Business Insider (HERE) claim the EU has already warned Mrs May her latest customs union idea, reluctantly agreed by her Brexit sub committee only last week "would be unacceptable in its current form". This isn't a surprise, but the reasoning is a bombshell. The so-called backstop only applied to Northern Ireland because of its unique circumstances but also only covered that section of EU law necessary for the Good Friday Agreement to be preserved.
So, the EU are apparently to insist the transition period simply be extended for as long as it takes to get the technological solution to avoiding a hard border in place. The Sun reports (HERE) that EU officials will tell Britain the only way of avoiding physical infrastructure on the Irish border is the UK to remain bound by all EU law indefinitely.
"A senior EU official told The Sun: “Max Fac is a bit of virtual reality, it’s not available in the real world. It’s based on a couple of premises not a single country would be able to accept. The costs are big and even then you don’t end up with a smooth border. You could perhaps have Max Fac in 2085, but it’s not readily available now or even in three to five years. It would be the miracle solution.”
Business Insider say figures in Brussels are opposed to the UK's suggestion that the backstop should be time-limited because, in theory, this means Britain could drop out of the customs union without an Irish solution being in place.
This is indeed a bombshell. Brexiteers and leave voters will never accept it - but are they prepared to accept this means leaving without any deal next year? It would be so incredibly chaotic with food shortages and airlines unable to fly that no government could contemplate it. The can may have finally run out of road.
If the PM and Davis are gambling on the EU climbing down and conceding everything we ask for at the last minute, this might be a very expensive and ultimately the most humiliating bet when we finally have to turn over our cards to reveal - a pair if deuces, at best.
If the PM and Davis are gambling on the EU climbing down and conceding everything we ask for at the last minute, this might be a very expensive and ultimately the most humiliating bet when we finally have to turn over our cards to reveal - a pair if deuces, at best.
