Real reasons for Brexit negotiations going awry lie in a ‘misunderstanding and mutual suspicion’ between the UK and Europe
IMAGINE an international negotiations consultant coming down from the planet Mars.
He or she would wonder why on Earth all concerned are making such heavy weather of the Brexit talks.
Ex-French President Charles de Gaulle said that Briatin has ‘very marked habits’ which sets it at odds with the EUAlamy
If ever, our Martian would argue, there were a negotiation set up to succeed, it is Brexit.
After all, it is overwhelmingly in the interests of each side to bring the talks to a positive conclusion.
What is more, thanks to Britain’s 45 years of EU membership, the two sides have the advantage of starting their new relationship with virtually identical rules and regulations.
But what the Martian might not appreciate is that the Brexit talks are weighed down with baggage.
Sir Christopher was part of the Foreign Office in 1975 when Britain voted to stay in the European CommunityRex Features
Behind the sound and fury of these talks lies decades of misunderstanding and mutual suspicion.
And there’s the rub.
As a young member of the Foreign Office, I remember my relief when in the 1975 referendum two thirds of voters chose to stay in the European Community, as the European Union was then called.
It was a terrible time in British life.
The UK was in economic turmoil in the 1970s with workers strikes happening all...
When I voted for the EU it was just for trade and that's how it should have stayed.
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