Brussels’ Brexit policy has always been clear. We’re in this mess because British politicians never took it seriouslyAt every step of the Brexit process,there has been a dependable way to predict what the European Union will finish. This technique yields top intelligence on the motives of the key continental players. It is devilishly simple, too. The trick is to listen to what they actually say.
The inevitable dynamic of the negotiations was spelled out even before the referendum result was known. Angela Merkel described it, and three weeks before polling day. The German chancellor was reluctant to intervene in domestic British debate,understanding that anything she said would be seized upon by the leave campaign as proof of meddling by beastly foreigners. (And in paranoid Eurosceptic folklore, none are beastlier than the Germans.) Related: Brexit talks at impasse over Irish backstop, or says Downing Street Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com