Brexit negotiations
Is Britain's Brexit chaos a trap?
Britain seems so ill-prepared for Brexit negotiations that several EU diplomats suspect it is a strategy. That reports Business Insider.
European diplomats are concerned about the chaos on the British side. This is because they are used to well-organized and well-prepared governments in London Politico.
Diplomats respond
A diplomat told Politico: "I think it's tactical. They are playing and stalling on purpose, under the guise of chaos. In September, they will pull us into the swamp, with well-developed positions on the points where they know that we as 27 EU countries are divided on this."
Another diplomat asks: "Do they have a strategy? Are they playing bluff poker with the European Union? It could very well be strategy, because the British are normally always so well organised."
Chaotic scenes
The UK government's stance has been very chaotic in recent weeks, with a split within the Conservative party over a transition period after leaving the EU, the possible import of chlorinated chickens from the US and whether or not to remain a member of the Euratom nuclear treaty. "If someone had asked me, 'Okay, what would be the absolute worst way to go about this?' I don't think I could think of it as bad as the ministers are doing now," said Steven Bullock.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat of Malta said to de Volkskrant last week"People who say the British don't know what they are doing are wrong. I've lived in Britain, I know the British mentality. There is simply no such thing as an unprepared British government."
Time wasting as a strategy
The fear among the EU is that the EU team will soon have to agree to a future deal to prevent a hard Brexit. A diplomat told Politico: "I think Ollie Robbins (Theresa May's adviser and head of the Brexit ministry) knows very well what he is doing. By the end of the year, the cards will be different."
An EU diplomat involved in the Brexit negotiations denies that a trap is suspected: "It seems to me that they have no idea which way they want to go and it is very difficult to develop a negotiating strategy if you have no clarity about that."
Next round
The next round of negotiations is scheduled for between August 28 and September 1 in Brussels. Then progress must be made on the divorce bill, EU citizens' rights and the Irish border.
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