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FWIW, I'm increasingly gloomy about the prospect of a deal by Sunday midnight.
Do we really think the UK is going to put its "best and final" offer on the table because of an artificial deadline imposed by an institution - the EP - the UK government cares very little for?
/1
Do we really think the UK is going to put its "best and final" offer on the table because of an artificial deadline imposed by an institution - the EP - the UK government cares very little for?
/1
If anything, Frost/Johnson may reason a bit of strife & tension between the EP and Barnier cd actually help the UK in these final days.
Besides, EU has proven over past few months it cares little for the deadlines it imposes itself.
And that it will always keep talking.
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Besides, EU has proven over past few months it cares little for the deadlines it imposes itself.
And that it will always keep talking.
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So the real deadline has always been, and remains, 31/12/2020.
What happens with ratification, you might ask?
If a deal is reached after Sunday but before NYE, the EP can hardly agree to ratify it without making itself look (even more) irrelevant to the #Brexit process.
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What happens with ratification, you might ask?
If a deal is reached after Sunday but before NYE, the EP can hardly agree to ratify it without making itself look (even more) irrelevant to the #Brexit process.
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So my guess is it will be provisionally applied by the Council, despite irritation from the EP.
There r alternatives - as @jonworth has been exploring - but I doubt Commission & EU27, let alone the UK, will have an appetite for them.
They just want to get "the Thing" done.
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There r alternatives - as @jonworth has been exploring - but I doubt Commission & EU27, let alone the UK, will have an appetite for them.
They just want to get "the Thing" done.
/4
From an EU point of view, this looks very messy and also a bit undemocratic.
This is, by far, the most important FTA the EU will have agreed since its creation. And ratification will either be rushed or rubber-stamped. Not a good look.
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This is, by far, the most important FTA the EU will have agreed since its creation. And ratification will either be rushed or rubber-stamped. Not a good look.
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But HMG won't care. In fact, it might welcome this. Brexiters think the EU is undemocratic anyway.
(UK ratification will be a bit of a joke too, but that's a different story).
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(UK ratification will be a bit of a joke too, but that's a different story).
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But spare a thought for all those companies and citizens that rely on the transparency offered by a decent ratification process to understand what is actually in a deal.
We probably will get the main gist of a Deal quite quickly. But, for Biz, it's the detail that matters.
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We probably will get the main gist of a Deal quite quickly. But, for Biz, it's the detail that matters.
/7
Happy Christmas to them!
As they try to make sense of a deal between Turkey and Christmas pudding.
Or while they countdown to 2021.
Let's just hope a deal contains enough grace periods and transition phases to cut them some slack, h/t @AnnaJerzewska
/n
As they try to make sense of a deal between Turkey and Christmas pudding.
Or while they countdown to 2021.
Let's just hope a deal contains enough grace periods and transition phases to cut them some slack, h/t @AnnaJerzewska
/n
