France's Le Drian blames Britain's 'attitude' for Brexit talks impasse

[snoop1130]

France's Le Drian blames Britain's 'attitude' for Brexit talks impasse

 

French European and Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, wearing protective face masks, leave following the last weekly cabinet meeting before summer vacation break, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, July 29, 2020. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Files

 

PARIS (Reuters) - France's foreign minister on Monday blamed the stalemate in Brexit talks on what he called Britain's intransigent and unrealistic attitude.

 

Negotiations between Britain and the European Union on future relations after its Jan. 31 exit from the bloc have made scant progress, with both sides accusing the other of posing unachievable demands.

 

"The negotiations are not advancing because of an intransigent and, let's be clear, unrealistic attitude of the United Kingdom," Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a speech to French ambassadors based in Europe.

 

Le Drian, who was speaking alongside German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, said the EU was as united as ever in reaching an ambitious Brexit deal, but the ball was in Britain's court.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-08-31

 

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[Bluespunk]

2 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

 

"The negotiations are not advancing because of an intransigent and, let's be clear, unrealistic attitude of the United Kingdom," Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said

What? Brexiteers being unrealistic and intransigent!!!!!

 

I'm utterly shocked to hear this is the case...

[alyx]

Of course, not aware of any of the details or even the great lines of the deal but EU have been utterly nice to UK regarding the exit of the latter.

[sammieuk1]

Down the drain then Mr Diran????

[Surelynot]

WTO here we come.......or rather hell in a hand cart as it will eventually turn out to be.

[nausea]

Typical negotiation talk. The more I hear about Britain being intransigent and unrealistic, the more I hope for a good outcome.  Britons are notoriously reactive, a good deal at the last moment, yeah, I hope for it. You have to hold the Sword of Damocles over their head (no deal) to get anywhere at all. Who'll blink first?

[Surelynot]

....and to think....... we did have a fantastic deal.

[RayC]

So we are now officially in the 'Blame' phase of the game. Imo the UK is being "intransigent and unrealistic" with its demands re access to the single market. However, M.Diran might like to look in the mirror; Imo France and Spain's insistence on keeping the same deal re fishing rights in UK waters might also be viewed as being "intransigent and unrealistic".

[OneMoreFarang]

59 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

"The negotiations are not advancing because of an intransigent and, let's be clear, unrealistic attitude of the United Kingdom," Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said

That is definitely a good summary.

If the little UK wants to play with the big EU then better accept the rules.

And lets not forget that the EU really tries to be nice to the UK. Any trade deal with the USA and China will be more difficult.

It probably helps to claim "let's take back control" to win an election. But that part is done and now it's time for realpolitik. Boris are you ready?

[OneMoreFarang]

42 minutes ago, Surelynot said:

WTO here we come.......or rather hell in a hand cart as it will eventually turn out to be.

And I thought they call it "taking back control".

[OneMoreFarang]

33 minutes ago, nausea said:

Typical negotiation talk. The more I hear about Britain being intransigent and unrealistic, the more I hope for a good outcome.  Britons are notoriously reactive, a good deal at the last moment, yeah, I hope for it. You have to hold the Sword of Damocles over their head (no deal) to get anywhere at all. Who'll blink first?

The problem with those last minute deals is that when the deal it too big the "last minute" is more likely a at least a months or two. And there are too many issues open to solve them in so little time.

So there are basically only two options: A) one side gives in and accepts everything the other side wants. Or B) Something more complicated and there is no time for that anymore.

 

I guess Boris will blame everything on Covid. Brexit would have been perfect without Covid. Let's look if his voters accept that one.

[thaibeachlovers]

Oh boo hoo. If the EU wasn't such a disaster Britain wouldn't want to leave it. Monsieur Le Drian should look closer to home.

[thaibeachlovers]

32 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

The problem with those last minute deals is that when the deal it too big the "last minute" is more likely a at least a months or two. And there are too many issues open to solve them in so little time.

So there are basically only two options: A) one side gives in and accepts everything the other side wants. Or B) Something more complicated and there is no time for that anymore.

 

I guess Boris will blame everything on Covid. Brexit would have been perfect without Covid. Let's look if his voters accept that one.

I think most will just be happy to be out of the horrid mess that is the EU today.

It started as a common market, but the usual suspects got big headed and went a bridge too far.

[herfiehandbag]

1 hour ago, snoop1130 said:

Le Drian, who was speaking alongside German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas,

Tell me, does a French minister do anything without "being alongside" a German?

[Rookiescot]

But we had an oven ready deal. Johnson told us all that before the last election.

Wait.

You dont think Johnson might have been lying do you?

[Rookiescot]

15 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I think most will just be happy to be out of the horrid mess that is the EU today.

It started as a common market, but the usual suspects got big headed and went a bridge too far.

Then the plucky Brits decided they needed to be the Singapore on Thames.

What will happen when we see the fall of that?

[Chelseafan]

1 hour ago, nausea said:

Typical negotiation talk. The more I hear about Britain being intransigent and unrealistic, the more I hope for a good outcome.  Britons are notoriously reactive, a good deal at the last moment, yeah, I hope for it. You have to hold the Sword of Damocles over their head (no deal) to get anywhere at all. Who'll blink first?

 

Nororiously reactive ? I hardly think so. Don't let the likes of front-line politics fool you. If anything we are meticulous planners but huge procrastinators.

 

[OneMoreFarang]

27 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I think most will just be happy to be out of the horrid mess that is the EU today.

It started as a common market, but the usual suspects got big headed and went a bridge too far.

Let's look how you and all the other people in Great Britain feel when the s$% hits the fan and the economy goes down, DOWN. Don't say nobody warned you.

 

[thaibeachlovers]

Just now, OneMoreFarang said:

Let's look how you and all the other people in Great Britain feel when the s$% hits the fan and the economy goes down, DOWN. Don't say nobody warned you.

 

I don't live there so why will it affect me?

Anyway, if it does go down it'll be karma for almost destroying the NZ economy when they joined the common market and stabbed NZ in the back.

[thaibeachlovers]

15 minutes ago, Rookiescot said:

Then the plucky Brits decided they needed to be the Singapore on Thames.

What will happen when we see the fall of that?

Doesn't matter what happens. It's better than being in the EU and subject to Brussels.

[evadgib]

I heard an interview this morning explaining that the Canadians were treated similarly by the EU until the 11th hour. Whether that'll happen this time remains to be seen, but if HMG settles for less than full umbilical severance the electorate will see through it.

[evadgib]

21 minutes ago, Rookiescot said:

Then the plucky Brits decided they needed to be the Singapore on Thames.

What will happen when we see the fall of that?

'We', given you're coming too whether you like it or not.

[CG1 Blue]

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

If the little UK wants to play with the big EU then better accept the rules.

And lets not forget that the EU really tries to be nice to the UK. Any trade deal with the USA and China will be more difficult.

Little UK? The UK economy is larger than 20 of the EU 27's combined economies. That's partly why the EU is such a basket case. 

And you can't compare bilateral trade deals with individual countries to the deal the EU wants with the UK. The EU wants to retain some control over the UK. That's not how trade deals work.

After decades of UK contributions, the EU should not be discriminating against the UK by offering us a deal with strings attached. 

[OneMoreFarang]

8 minutes ago, CG1 Blue said:

After decades of UK contributions, the EU should not be discriminating against the UK by offering us a deal with strings attached.

The UK EU politicians were involved in making all those rules over the last decades. They should know all those rules in detail and they should know why they exists and why the EU won't make any exceptions from certain rules.

All that was very clear from the very beginning.

The EU is not discriminating. The EU follows the EU's countries interests.

As far as I see the proposed "strings" make a lot of sense. I.e. those level playing fields. The UK can't expect free access to the EU and then changing i.e. the employment or environmental rules in the UK to give them an advantage. 

[alyx]

2 hours ago, sammieuk1 said:

Down the drain then Mr Diran????

Le Drian  (sorry I googled the Diran name to check who he was and I realised you were talking about Le Drian 555)

Is the anagram on purpose ? Drian and drain ?

[fishtank]

Bbbuuuut Bungling Boris said it was going to be so easy.

Porky pies from Bungle?

Surely not.

[fishtank]

31 minutes ago, evadgib said:

I heard an interview this morning explaining that the Canadians were treated similarly by the EU until the 11th hour. Whether that'll happen this time remains to be seen, but if HMG settles for less than full umbilical severance the electorate will see through it.

Nope. The electorate will be relieved as they have seen though Bungle and his bs.

[herfiehandbag]

6 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

The UK EU politicians were involved in making all those rules over the last decades. They should know all those rules in detail and they should know why they exists and why the EU won't make any exceptions from certain rules.

They do.

 

They understand that, for example, most rules and regulation in the agricultural sector exist to prop up French agriculture.

 

They understand that, for example, most rules and regulation in the Fisheries sector exist to service the unholy alliance of the French, Spanish (and to a lesser extent the Dutch) fishing fleets.

 

They understand that, for example, many rules and regulation in the manufacturing sector have as a prime purpose defending the German hegemony in that field, and of course the Euro, as the "Deutschmark in drag" is known.

 

That is why their electorate, fed up to the back teeth with European refusal to consider modifying these rules, ultimately instructed their government to take them out of the sclerotic multi national protection racket.

[candide]

1 hour ago, Rookiescot said:

Then the plucky Brits decided they needed to be the Singapore on Thames.

What will happen when we see the fall of that?

They will blame it on the EU, as usual.

[Logosone]

So we rebuild the entirety of Wales for you but you won't even share a haddock with us?

 

Well, well, well, now we see the true face of perfidious Albion.