Happy Brexmas!

 

In this world that never seems to stop, even Boxing Day is not a respite from political development. In Brussels the negotiating teams of Britain and the European Union have agreed informally to a draft trade deal. The entire document is over two thousand pages, but I've read a summary. The good news is that the Finlandization I was afraid of has not happened. I did think it was unlikely that we would end up with a BrINO- Brexit In Name Only, far more unlikely than most other people in the Leave community; but the threat was there. Now it has gone. Britain has control of its export and import prices via duties and subsidies, the so-called "level playing field". We will leave the common market and can set up our own bilateral trade deals with other countries. We will leave the EU customs zone, so travel procedure to the EU will change; however, despite what Remoaners will tell you, it will still be possible to go on holiday and work in Europe.We will be free of the European Court of Justice. The bad news is that the biggest sticking point of all has still not been resolved; fishing. The original plan was to reduce the value of fish caught by EU boats in British waters by 80%, but this has now been reduced to 25% only. There's also a five and a half year transition period to sort it out, clearly a kicking the can down the road operation. There is also no mention of defence policy; at least it's not in the summary. Will British forces be under the European central command? If it isn't specifically stated that we are not, it must be assumed that we are. This is very dangerous because it includes our nuclear deterrent. The response from the Brexiteer community has been lukewarm approval, along with a relief that we've finally reached the end of the road. Even Nigel Farage comes across as positive, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D49W1XJTYTI. I'm concerned about the lingering obstacles within the, but we won't know for sure if my concerns are justified until the deal has been implemented and has been given a chance to work. Both the UK and EU parliaments have to vote on the deal; if they do so on time it will become law on New Year's Day. I still think we'd have been better of with the WTO, but I'm willing to give this new relationship a chance.
See here for background: https://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2019/10/brexit-portal.html.
And: https://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.com/2020/10/why-i-still-support-boris.html.