The EU has been playing the same game from day 1, which is delay. Mrs May wanted to negotiate the withdrawal agreement and the subsequent free trade deal together the EU insisted one must follow the other.

When we finally left Boris wanted to start talks immediately the EU insisted on a 3 month delay and then complained there wasn't enough time.

I have said all alone deals are only done when you hold a gun to the head of both parties. If a deal is close I agree it would be sensible to extend the deadline by a few months. However right now both parties are not even on the same page and the EU is still dragging their feet no doubt hoping the current crisis will frighten the government into making concessions.

So until we see real progress in the talks we should stick to the current deadline. The government has said we will walk away unless real progress is made by the summer and we will not wait for the year end deadline, I agree right now the EU is dragging their feet hoping something better will turn up. They need to understand we are serious about this so they need to get serious. I have a feeling that the political leaders of the EU especially southern Europe will realise that they need to to be more flexible their economies are in real trouble.

One final point I imagine that across the world countries are in economic trouble and will only be too happy to do trade deals with the UK hopefully the EU will realise that.

Edited by Badger11 (03 May 2020 9.31am)

One more point

This rather goes to my point about the EU dragging their heels. I don't know if we will get a deal with the US or if it will be a good one but from the tone of this article it appears both sides are proactively putting in the effort something that was completely lacking from the EU.

Throughout the various EU negotiations the EU kept saying it was up to the UK to find solutions, a very passive response.

I am cautious as to the success of a deal with the US because quite often congress sticks it oar in and scuppers deals so it remains to be seen if we can agree a deal and then have congress accept it. However I am more optimistic about this then I am with the EU unless they pull their finger out and wake up to the new reality.

One more point

I question whether it is really wise to try to enter any kind of trade negotiations with the USA at the moment.

I watch with horror what is happening there. The divisions were wide and widening even before C19 and it's now getting much worse. Conspiracy theories have gripped a large section of society and the economy is about to tank with Trump's approach likely to drive it down rather than up. We are all going to feel the impact come what may, but let's not deliberately make things worse.

I sense the US is going to enter a deep and long lasting recession from which it may never emerge back to where it was. China was always going to be the dominant force in the 21st century and C19 looks as though it has accelerated that.

C19 has changed everything, everywhere. With so much uncertainty I think we would be wise just to pause things, extend the deadline with the EU, concentrate on beating the virus first and then take stock to see where our future lies.

Tying ourselves too closely to a sinking ship doesn't feel like a good idea to me. There are just too many possibilities in the USA at the moment.

For the avoidance of doubt any comments in response to a previous post are directed to its ideas and not at any, or all, posters personally.

The EU itself is warning about the risk of Eurozone break up (Published this morning on Bloomberg). And this from the TV Station whose owner tried to run against Trump in the upcoming election, so not exactly biased.

[Link]

Living down here does have some advantages. At least you can see them cry.

No-one can argue with that assessment but it isn't the point. There are uncertainties everywhere so pausing, watching, thinking and then taking small steps makes better sense than going hell for leather in any direction.

The EU may well crumble as a consequence but it might also get the kick up the backside it needed to reform itself. Time alone will tell us which.

For the avoidance of doubt any comments in response to a previous post are directed to its ideas and not at any, or all, posters personally.

Maybe I got it wrong. Maybe the German Court was kicking backsides. But not in a way the EU would welcome. Not sure that the EU would welcome a set of referendums in its member states just now with the biggest economic slump for decades in motion though.

"The message from Karlsruhe is that this obfuscation must stop. If you want to save the euro permanently, the judges are saying, write new rules into the European treaties and explain them to your voters. These German judges would be happy to apply them, because they actually love Europe.

But if you’re not ready to have a proper currency union, with joint debt and governance, then at least be honest enough to admit that. In that case, we must have an open and democratic debate about how, gradually and cautiously, to unravel the euro area as it is. This is the fundamental question for Europeans of this generation. The red-robed judges of Karlsruhe deserve our gratitude for trying to force us to confront the choice."

[Link]

Living down here does have some advantages. At least you can see them cry.