Saturday 13 June 2020

Pragmatic solutions might still leave worrying 'dramatic change', Guardian fears.

Hard to read the Graun's line in the latest:
Brexit: full controls on goods entering UK will not apply until July 2021
Three-phased plan for Brexit border checks welcomed as UK formally rejects extension to transition period

The announcement of a three-phased plan for Brexit border checks was welcomed by industry leaders but represents the most dramatic change to international trading since 1993 when the single market was introduced.

Poor old Graun. This is actually bad news because it seems to finally sink hope of an extension, and some misguided  'industry leaders' even seem pretty cool about the whole thing. But on the other hand there is still 'dramatic change', which might fuel some protest. 

Garundoianists have always followed the EC lead before but seem to hesitate over this response and offer no ideological textual shifters or comments so far. This could even be their versioon of 'journalism...free from political and commercial bias' (and see post above)

Brussels officials have said the EU has no intention of relaxing checks on UK goods entering the bloc. 

And the old reliable issues might flare up again:

The two sides also remain at odds over whether the EU can open a Belfast office to oversee the Irish Sea border. While the Brexit treaty allows EU officials to be present during checks at Northern Irish ports and airports, the UK is refusing to allow Brussels a permanent base in Belfast....Businesses in Northern Ireland recently called for a similar six-month delay to the checks that will apply on goods traded across the Irish Sea and expressed disappointment the UK had no plans for similar approach in the region.

But that extension to NI of what both parties call a “temporary and pragmatic” response in general seems to have been ignored so far by both sides, although there might be a hint of some compromise over one apparently key issue:

“We have to be very pragmatic about what we see as a technical [NB] presence of EU officials to make sure that all checks and controls are done properly in full accordance with EU law,” Šefčovič [vice-president of the European Commission] said.

And it could all be willy-waving in preparation for this:
The two sides are preparing for an intense summer of talks on the future relationship, with six weeks of negotiating rounds scheduled over July and August.


Overall, even the GRaunb seems more 'balanced'. It might be waiting for an ideological theme to (re)appear, it might be displaying a final acceptance of Brexit, leaving only (!) the deeper anxieties about any sort of 'dramatic change'. We shall see.

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