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Tentative permanent negotiations with Brussels? British experts fear Swiss conditions after Brexit.
“I have a present for everyone who takes a nap after Christmas dinner,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Christmas Eve. And he picked up a pile of papers: the trade agreement with Brussels, which supposedly will allow an orderly exit from the internal market and from the customs union with the EU.
“The agreement,” Johnson continues, “is the basis for a happy and stable partnership with our friends in the EU.”
The Christmas goose has been digested for a long time. Meanwhile, experts in the realm have bowed to the 1,246-page agreement. “Thick, complicated, but not as complete and witty as Johnson wanted to suggest to the audience on Christmas Eve,” explains SRF correspondent Patrik Wülser.
This is illustrated by the assessment of Cambridge University Law Professor Catherine Barnard: “It is an extremely complicated matter. The text is full of rules and cross references. In many places you can see that it was made quickly. “
In many questions, he has only played the ball in the tall grass. You let things rest, you leave them open, or you negotiate later.
While Brexit advocates often use comparisons to sovereign Switzerland at the heart of Europe, Barnard draws completely different parallels: “The deal builds on many other bilateral agreements like the one Switzerland has with the EU.”
The British prime minister kept his word to Wülser: Britain will retain its sovereignty with the deal. «His critics must admit it without envy. Johnson delivered on what he promised in record time. “
In short: a free trade agreement and border control, money and laws. “The free movement of people has ended, there are no more payments to Brussels and the Court of Justice of the European Union has become irrelevant to Great Britain”, summarizes Wülser.
Less duties, less rights
Britain pays a high price for this sovereignty. The agreement is slim. In reality, it only regulates the traffic of goods without quotas and in customs. “That means: many questions remain open.
Wülser lists a number of important areas on which London and Brussels have yet to agree: common data protection regulations, mutual recognition of financial centers and professional qualifications, the participation of British students in the Erasmus program.
Inevitably, memories are awakened of the tough battles between generations of federal advisers and top negotiators at EU headquarters.
Legend:
For some laughs, the odyssey of the Swiss negotiation with the EU was a good one. But British experts worry that Britain will also have to readjust in Brussels for decades.
Keystone
Wülser’s conclusion on the contract: “In many questions, you only played the ball in the tall grass. You let things rest, you leave them open or you negotiate later. “British experts fear that this will continue to tie up many forces.” Associated with large friction losses and planning uncertainties, “says Wülser.
Britain needs the EU
Rejecting tedious renegotiations is not an option. On Christmas Eve, Prime Minister Johnson was clearly trying to emphasize the proximity of the British Isles to the European mainland. He quoted history and common values almost poetically, and even made excursions into geology.
“That was not only friendly, but also smart,” sums up Wülser. Because: The EU remains the largest market for Britain and Brussels will continue to have the longest leverage in terms of geographic and trade policy. “So the EU is worth keeping happy.”
