By Ben Kerrigan-
Brexit stalemate talks between the Uk and the EU are becoming more ridiculous by the day, with the same line being used to explain the delay in progressive talks.
Brussel chiefs have yet again indicated that there will be trade negotiations before the Uk government addresses the issue of the divorce bill and the rights of EU citizens living in the UK.
Indications that the uk government may go above EU chiefs and begin negotiations with member state countries like Germany and France have been dismissed by EU chiefs as not possible. asked about the threat to go directly to member states, Brussels officials have ensured that member states agree to abstain from any separate side talks because the negotiations are to be conducted as “as a single package” where “individual items cannot be settled separately” As a result, there can be no separate negotiations between individual Member States and the United Kingdom on matters in relation to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union.
Chief negotiator Michel Barnier, has urged Britain to start ”negotiating seriously”, in other words, address the issues posing an obstruction to real talks. Britain has accused EU chiefs of being inflexible on progressive issues, but EU chief negotiator, Barnier said to be flexible points, our point and their point. We need to know their position and then I can be flexible” .
The British government has refused to publish a position paper on the Brexit financial settlement on the grounds of what the Brexit secretary has termed a ”constructive ambiguity approach”. The literal meaning of this stance would appear to be consistent with the idea of not making it clear at this stage why this is the position they are taking, but the issue of a financial settlement remains the most obstructive stumbling block to any kind of progress.
The British public as of yet are clueless about who is right about the financial settlement issue, neither is it clear exactly why the issue is not being thrashed out in a transparent way that enables journalists and the public to make their own mind about the problem. On the matter of EU citizens rights in the UK, EU chiefs do not seem to have been properly examined about their request in this area. UK prime minister, Theresa May, has always expressed her willingness to guarantee the rights of EU citizens living in Britain, on the fair grounds that any guarantee she provides is reciprocated by EU countries. This is a fair position to take, but with the financial settlement still presenting a barrier to smooth talks going forward, other side or associated issues are secondary to the one big problem that needs to be solved.
There has also ben talks of a bespoke transition deal to replace the status quo, but all of these speculations and assumptions are not concrete enough to form any realistic picture of what the future holds for Brexit and the UK. Britain already has the promise of America for a special trade deal, but EU chiefs have already prepared a spanner to throw in the works by categorically claiming that trade with America on the scale planned or considered would not be possible whilst the financial issue remains. A real question worth looking at is what the potential effects on Britain would be if Theresa May were to give in to the EU demands and pay the financial settlement demanded. It may put the Uk in a position where the flexibility on trade pursued takes a long time to repair any long term damage caused. Until we know what really lurks behind the disputed issues, talks and journalistic articles on this matter may just be no better than an exercise. The year is gradually coming to a close, and unless we move beyond issues and disagreements about financial settlements, we may find ourselves in exactly the same position, this time next year.