EU anger over British stance on UN statements

"For many countries this is a big deal," said Charles Grant, the director of the CER. "For British officials this is about a slippery slope. Everyone else thinks this is damaging and overblown. By fighting a theological battle on ideological grounds you are using up political capital and goodwill that maybe you should conserve, because the [UK] government has lost goodwill over this for no tangible benefit. And they will have to fight a lot of other important battles, over the single market for example."