Trade talks between the UK and the EU are in a better place than they have been at any point since they started back in March. Now, in one way this is not impressive — the diplomatic equivalent of being the tallest mountain in Holland. For the first three months of these negotiation both sides were bullish, restating their maximalist positions, and coronavirus forced the negotiations online, making diplomacy and quiet compromise trickier. But now an intensive series of talks have been agreed, some of which will be face to face. Both sides appear to be in earnest about trying to break the deadlock.
The British side is, privately, far more optimistic than it has been at any previous point in the negotiation. It’s not that there was any great breakthrough in the call between Boris Johnson and three of the EU’s presidents on Monday, but given that the new schedule of talks had already been agreed, no one was expecting that.
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