At the press conference in Brussels yesterday afternoon (HERE) David Davis said there was "no excuse for standing in the way of progress" which is code for when it all goes wrong it will be the EU's fault for not giving us what we ask for. He also called for "flexibility" which is another way of saying don't send me back to face those lunatic Brexiteers without giving me what I want.
The chances of the EU giving in on the questions of money, citizen's rights and the Irish border are slightly below zero. They are not going to compromise because they don't need to. If there ever was any hope Mrs May's speech last Friday was going to change Barnier's negotiating stance they were dashed yesterday afternoon. The Guardian report it HERE
Whatever deluded leavers and Economists-for-Brexit think, we need the EU far more than they need us, as will be increasingly clear. To emphasise the point Barnier was careful to note it was the UK that asked for the transition period, not the EU. He also said there would be no discussion on this or on trade until sufficient progress has been made contact the first three issues. Amazingly the EU's chief negotiator was still calling for clarity! Any half competent government would have provided clarity on the first day. And again he noted how much time has already been used and how little was left. He must be sick of saying the same things. It's groundhog week in Brussels.
Davis said they had made good progress on Ireland with "a common desire to maintain the Common Travel Area and protect the Good Friday Agreement. This week will now be about crunching through the technical detail of how we, together, make that happen" (HERE). This has apparently taken six months! The invisible border that is a real Gordian knot of a problem is a mere "technical detail" so we got nothing on it.
There are many who still think the British government is setting itself up to walk away from the negotiations. If so it will demonstrate to the world just how far removed from reality ministers have become. Look out for a collapse of the pound and in March 2019 food shortages and queues of trucks from Dover to Dartford.
