Brexit

Curious to hear the French claiming that the British are attempting to "blackmail" the EU by having a hard end date to FTA negotiations. This is the same hard end date that was in the WA that the French (and the other member states)signed off on. They did so of course on the advise of the EU Commission.

So anyway, if the French consider as 'blackmail' an end date that they themselves agreed to, I wonder what they would call the EU's demands that the UK:
- allow EU member states the same access to British waters that they had when the UK was in the EU
- accept the authority of the ECJ in any disputes
- dynamically align themselves to EU laws, rules, regulations and policy
- return the Elgin Marbles to Greece
- accept at least joint sovereignty with Spain over Gibraltar or the later will be excluded from any trade deal etc etc etc

Interestingly, when the UK joined the EC in 1973 there were no demands made by the EC regarding the status of Gibraltar or the return of the Elgin Marbles.

Enjoying a nice cup of Yorkshire* tea whilst listening to a French MP explain why the UK fishing industry has to be kept down in order to protect French fishermen.

*ok so the tea i am drinking isnt actually Yorkshire but if it was available here i would be drinking it!

Just back on the French (and others) re the claims the UK are trying to blackmail the EU by sticking to the December 31 cut off date. The aforementioned cutoff date is in the WA that the French (and others) signed off on. However there is another key date that wasnt in the WA, that being June 30. This is the deadline the EU have given the UK to agree to their demands re ongoing access to the UK's waters for fishing. If the UK don't give in to said demands the EU have said there can be no prospect of a FTA. Now of course the French are strong advocates of the EU position. So we have the French saying the UK are trying to blackmail the EU because they want to stick to a cut off date that is a part of the WA that the French signed off on. Meanwhile the EU (with strong French support) are insisting that the UK be held to a deadline that wasnt in the WA. So the UK acting in accordance with the WA that all parties signed off on is blackmail whilst the EU introducing a deadline that wasnt in the WA is...completely fine???

Meanwhile, in the real world........

European Union foreign ministers in Brussels approved a 46-page mandate for negotiations that stated Britain should “over time” use EU standards as its “reference point” in areas like the environment, state aid and employment rights.

The EU mandate said any deal should “uphold common high standards, and corresponding high standards over time with Union standards as a reference point”.

This would be required in “the areas of state aid, competition, state-owned enterprises, social and employment standards, environmental standards, climate change, relevant tax matters and other regulatory measures and practices in these areas”.

he EU document called for “robust commitments”, “mechanisms to ensure effective implementation” and a “governing body” - all at odds with the Prime Minister’s insistence that Britain must be free to set different rules in future.

Another clash opened up over the Northern Ireland border. Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier threw his weight behind an Irish call for Britain to start preparing for checks on goods flowing from the mainland to the Province. Downing Street however rejected this, saying neither checks nor preparations would be needed.

“The time pressure is immense. The interests are huge. It will be very hard work - a tough road ahead,” warned Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok.

In London, Mr Johnson was drawing up his own negotiating mandate at a meeting with Dublin Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said prospects for a deal this year would be “damaged significantly” if UK failed to begin building infrastructure needed for border checks.

He was promptly backed by EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier who tweeted: “We will keep a very close eye on the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement - this will be key for building a solid future partnership with the UK.”

A dispute over fishing, with France leading calls for Britain to barter rights to EU trawlers in return for better trade terms is another flashpoint.

Dublin Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said prospects for a deal this year would be “damaged significantly” if UK failed to begin building infrastructure needed for such checks.

He was promptly backed by EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier who tweeted: “We will keep a very close eye on the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement - this will be key for building a solid future partnership with the UK.”


It is clear that Johnson is intent on reneging on all promises made in the Withdrawal Agreement. He never had the slightest intention of honouring anything.

I've said it since day one. He wants a No Deal outcome and will do all he can to ensure one..... and of course, it will all be the EU's fault.





Would that be the ones made in France...?

Well the latest news coming out of Brussels is that the EU intend to impose full border checks on all goods coming from the UK into the EU...deal OR no deal.

The Government have just released a paper titled "The future relationship with the EU. The UK's approach to negotiations". Not at lot in it to please the EU and their supporters but plenty in it to encourage those who voted for the CP in 2019.

The EU have been saying for some time that if the UK don't agree to their demands re their continuing access to UK fisheries by June 30 then there will be no FTA. The UK have now quite sensibly (imo) stated that if there is no sign of reasonable progress by the end of June then the UK may decline to continue further negotiations and instead focus on continuing to prepare for a trading relationship with the EU based on WTO rules.

So as previously noted June 30 will be the next big date, and fishing rights the first big battle...

The UK have signaled their intent not to be a part of the EAW going forward which makes a lot of sense on a number of levels.

A while back, someone from the EU essentially said they want to make the UK break from the EU as painful as possible for the UK.

Do you see this as occurring now?

I've been keeping light tabs on it, as I'm not nearly as close, or affected, but it kind of looks like the EU is making an effort to be difficult.

The EU seemed to think that, with help from the establishment in the UK, Brexit could be thwarted. They seemed to be of the belief that if they made everything as difficult as possible that the establishment in the UK (esp London) would be able to take control. MPs would say they tried to respect the will of the people but it all proved to be just too hard and in the end Brexit was just unachievable. Until BJ came to power there seemed a real chance that this scenario might play out.

The British voters however ruined everything by giving BJ a stonking majority. For the first time negotiations will be btw the EU and a UK delegation that actually wants to deliver the type of Brexit that the people voted for. The UK delegation can also negotiate in the knowledge that the government have a large majority. This is highly significant.

For the EU it is extremely important that the UK not succeed outside of the Union. This is why they are fighting so hard to tie the UK as closely to the EU as possible. In many member states there is a sizable portion of the population that are becoming increasingly angry and frustrated with how the EU operates, their ever expanding power, and their march towards the creation of a super state. They are being held at bay by people who tell them that the economic pros of being in the EU outweigh the various cons. If the UK do well economically outside of the EU more and more people will start to question whether staying in the Union is really worth the price they are being asked to pay.

Meanwhile in the EU it's not all beer and skittles. For example there seems to be a four way battle going on at the moment over the new EU budget. The UK leaving will result in a 75bn (Euro) shortfall in the next EU budget. France are keen on significantly increasing the budget in order to fund various programs (including an EU Army). Germany is not quite so keen. Then you have the so called 'frugal four' who want their contributions (as a percentage) to remain the same which would mean the EU would have a significantly smaller budget. Not something France is prepared to accept. Meanwhile the FoC are insistent that they continue to receive the same funding from the EU once UK contributions finish. This of course can only be achieved by the net contributors putting in substantially more whilst getting less back in return.

On top of the above there is now the new influx of people from Turkey with Greece copping the lions share. So as I said, not all beer and skittles in the glorious EU.

The latest news is that the UK is considering stepping away from the ECHR which i think would be a good move.

God save the Queen!

I mean it MAAAAAAANNN!!!

Ah the French are amusing. They claim the UK is trying to blackmail the EU by sticking to an agreed timetable whilst now saying that their fishermen will blockade cross channel ports if the EU don't get continued access to the UK's fisheries. They have also said that they know how to turn negotiations into a "very nasty battle".

Before the EU, did the French have access to UK fisheries? .. maybe through some previous agreement?