Participated in a very interesting panel this week @StAntsCollege @UniofOxford & was asked 2 excellent questions by @KalypsoNicolaid & @fromTGA on why #EU27 was united against UK but not Putin & XI Jinping & why UK leaving EU was more a threat than Hungary @BrigidLaffan

1. Unity stemmed from existential nature of #Brexit-first country to leave EU, a vote of no confidence in the Union & the hard Brexiteers led by Farage wanted destruction of the Union @BrigidLaffan

2. #EU27 had to protect the polity & the market against UK’s departure. Membership has to matter-if a former member could retain lots of rights while outside the club the internal equilibrium of the Union would be jeopardised. @BrigidLaffan

3. London was adept at fashioning coalitions across the EU-building coalitions. There was a real fear that it would try to divide & conquer & weaken the Union from the outside. @FCDOGovUK did a planning exercise on vulnerabilities of member states to Brexit. @BrigidLaffan

4. The Hungarian regime is a serious threat to the EU but the cases are very different. #Brexit was about leaving the club, the dominant arena in Europe for managing deep interdependence. There could be no special status for former member states, just third country status