THE EUROPEAN Union is renowned for its prosaic language and lack of drama. It is staffed by seasoned politicians, technocrats and diplomats that tend not to do hyperbole. But even by the EU's restrained standards, yesterday's agreed joint statement with the British government was conspicuously flat. Reading like it had been drafted by a machine, it simply recapped in very limited terms what had happened in the discussions over the past week, while signalling the intention for both sides to work together in the weeks ahead. It barely merited the sending of an email.
Despite some reports to the contrary yesterday morning, it was felt there was only an outside chance of a significant breakthrough so early in the year. While a number of politicians, such as Fianna Fáil MEP Barry Andrews, had over the weekend talked up the chances of a deal, Irish government sources were playing down expectations. Even securing a political agreement, one that leaves the technical details to be ironed out at a later date, requires a herculean effort with no room for slip-up. There was also a clue in the fact that European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, and Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris were meeting via video conference – the announcement of a deal to break deadlock lasting 18 months would not be done remotely.
Yet even when all these factors are taken into consideration, there was still a sense that someone had somehow bottled it at the last minute and that the ducks which had been lining up over recent days suddenly went walkabout. It seems unlikely that those who spoke of a deal being close were so far off the mark but in the joint statement there was nothing new whatsoever; not even a hint that the process had moved on – or been set back.
Not so much a false dawn as a non-event, yesterday's meeting and subsequent statement was a lesson in understanding the glacial, protracted nature of the EU-UK negotiations – and also a reminder that everything you read on social media should be taken with a pinch of salt.
