Press

Michel Barnier, speaking to the Centre for European Reform in Brussels, has warned that ratification by EU Parliaments will be tricky if the UK goes down the route preferred by the more ardent Brexiteers and chooses to diverge from EU rules. Michel Barnier’s speech was peppered with warnings for UK politicians who still think that a Brexit deal could see many of the advantages of current smooth access to the Single Market continuing post Brexit even if the UK tries to diverge from EU rules.

Speaking about the comparisons between PESCO and the EU army project, Sophia Besch, research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said the two are "not very related at all." "PESCO, if it suceeds, will have very little to do with that idea," she continued, noting that the two dozen ventures center around communication and empowering "the weak industrial base." "This is about granular, on-the-ground cooperation," Besch said, noting that Juncker's appeals for a wide European command was "counterproductive" to practical cooperation efforts.

John Springford, the director of research at the London-based Centre for European Reform, told me that when it came to deciding whether or not to ask Patel for her resignation, May was without any good options. “If she sacks [Patel], she’s got a disgruntled Leaver on the backbench who might make it difficult for her in Brexit negotiations,” he said, noting that recent polling has shown public trust in May’s ability to negotiate a good Brexit deal has fallen to record lows. “If she doesn’t, she looks weak because prime ministers should use their authority to ensure that breaches of the ministerial code are punished.”