The Unreality of the Next Stage of Brexit
London and Brussels have not accepted that the world has changed since Britain exited.
Britain and the European Union begin negotiations over a new trading relationship today, but like in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, a strange unreality hangs over everything.
The two sides have given themselves just 10 months to agree on a new trading relationship that will supersede the no-tariffs, no-checks system that currently exists. Last week, the U.K. and EU each published a “mandate,” setting out what they wanted from any new deal. Taken together, their opening positions left just about enough middle ground for a final agreement to be struck, analysts said, narrow though it may be.
The problem, though, is not that a compromise has become impossible or even unlikely—few believe
