Friday 13 January 2017

Brexit Negotiations: Now We're Talking!

The Grauniad, bless their little red socks, has an Absolute Cracker of an exclusive. 
EU negotiator wants 'special' deal over access to City post-Brexit:   - minutes of Michel Barnier’s meeting with senior MEPs reveal he wants 27 member states to have easy access to London’s financial institutions ... Barnier wants a “special” relationship with the City of London after Britain has left the bloc, according to unpublished minutes seen by the Guardian that hint at unease about the costs of Brexit on continental Europe ... The fear is that European governments and companies would find it harder and more expensive to raise capital if they were denied access to the City, which acts as Europe’s investment bank.
And so it goes on - you'll want to read the whole lot.  Good on yer, Guardian!

Now there's a Frenchman who might actually understand the way of the world - as opposed to the lumpen euro-mass of morons who truly do not understand (particularly German morons - as we've written here many a time and oft).  Frankfurt?  Pff.

It's interesting, because a priori you'd imagine the superior and irredeemably statist products of les Grandes Écoles would be not at all well placed intellectually to grasp the facts about finance and free markets and the like.  But my experience has been that there are actually plenty of froggies who do, even if it is often admitted through clenched teeth.

By truly delightful coincidence, today was the day I was asked by the (French) friend-of-a-friend if Mrs D & I would act as honorary godparents to his daughter as she sets out on her career in ... London.  It's the only place, she says.

An honour and a pleasure, Monsieur. 

ND
 

6 comments:

Thud said...

I know there will be hard times ahead but I also expect more of this, onwards and upwards I believe.

tolkein said...

The Guardian can't help itself. It's an infuriating paper, but if there's breaking news, I always follow it on the Guardian rather than the Beeb. Deep down they are actually journalists wanting to break stories. I know they're on the Left, but I take that into account when reading their news stories.

Nick Drew said...

Thud - I think that's exactly right. Trouble is, there hasn't been much evidence of belief in High Places that we can strike a pretty good win-win. Public airing of the strength of our position (in the hands of a decent negotiator) like this makes Cameron's failure to achieve anything around the table all the more culpable

tolkein - agreed (with the possible exception of Polly Toynbee, who's just so fact-checking lazy so often - though even she has her moments)

I also read it because - as we are often told these days - it's pretty important to get outside your private echo-bubble of self-reinforcing online prejudices. I already know what I think ...

Blue Eyes said...

*shocked*

Anonymous said...

The Guardian is pretty good at news.

It isn't good at the "opinion" section, making money or following its own principles.

Electro-Kevin said...

I don't mind the Guardian at all but it shouldn't be a recruiting paper for BBC and Government jobs.

Hence it is they who need to get out of their echo-bubble.