To get a good deal in Brussels, Theresa May must persuade EU moderates that she is a serious ally against the populist wreckers on both sides of the AtlanticWhile Westminster is hopelessly tangled in debate over `meaningful votes` and `backstops` for deals that don´t even exist yet, it is salutary to consider that, viewed from Paris or Berlin, Brexit is not going badly. It isn´t going well either, but there is at least a process and a common EU position. That cannot be said of more urgent concerns for Emmanuel Macron, the French president, and Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, such as migration and eurozone financial stability.Modest progress was made on both fronts when the two leaders met this week in Meseberg, near Berlin. Mrs Merkel agreed, in principle, to a common budget for the single currency and to expand the remit of the European stability mechanism. On migration, there was agreement to strengthen the EU´s external border force and create an agency to harmonise asylum rules. Continue reading...
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