacuum but on the basis of EU27 mandate. Any decision on the UK proposal will be for the 27. Meanwhile, understand there aren’t really differences of substance between govts, and definitely not between DE and FR
