The British government has released a presentation on their proposals for the future security partnership (HERE). It's a fancy document prepared in the style of a power point presentation and although ostensibly about security it covers quite a bit more - or so it seems to me. I assume other presentations are being prepared to cover trade and perhaps financial services and so on. The latest insight into UK government thinking will cause some wry smiles in Brussels. Once again, it looks like an application to JOIN the EU.
The announcement on the DEXEU website says:
"We wish to develop a new partnership with the EU which builds on the breadth and depth of our shared interests and values, and goes beyond any existing third country arrangements. This presentation focuses on how the UK look to achieve this vision. It covers both internal and external security, and will form the basis of ongoing negotiations with the EU".
The phrase "goes beyond any existing third country" is the key. As an EU member Britain was a first or second country. We voted to leave the EU, the EEA, the customs union and Euratom and become a third country. Now we want to negotiate our way back in to get all the benefits of what we had as a first country while enjoying the freedom of a third country. This is cakeism writ large.
To give you a flavour, I pick out a few sentences from the presentation:
[The relationship] should be a partnership that protects our shared interests and values, ensuring we act together for our mutual benefit.
This partnership should have two core parts.
• An economic partnership, that goes beyond any existing FTA, covering more sectors and with deeper cooperation.
• A security partnership, maintaining and strengthening our ability to meet the ever evolving threats we both face.
The interests that the UK and EU project and defend are rooted in shared values - respect for human dignity, human rights, freedom, democracy and equality. The shared threats we both face will continue to intensify and evolve.
No existing security agreement between the EU and a third country captures the full depth and breadth of our envisaged relationship. The UK’s proposals are ambitious and achievable.
These are all taken at random, you can find any number of similar sentiments throughout the whole 39 pages. One is bound to ask, why are we actually leaving? The presentation is not unlike earlier UK position papers and catches a bit of the schizophrenic approach we have to Brexit. Brexiteers want to isolate us from the continent while the civil service and government departments recognise precisely how much rely on cooperation with the EU.
Unfortunately, the "shared values" are not quite deep enough for us to want to be a member.
The presentation is full of acronyms about all kinds of stuff most people have never even heard of. Who knew about EU measures such as the European arrest warrant (‘EAW’), the European Investigation Order or the (‘EIO’) and "the Prisoner Transfer Framework Decision allowing for reliable and efficient provision of assistance between jurisdictions providing legal certainty for law enforcement authorities and individuals subject to criminal proceedings". And what about the EU tools that allow for "the secure and timely exchange of information include Schengen Information System II (‘SIS II’), European Criminal Record Information System (‘ECRIS’) and Passenger Name Record Directive (‘PNR’)".
The presentation goes on:
We should not wait where we do not need to. The UK welcomes the agreement that future arrangements on CFSP and CSDP could become effective during the implementation period, and proposes that further discussions will reflect this. Early arrangements will:
• allow the UK and EU to benefit from closer, more intense and more productive cooperation than the EU enjoys with any partner; and • ensure there is no drop off in our mutual effort in support of European security.
I particularly liked this on page 10 which attempts to draw parallels between the prime minister's Munich speech and the EU's negotiating guidelines. The last item is:-
The PM said, “There is no existing security agreement between the EU and a third country that captures the full depth and breadth of our existing relationship.”
The EU guidelines said, "The partnership should “take into account that the UK will be a third country”
The suggestion is that these two statements mean the same thing! In fact this is Mrs May saying we want much more than any third country and the EU saying you can go whistle.
It's hard to know what the EU side will make of it all. No doubt where there is a clear benefit to the EU we will get some sort of agreement but the section pleading for us to get continued access to the Galileo programme looks like falling on deaf ears.
