The EU must resist impatience with Britain – for its own sake | Timothy Garton Ash

I can understand why many in Brussels are growing frustrated, but they may repent at leisure what they decide in haste

“I will celebrate,” said an emphatic German voice behind me, while some dignitary on stage mouthed the conventional polite platitudes of regret about Britain’s departure from the EU. “I will celebrate when it’s over at last.” A week spent talking to politicians, officials and opinion-makers on the continent tells me that this captures the prevailing mood among Britain’s frustrated and increasingly contemptuous European partners: just get the negotiated withdrawal agreement across the line and Britain out of the door – then we can go back to fighting the real battles for Europe, starting with the European elections.

While I understand all the feelings and calculations behind this view, it is profoundly shortsighted. It abandons those of us still fighting for Europe in Britain and underestimates the EU’s role in deciding Britain’s future. A divided country in the midst of a collective nervous breakdown is painfully dependent on the reaction of its now much stronger EU negotiating partner. This explains why every tweet from Donald Tusk, every hint from Jean-Claude Juncker, every nuance from Michel Barnier, is pored over in the British media with almost Sovietological attention. The EU is a major actor in the British debate, not merely a reactor to it. The conclusion is clear: it’s not just Britain that faces a big choice over Brexit, it’s also Europe.

Related: No breakthrough for May after ‘constructive’ Brexit talks in Brussels

Related: We cannot allow Liam Fox’s post-Brexit trade plans to go unscrutinised | Caroline Lucas

Continue reading...