Barnier Spits his Dummy Out

Looks like Frost refusing to publish the UK state aid policy before its announced in the autumn has upset the office clown from Brussels

UK policy is not up for discussion as part of Brexit negotiations .... go on David Frost you beauty !

So Barnier has refused to meet him face to face next week

Can't say were bothered ...


https://www.express.co.uk/news/polit...no-deal-update

Re: Barnier Spits his Dummy Out

While I agree with most of what you're saying, if you read the article properly, there was to be a couple of UNofficial meetings in the next few days or so prior to the next round of official talks in September. IMO I think the DE has over-egged this headline.

Re: Barnier Spits his Dummy Out

Good lord that is one more item on the list of things which I envy the British people for. The "express"! What a great news site. Compared to that the German "Bild" even looks more like your "Financial Times". Absolutely fantastic, I cannot stop laughing.

And your sense of humour: fantastic! Michel Barnier as an "office clown". He is maybe the most respectable politician I have ever seen. If I only could see it your way...

But anyway, I think we all can agree that the EU will implode/explode/whatever very soon, at least that is being said in brexit forums very often. There must be some truth in it.

So if that is true why do the UK negotiators care anyway? The EU will be gone soon and any trade agreements will not make any sense anyway. Why don't they just walk away as B.Johnson promised 2 or three times?

I am sure the EU is playing the game only not to be blamed at the end. We all "know" that there will not be an FTA.

Re: Barnier Spits his Dummy Out

Barnier is a failure.

He has failed at everything - the biggest problem in Brexit is Barnier. Get rid of him and we might get somewhere.

Re: Barnier Spits his Dummy Out

These "unnoficial" meetings are actually "official meetings" except without the fanfare of the press and the media. Most decisions are made unofficially, then formalised in official ones.

Barnier had a golden opportunity here to sign up to an FTA with the UK and just blew it.

Re: Barnier Spits his Dummy Out

Interesting assumption. Who would you suggest and what exactly would that change?

Re: Barnier Spits his Dummy Out

Its not an assumption its true. He failed on the irish backstop, failed to keep us in the EU, failed to make us change our minds and failed in a bid for a second referendum. What has been Barniers success exactly ?

I would suggest negotiating with somebody who isn't accountable for anything for a start. At least with Frost you have Boris to make decisions, brussels just has unelected bureaucrats.

Re: Barnier Spits his Dummy Out

I am only seeing Barnier as the negotiator for the trading agreement. Brexit is done so his job is negotiating the future relationship.

In my opinion there he has acted very well. He is following the mandate which was given to him and he negotiates in the EUs interests. From the view of an EU citizen i think that is a success.

From your statement I guess that there is no appropriate negotiator in the EU available apart from unelected bureaucrats?

Given that both parties have red lines it becomes obvious that their positions for a trading relationship are not compatible. So far that is ok and nobody needs to be angry.

The EU will not play a significant role for the UKs wealth, this was stated by so many people so many times. So I think that we have to watch this silly game of futile "negotiations" until September/October and than it will be over.

Re: Barnier Spits his Dummy Out

Why not ask elected leaders what they think. At the moment the UK just increased the price of 800,000 german cars by 10%

If you hadn't noticed after 4 years, Barnier is still on page 1 of his mandate and hasn't even got to the bit about trade yet.

Instead he asking us to a trading relationship that exists nowhere else on earth. The uk is your biggest external single market worth over 300 billion a year - we are already buying goods from elsewhere and your business are moving here.

What was it you said he said he has succeeded in ?

Re: Barnier Spits his Dummy Out

I have to disagree with you on several points. Barnier, as an individual grown up with the shackles of the EU, has got his orders from the europarliament. He has no room for interpretation of his mandate. David frost however, grown up in a sovereign country, has a much more free spirit. If he deems it necessary he will extend the borders of his mandate or even transgress them. Barnier and frost are in different classes as negotiators.

On walking away from negotiations. The EU will abstain from that to avoid getting the blame for any disadvantageous outcome.

Boris cannot afford coming out of the trade negotiations without some sort of deal. Even a bare bones deal will do. No deal will reveal brexit for the disaster it is. It would be the end of boris' government.

But ah! Wait! Now I understand why the reshuffle of ministers boris announced for september is postponed and will be in january!
Boris will then declare: "this is not the brexit you people voted for, this is brino! My ministers didn't implement brexit the way I envisaged.".
After that he will sack most of the ministers, appoint new ones, and carry on implementing some more austerity. Boris looks after boris!