By
N. Peter Kramer
The dust has a bit settled on Theresa May’s Brexit deal with the EU. It looks like that more people took the chance to read more of it and to compare it, for instance, with a no-deal that no one knows what exactly will mean.
Put the trade relation between the UK and the EU straight under WHO ruling? Legal experts rack their brains about it in the heat of the moment. No clear answer yet.
But hard Brexiteers act perfectly rationally when they favour a no deal. Not only the UK gets out, but it also slams the door for several options: a formal customs union, an EFTA membership or even a return to a full membership of the EU.
May’s deal keeps the UK aligned to the EU but with no jurisdiction of EU courts. Of course, it will not have the full benefits of a customs union, but neither it will have the same obligations. It allows the UK to have its independent immigration policy. Regarding the Irish question, the backstop will give the UK frictionless trade possibilities inside the customs union, without contributing to the EU budget. But, the UK can’t make its own commercial laws and trade agreements.
A former Australian High Commissioner to the UK, Alexander Downer, said: “there are good reasons for the UK to remain in the EU and there are good reasons why it should leave. There are good arguments for both cases. But whether you are a leaver or a remainer, there is no good argument for turning one of the greatest nations in the world into a colony of Europe”.
