‘White is the new green’, said Michel Barnier as he held the draft Brexit withdrawal agreement aloft at a press conference in Brussels tonight. The EU’s chief negotiator was referring to the chunks of text that had previously been coloured in where there had been disagreement. Not too long ago, the white sections were few and far between. Now, the colours are all gone and the mammoth 585 page proposed Brexit agreement is the result. A no deal Brexit has, for now at least, been avoided.
We’re all familiar with the dire warnings of the cost to Britain of an acrimonious Brexit. These predictions are contentious but one thing is sure: on a personal level, no deal would have been a disaster for Barnier. Barnier was clearly relieved that this breakdown in talks didn’t materialise and he was keen to talk up his role in tonight’s outcome.
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