Seen on the street in Kyiv.

Words of Advice:

"If Something Seems To Be Too Good To Be True, It's Best To Shoot It, Just In Case." -- Fiona Glenanne

“The Mob takes the Fifth. If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?” -- The TOFF *

"Foreign Relations Boil Down to Two Things: Talking With People or Killing Them." -- Unknown

“Speed is a poor substitute for accuracy.” -- Real, no-shit, fortune from a fortune cookie

"Thou Shalt Get Sidetracked by Bullshit, Every Goddamned Time." -- The Ghoul

"If you believe that you are talking to G-d, you can justify anything.” — my Dad

"Colt .45s; putting bad guys in the ground since 1873." -- Unknown

"Stay Strapped or Get Clapped." -- probably not Mr. Rogers

"The Dildo of Karma rarely comes lubed." -- Unknown

"Eck!" -- George the Cat

* "TOFF" = Treasonous Orange Fat Fuck,
"FOFF" = Felonious Old Fat Fuck,
"COFF" = Convicted Old Felonious Fool,
A/K/A Commandante (or Cadet) Bone Spurs,
A/K/A El Caudillo de Mar-a-Lago, A/K/A the Asset,
A/K/A P01135809, A/K/A Dementia Donnie, A/K/A Felon^34,
A/K/A Dolt-45, A/K/A Don Snoreleone

Thursday, April 20, 2017

Brexit: Toljaso

The European Commission wants Britain to pick up the tab for any costs related to its departure from the EU, such as the relocation of agencies now hosted by the U.K., and bear the currency risk by paying in euros, according to a draft of Brussels’ negotiating plan.

The hard line for the Brexit talks, laid out in a draft of the Commission’s detailed negotiating directives obtained by POLITICO, also includes tight protections for EU citizens and the EU budget, robust legal controls for any transitional phase for U.K. withdrawal, and clear guarantees for businesses whose goods go on the market before the “divorce” is finalized.

But it is the Commission’s approach to the U.K.’s ongoing financial obligations to the EU that stands out in the document, suggesting that Brussels wants to make it very clear that leaving the bloc doesn’t come cheap.

“The United Kingdom should fully cover the specific costs related to the withdrawal process such as the relocation of the agencies or other Union bodies,” the Commission wrote, adding that the U.K.’s financial obligations to the EU “should be defined in euro” rather than sterling.
I thought that once the Euros dug into this, that they would not be inclined to go easy on the UK. As they get deeper into the weeds of the negotiations, I would look for the EU to take a hard line at every point. It is not in their interest to make it easy for member states to bug out and it is very much in their interest to make an example out of the Brits.

6 comments:

Stewart Dean said...

"The wogs begin at Calais"...and they're going to make the playing fields of Eton a bloodbath. OTOH...who actually *is* the EU that's doing this? La Pen and a substantial fraction of La Frannnce want to bail as well. I have this cognitively dissonant image of the leaves seceding from a tree (or is it vice-versa?). Will the bureaucrats of the EU be suing all the departing member states from the bastion of their meta-capital? Boggle.

3383 said...

Don't stay in the EU because it is mutually beneficial, no.

B said...

What does the EU do if the UK says "Fuck you, we won't pay"?

Tod Germanica said...

Increased tariffs? Border(s) crossing fees? Visa fees? Nationalization of UK property?

Anonymous said...

Let's let the British and German elections play out first. May didn't do this by accident and I have Merkel with a comfortable win*. These are the people that should make the deal.

* Dutch election and the Saarland vote.

CenterPuke88 said...

B., refuse to endorse the U?K.'s withdrawal, leaving the U.K. subject to EU laws and regulations without a voice; or close all EU boarders, eject all U.K. citizens, cut all banking rights/ties and block trade.