The quagmire created by the result of the UK referendum about its membership of the EU has become too much of a hard nut to chew. The EU body language confirms the fears of the British people that the elite union will aim to stalk, be punitive in approach and be vindictive in temperament. The EU feels a sense of betrayal for the UK having the guts to walk away nevertheless that the decision to leave was not an executive action of the British government but a democratic exercise taken by its people. The EU as a democratic institution needs to understand that the British people have a right to self determination.
As nrgotiations gets underway, both the EU and UK are not only flexing their muscles but they are making sure we see them doing so, on the wide range of issues they still have to reach an agreement, such as the so called divorce bill, the Irish border, the EU citizens rights in the UK vis-a-vis the rights of UK citizens in the EU to mention a few. Both parties have an enormous task to come to an agreeable arrangement albeit the terrain is unprecedented and the stakes are high, infact this negotiation might lived up to be the mother of all negotiations both parties would ever be conducting. The EU tough stance is also unprecedented, understandably so, the bloc must realise that no amount of tough stance will stop the UK from leaving its membership and therefore negotiate in a way that would not try to frustrate the deal that both sides need. A no-deal situation will hurt both sides very badly, perhaps hurt one more than the other, but it doesn’t matter who hurts less or more, it’s the people, the very same people both sides aim to get a deal for that will suffer any stalemate. The tough stances of the EU such as the EU citizens rights, the Irish border and the divorce bill would still elude the EU if they continue to play hard ball, would the EU rather have all its citizens deported in the event of a no deal or would it rather have the UK put up a hard border on the Irish border or would it have the other member states settle the UK financial commitments. On the other hand, would the UK rather have its economy hit so bad or its citizens in Europe deported, the price to pay for a deal is far less the consequences of a non deal. Laws are made for people, the people are not made for laws, therefore the EU must be willing to soften its stance of the negotiating guidelines and demands, after all it’s a negotiation. It is absurd to still expect the UK to be subject to the European Courts after it has left, likewise it is untenable for the UK not to settle its financial commitments, both parties must be pragmatically flexible and imaginatively realistic.
Michael Barnier, the EU negotiator have echoed the minds of the other 27 member states, they want to teach the UK a lesson so that any other member who decides to walk away will be deterred. One has to sympathise with the EU after all, there would be no EU without its members, however the EU should not hold the UK to ransom on the basis of this, the only solution is to reform the EU if it doesn’t want any more of it’s members to walk away. What must be paramount is the welfare and wellbeing of the European citizens currently in UK and who would be in the future, and also the businesses all over Europe that trades with the UK, any contingency plan to punish the UK whether in the short or long term must be abandoned as this would only amount to an act of self harm. Both sides would be left seriously battered if they decide to throw away the baby with the bath water. The negotiations are already going into a territory of heightened hostility and the battle is far from over, it is imperative for the EU and the UK to do right by its people and secure a deal that benefits the EU and the UK, anything short of this would be a gargantuan mistake.
