The relentless deadline setting surrounding deal, or no deal Brexit was given more exercise last night following Prime Minister Johnson’s fish supper in Brussels with EU President von der Leyen, Sunday 13 December.
But just like the boy in Aesop’s fable who cried wolf, von der Leyen and Johnson’s proclamations are largely ignored. As so many similar deadlines have transpired to be nothing of the sort, the fact that the latest is being disregarded doesn’t avoid the chance that it may not be a false alarm.
The political tunes being sung by EU leaders now sound like covers of UK Brexiteer playbooks, adopting the chorus ‘no deal is better than a bad deal’. They also now look set to continue singing the song as it is going down rather well with constituents.
UK ports are already disrupted as the global impact of Covid ripples through world waters, goods are now absent from or sitting in UK ports unable to be distributed. Adding a no deal Brexit into the logistics mix on 1 January would be calamitous.
A no deal Brexit would add significantly to the ongoing difficulties of UK hospitality businesses, and as such a deal would be the best possible outcome in not adding further pressure.
The issues that remain to be ironed out are practical and emotional for both the UK Government and the EU leaders. These issues now look like too many to overcome in just a few days as the rhetoric from both sides builds.
Let’s hope that von der Leyen and Johnson setting another deadline proves to be another tactic to focus efforts and achieve some sort of deal that all involved can sign off on, rather than another problem to overcome.
Minister for Hospitality needs ongoing collective monumental support
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Hospitality & Catering News: Brexiteer playbook coming to bite them – 10 December 2020 – Brexiteer playbook coming to bite them.
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