The EU’s Problem with May’s Plan for Brexit

The EU doesn’t like the Theresa May's compromise plan for Brexit and says one cannot be in just parts of the single market. In order to secure EU support, she would have to make concessions. She would need to commit to a customs union until some high-tech alternative became viable, a stringent mechanism for following new EU rules and a significant role for the ECJ. She has indicated flexibility on all three points. But she would find it harder to cede on payments to the EU and free movement of labour (both of which Norway and Switzerland accept as the price for market access). May’s dilemma is that the paler her red lines become, the greater the risk that Conservative MPs will vote against her.

• Primary Source

United Kingdom: Department for Exiting the European Union: White Paper, July 2018: The future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/white-paper-the-future-relationship-between-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union/

In Facts, 31.07.18: Chequers plan is dead. But what about son of Chequers? https://infacts.org/chequers-plan-is-dead-but-what-about-son-of-chequers/

ESO: In Focus: Brexit - The United Kingdom and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union/

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