If true it’s yet another example of the EU not negotiating in good faith.
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Or yet another example of fantastic BBC reporting 
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Brussels spin is that the UK attempted to do the thing that the EU said publicly they hoped Britain would not attempt two weeks ago, because it would use up the remaining time and arrive at an impasse. At least one of the ‘new elements’ appears to be linking all remaining issues together rather than letting the UK negotiate piecemeal and then play a game of brinksmanship. France in particular is hammering at the idea of giving up nothing until the fisheries issue is in a suitable range.
The fisheries issue puts France in a crap position. If they sign off a deal that hammers their fishermen’s access to UK waters, they will be roasted. Civil disobedience will go through the roof. At the very least, they need drama for cover, make it look like the deal they have is the absolute best possible, and the access they get is better than nothing
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Meanwhile most of the rest of the EU couldn’t give a shit about fishing rights in UK waters.
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Mostly France and Belgium I think.
… Norway probably is working the phones to make sure that no deal happens, so they can carve out the UK’s market share.
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Spain too and Denmark to a degree. Amazing the influence Norway has, huh? Efta/EEA anyone?
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I seriously doubt this is just about fish for the EU.
Although it is of course really important for Macron to at least give the impression to the public.
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FIFY but yes the French government is really worried about adverse effects on the fisheries and what that could bring both to the streets and the waters. They have promised a support package but I don’t it will be enough. Thankfully I don’t live near the sea so rotting fish dumped in the streets won’t affect me. (If they have any fish).
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I have become so cynical that shortly after the vaccine is released I half expect a news article where a Tory MPs wife has coincidentally started a -70 freezer company.
Not only that, but she has been awarded the NHS contract, but disappointly delivered domestic Beko freezers with the temperature dail set to max.
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A long way to go you have, my young padawan.
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11th hour deal on free trade, we give a bit, they give a bit, done. Yes it will be that simple. Hard core BREXIT fans will be up in arms, there will be protests in Europe.
Then we can get down to the serious business of trying to pull the world back from a financial crisis that could make the Wall Street crash look like a letter from the bank telling you you’re £23 overdrawn.
In years to come, all the financial agony will be aimed at BREXIT voters or the Conservative party. Easy targets given the circumstances.
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There; fixed it for accuracy.
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Maybe. But I think the increasingly likely scenario is that too many interests have been left to the last. No one can quite coordinate giving that last bit to get the deal done, particularly in Europe. Pressures escalate, and no one wants to be left holding the bag when it all falls apart. Easier for Johnson to
blame the EU, easier for Macron to blame the UK… Ireland is already backing away, having been Britain’s principal proponent throughout. I don’t see a deal that France can live with now. So a deal doesn’t quite get done, but that is ok, negotiations can resume post January 1.
Except those negotiations start over again, from the very beginning. Not the 2016 beginning, but the 1973 beginning. For some in the UK, that may be a triumph, but it is very unlikely to be quick.
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The public voted for BREXIT (yes Cameron gave them the choice). The Conservative party did not invent the virus. Their handling has been crap but the fundamental problem is not their fault. I’m not defending their handling of it as it’s been shameful. Would have been interesting to see if anybody defended Corbyn’s handling of it in a parallel universe where he’d won.
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Brexit only came about because of internecine squabbling within the Conservative Party and was voted for by a poorly educated public who were ignorant of the repercussions and conned, despite what @Kopstar and others think.
At least you accept that the Tories have been lamentable in dealing with the virus; it’s been a total farce, with the main goal appearing to be lining their cronies’ pockets.
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I voted to leave for simple reasons which had nothing to do with the shit being spouted by either campaign.
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And that’s fine, but you are just one out of over seventeen million people.
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Or the UK is posturing. It all depends on who’s rumour mongering / accusations you choose to believe.
The long and the short of it is that it is ludicrous to expect that a trade deal, as complex and convoluted as that between the UK and the EU, could have been negotiated in under a year.
Setting unrealistic deadlines is simply a prescription for the current situation.
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Oddly, I don’t think I’m the only person who voted to Leave who doesn’t fit that description.
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