Press

According to Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform, one of the goals of EU negotiators is to push May to explain the reality of Brexit to voters. “The second phase of the withdrawal negotiations, for the EU, is about forcing the UK to acknowledge the inherent trade-offs that come with Brexit,” says Lowe. “There is a hope that when and if they do come clean, then there will be a moment where the country goes, ‘Ah. Do we actually want to do this?’ ”

“I think he [Macron] has - unwittingly or not - softened France’s position on future relationship,” Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, said on Twitter. “UK can have a deal that is between full access to single market and a trade accord and this can include financial services.”

Sam Lowe, trade expert at the Centre for European Reform think-tank added the idea was one of the few “half-way house models” to have gained serious consideration on the European side. “Not only does it bind the UK to EU’s regulatory model in areas such as product standards and food safety, it also has the added benefit of resolving the Irish border conundrum.

The UK is aiming to enter into new bilateral FTAs that mirror the existing EU agreements. This useful paper from the Centre for European Reform explains the background, what has to happen, and why the UK is likely to need the EU’s help.

Britain is offering helicopters to help transport French troops deployed in the Sahel to fight Islamist terror networks — a welcome addition for France's military, which is undergoing spending cuts, said analyst Sophia Besch of the CER. "France is very keen to get other European partners on board to support it in its operations in Africa, in the Sahel," she said. "You can hear sometimes French officials say that, yes there is an EU army, and it's French.' So, there is this sense that the other Europeans need to step up, that all this responsibility can't just be on France. And if the UK is willing to do it, then that's great."