This is worth sharing:
Jennifer Rankin is the Guardian's Brussels correspondent.
The message is remarkably clear. At least the EU can think straight, whatever other merits it might have. We can't even do that, apparently.
Thanks to Neil in the comments section who drew my attention to this.
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In the House of Commons debate yesterday the Conservative benches appeared determined to create the illusion that a) the defeat sustained in the Commons only days before had not happened; and b) that “nothing was agreed until everything was agreed”. Nothing has changed, and nothing said by this Government means anything certain, at all. Everything is possible. It was quite possible to interpret what the PM was saying, that Paragraph 49 of the Phase One agreement is effectively meaningless after all; all we have is a statement of intent (which may never happen).
This is the picture the Conservative Government and Party is attempting to present, as if it represents reality. The Telegraph continues the illusion, spinning the proposition that the only semi-reasonable voices in the Cabinet (Hammond and Rudd – not compelling represenatives of ‘reason’, but this is all the ‘reason’ there is). It also seems to be trying to act, or appear to act, as if there was no Phase One Agreement. There is to be only one test in negotiation – trade; precisely what the British Government wanted, but could not negotiate before Phase One. The British appear still to be in denial. It is quite extraordinary.
In spite of the rhetoric May spins, about a “good deal” (i.e., which simply means “a deal”) being possible, nobody has the slightest idea how it could conceivably be feasible, since the British objectives so far established are contradictory and infeasible: forget altogether that the British Government has no idea what it wants – because at a more critical level of Government anxiety, it is scared witless that the British public is eventually going to find out that nothing about British negotiating policy makes any sense whatsoever, or could lead anywhere towards a constructive, coherent deal.
The only stable part of British Conservative policy is the huge effort that is made to keep “no deal” as the single secure fixture on the table that never falters, no matter what; and the Conservative Government is doing all it can to keep that option open, and to be sure it is always ready to use; but without ever admitting it.
To be candid, their delusions are pretty scary
Afraid I have a more cynical take:
http://www.progressivepulse.org/brexit/an-accomplished-party-leader-unworthy-of-the-office-of-prime-minister
Oh yes
Canada++ is redlined, too: requires a hard border in Ireland.
It’s Norway or Nothing.
!
This is Paragraph 49 of 96 of the UK/EU agreement that allowed the BREXIT talks to advance..
49. The United Kingdom remains committed to protecting North-South cooperation and to its guarantee of avoiding a hard border. Any future arrangements must be compatible with these overarching requirements. The United Kingdom’s intention is to achieve these objectives through the overall EU-UK relationship. Should this not be possible, the United Kingdom will propose specific solutions to address the unique circumstances of the island of Ireland. In the absence of agreed solutions, the United Kingdom will maintain full alignment with those rules of the Internal Market and the Customs Union which, now or in the future, support North-South cooperation, the all island economy ( of Ireland, the island) and the protection of the 1998 Agreement.
50. In the absence of agreed solutions, as set out in the previous paragraph, the United Kingdom will ensure that no new regulatory barriers develop between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom, unless, consistent with the 1998 Agreement, the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly agree that distinct arrangements are appropriate for Northern Ireland. In all circumstances, the United Kingdom will continue to ensure the same unfettered access for Northern Ireland’s businesses to the whole of the United Kingdom internal market.
So, I read it as, that a negotiated agreement shall incorporate full EU access, but, if no agreement is made the UK shall maintain full EU access and the Customs union between Northern Ireland and the Republc of Eire for now and into the future. So can Scotland Wales get the same deal?
I think you read that correctly