Earlier this month, the prospects for a Brexit deal did not look good. The talks weren’t making progress. But there is now cautious but growing optimism in Whitehall that there will be a deal, I say in the Times this morning.
The British side now view the remaining problems as being more about process than substance. One source close to the negotiations tells me:
‘There’s no doubt that the tone has improved but we really need to begin the intensive talks to resolve the final tricky issues. We’re keen to begin now, but at the moment the EU keeps blocking these talks and demanding more process. The real risk now isn’t that the talks fail over substance, it’s that they will be timed out.’
If this British interpretation of the situation is correct – and those close to the EU side are sounding more positive than they did a few weeks ago – then some political will, perhaps via conversations between Boris Johnson and the Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, could give the talks the momentum they need.
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