Theatrics and brinkmanship have become a wearyingly familiar part of Brexit. Downing Street’s declaration on Friday that talks on a future trade accord were “over” appears a reprise of Boris Johnson’s tactics in exit talks a year ago: threaten no deal, use that as political cover to make concessions, then sell the final agreement as a triumph for toughness. The prime minister’s claim that the UK is ready to go it alone when the transition period ends in December is surely a bluff. Brussels knows that. The danger is that miscalculations blow up the talks despite both sides’ desire for a deal. That would be worse for the UK — but, on top of a resurgent pandemic, it would damage the EU too.
戲劇性與邊緣政策已成爲英國脫歐中令人生厭的熟悉套路。唐寧街上週五宣佈關於脫歐後貿易協定的談判已「結束」，這似乎重演了一年前鮑里斯•強森(Boris Johnson)在脫歐談判中使用的策略：以無協議脫歐爲要挾，將此作爲政治掩護做出讓步，然後再將最後達成的協議鼓吹爲顯示了強硬的勝利。這位英國首相聲稱英國準備在12月脫歐過渡期結束後無協議脫歐，這無疑是虛張聲勢。布魯塞爾方面心知肚明。風險在於儘管雙方都希望達成協議，但誤判會使談判破裂。對英國來說這造成的損害更大——但在第二波新冠疫情來襲之際，這也會給歐盟(EU)造成損害。