That Britain should rethink BREXIT

[WallisofWindsor]

David Davis admitting that the impact of Brexit will be equal to the credit crunch should surely make the country revisit the decision.
Why put your country through such a difficult period?

No hard border. What a relief.

I still don't know how there is going to be no hard border if these rules have to apply across the whole of the UK (DUP requirement) whilst the UK leaves the customs union and the single market?

I know - they haven’t given any details so interested to see how it will work while ‘maintaining the integrity of the U.K. internal market’. It seemed like such an impossible thing to solve.

Yes, Icant work it out. I hope it doesnt make "no deal" more likely.

I still don't know how there is going to be no hard border if these rules have to apply across the whole of the UK (DUP requirement) whilst the UK leaves the customs union and the single market?

I suppose they will tell us at some point?

Hopefully we will hear later today. They must have found a creative solution. I’m so relieved.

So, we've already agreed to maintain our financial commitments (maintain status quo), now citizens's rights have been protected (maintain status quo), and if I've understood the report right, if no agreement in the future can be made with regards to the border (currently impossible due to the unique circumstances) then we'll maintain regulatory alignment with the SM / CU (maintain status quo).

Brexit in name only. I propose we change the passport colours to blue, then most leavers will believe we have left and there won't be an issue anymore.

Final agreement:

ec.europa.eu/commission/publications/joint-report-negotiators-european-union-and-united-kingdom-government-progress-during-phase-1-negotiations-under-article-50-teu-united-kingdoms-orderly-withdrawal-european-union_en

I suspected they would fudge it and it would be remain all but in name. It’s an interesting point indeed....! They haven’t mentioned immigration control with the soft border so wonder what that proposal is...

They must have found a creative solution. I’m so relieved.

They haven't, it's just words.

Don't forget the mantra "nothing is agreed til everything is agreed'.

This has moved them on to stage 2, which is when any solution will be found re Ireland/NI as it all depends on what trade agreement we end up with.

The EU were as desperate as we were to move on, hence their panic since Arlene Foster put the brakes on last week - they were expecting a bit of posturing & brinkmanship & then agreement.
(as displayed by Verhofstadt last week while the rest were having lunch - came out and said 'no deal yet' to the press, whilst fully of the expectation that there'd be a post-lunch announcement).

Crisis averted!

Have the ultra hard brexiteers ever been able to control the NI/RoI border under the common travel arrangements? Isn't it best for them that they just carry on as they were before, i.e. forget that N Ireland exists? Unless of course they happen to draw the short straw and get given a NI ministerial posting? Cynical of me, I know.

FHCDesperation

Oh dear. It clearly wasn't the EU who were desperate.

To be even more cynical, with regulatory equivalence now embedded in the agreement, surely an ultimate "no deal" outcome is even more likely? It was probably the only way forward but it makes a "one size fits all" agreement for the rest of the UK much more difficult. In effect, they've stuck down one piece of the jigsaw puzzle with super glue, without knowing the overall picture.

Sooo basically Norway 2.0 ?

I'm not buying it. No details, no facts. It's all smoke and mirrors.

Perhaps a glimmer of hope for a compromise, so we can keep the good bits of European union and lose the bad bits.

Of course if there had been willingness for negotiation in jan 2016 we could have done that anyway.

It's just words.

As far as I can tell it agrees on an implementation period of 2 years where we'll be wholly aligned with EU & rule-takers, not makers.
This is entirely expected.

It also means that there is extra time to sort out a trade agreement; I'm a leaver, but I'm entirely fine with all this as the end-state is more important to me than the transition.

Ultimately, even if we stay wholly aligned initially it will be a much simpler job to part company if/when the 'ever closer union' takes another step that we may/may not want to be part of, which it wouldn't have been if we were still 'in'.

To be even more cynical, with regulatory equivalence now embedded in the agreement, surely an ultimate "no deal" outcome is even more likely? It was probably the only way forward but it makes a "one size fits all" agreement for the rest of the UK much more difficult. In effect, they've stuck down one piece of the jigsaw puzzle with super glue, without knowing the overall picture.

Exactly.

But if we stay wholly aligned what on earth has been the point of the last 2 years?

It means that in the future when/if the EU moves in a direction we don't want to be part of, then we've already done the shit bit & parting company will be far easier.

faith we were never obliged to follow the other member states down the path of 'ever closer union'. I'm sure you know this. If not, you're displaying staggering cognitive dissonance (changing the facts to make your position more comfortable) or else a lack of basic knowledge of eu institutions. There should never have been a referendum in the first place because people do not have a coherent enough grasp of the most basic features of the eu.

faith we were never obliged to follow the other member states down the path of 'ever closer union'.

I don't recall ever making an assertion in this vein. Happy to be corrected though.