Peter Garstin wrote:[
Spot on, Howard. Everyone talks about having a deal like Norway or Switzerland which has umpteen expensive strings attached. Why can't we have a free trade agreement such as those the EU has with say, South Korea, Mexico or Chile, which don't have things like free movement and other EU obsessions included?
Countless times during the referendum campaign we heard that we wouldn't follow a Norwegian or Swiss model, but would have our own deal, with free trade with Europe, but no free movement. It is simply fantasy. The problem with this new British model is that, were the EU to agree to it, it would in effect be the EU's death warrant. A European country, with Single Market access but immigration limits would be the new model by which every eurosceptic party across the continent would point to and say "We can have that deal as well". The EU is desperate to put a lid on anti-EU sentiment. This British model would have precisely the opposite effect.
At some stage Brexiters are going to realise that the domestic politics of each EU nation, along with those of the EU itself, will have a huge influence on our future relationship. We cannot continue to ignore the fact that every country has their own agenda. If this British Model harms the EU, or creates domestic political difficulties in Paris or Berlin, it will not happen.