Brussels. It would be a disaster of historic proportions if the negotiations between the EU and Great Britain on a post-Brexit deal failed. Unfortunately, it has to be said today, that is still possible and perhaps even probable.
It’s not even four weeks until the end of the year. Unless a commercial agreement is on the table now, we will all feel the consequences of this drama. It’s just ludicrous that a populist stubborn head like British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is playing his games in the middle of the corona pandemic.
Neither side would have considered a no-deal. This has no advantages, only disadvantages for everyone. It will be worse for the British. But the EU cannot allow itself to add the economic upheavals of Brexit to the corona-induced recession.
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With a no-deal, statecraft would have failed miserably
A no-deal would also mean that statecraft has failed miserably on both sides. The fabric of the EU is already showing cracks. If Johnson were to triumph in the end, the Orbans in the EU would again applaud him. Just like last week when the Hungarian Prime Minister said that the start of corona vaccinations in Great Britain was proof that it could be better for a country to set out into the future on its own.
This cannot be proven, but when was the last time populists looked for evidence?
The EU has been pushed into a corner by a political gambler from which it can no longer get out. It can no longer be a matter of getting the best out of the EU in the negotiations. Now it’s just a matter of getting a contract done at any cost.
For that to happen, the EU side must be prepared to make painful compromises. Johnson will in all likelihood not give in. The EU must be smarter than the notorious gambler who doesn’t care about the future of his country.
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