Comments by "peabase" (@peabase) on "Brexit talks: Agreement to "accelerate" negotiations between Brussels and London" video.

  1. No, you can't cherry-pick individual EU members for trade agreements. It's not called a single market for nothing. Try to get it through your thick skull that there'll be no cherry-picking. Besides, the wishes of the individual EU members are already closely reflected in the current negotiations. Britain has tried on more than one occasion to drive a wedge between them, but to no avail.
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  2. You're basically accusing the whole of Europe of being greedy. You don't get along with your neighbours, do you?
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  3.  @juliapigworthy  Ah, you added a proviso that they have to leave the EU first. Fair enough. But I can't think of a better antidote to leaving the EU than Brexit, and it's only getting better. Britain was a net payer among many in the EU. Per capita, we've always paid more into the EU coffers than the UK, owing to your not-all-that-great GDP per capita and your infamous rebate. You have too high an opinion of yourselves. But hey, what else is new? We don't refer to Brits as "the lords" for nothing.
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  4.  @jagman84  If percentages mean nothing, it follows that Andorra can dictate terms to the EU, since the EU has a trade surplus with Andorra. I bet you've started to believe it when your partner reassures you that "size doesn't matter".
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  5.  @juliapigworthy  You were implying that some EU members will soon follow in the UK's footsteps and leave the union. I argued that it makes precious little sense even for the rebelling ones in East Europe. Not only because the mere process of leaving would prove very costly (the Bank of England can attest), but also, they'd miss out on the Cohesion Fund. Because of your shortsightedness you can't see the benefits, but I consider the Cohesion Fund a sound investment, since East Europe has a lot of growth potential. In the end, we will all benefit -- except for you, that is. Your "Singapore-on-Thames" scenario is not a credible proposition. In response, the EU members would demand more tariffs and quotas to protect them from what they consider unfair competition. That would jeopardize the UK's financial sector in particular and another wave of Brexodus would follow. Moreover, even a partial dismantling of Britain's welfare system would pave the way for a Labour government, which would quickly turn back the clock. Having lived for fifteen years in Singapore, I know its austere social model is wholly unacceptable to the British electorate.
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  6.  @AK47952  Rest assured, you'll get your trade deals. Just not very good ones.
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  7.  @AK47952  Be that as it may, it's a huge drop from the EU economy. The terms will be worse than those enjoyed by the EU, that much is certain.
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  8. About that. Trump has already publicly stated that in negotiating a UK-US trade deal, he wants to address the trade imbalance that favours the UK. Uh-Oh.
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  9.  @juliapigworthy  The EU net payers mostly pay into the Cohesion Fund, which funds improvements to infrastructure in the poorer member states, mostly East European ones, which were held back by communism. Sure, the Cohesion Fund is taking a hit on account of Brexit. But are you honestly suggesting that Britain, already hard-hit by years of Brexit uncertainty and now suffering the worst Covid-19 fallout in Europe, will somehow conjure up the same amount of money that these countries get from the EU as it is? You really have a bloated ego.
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  10.  @jasonkingshott2971  Which part of "basically" don't you understand? And you question my intellect.
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