The current UK-EU negotiations are heading for disaster: the probability of a ‘bare-bones’ trade deal, with some limited add-ons, is looking strong. The future relationship between the two will most probably be blighted by tensions over continual trade disputes.
Labour peer and member of the House of Lord’s European Union Select Committee, Roger Liddle, outlines how the UK government is increasingly fraying away from the October Political Declaration and Withdrawal Agreement. This deviation from its signed commitments demonstrates the Johnson administration’s seeming prioritisation of British sovereignty and independence, at the expense of economic integration and institutionalised cooperation.
Liddle provides a frank analysis of both sides’ expectations and realities in a range of topics – Northern Ireland, establishing a level playing field, the moot issue of fisheries, security –, measuring one against another to depict a contentious future UK-EU relationship.
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