Cases Shaw? what ones would you like to discuss?

Importation of British Lamb to the EU?

Importation of British Beef to the EU?

EU Fishing Quotas?

The British rebate discussions and agreements made that the EU never honoured?

The various supposedly hard and fast national debt to income ratios that were just swept under the carpet when it proved convenient?

Please, please, please DO take me on, on this Shaw because I will massacre you on the subject.

But let us take this as the starting point:

1: "The EU wants the money they think we should be paying." - Steve Shaw

No, they appear to have picked a nice round figure out of thin air. - Nigel Parsons.

So tell us Shaw how did the EU arrive at their figure? Fact is you can't, but more importantly, neither can they.

2: "If you have good reason to dispute the amount they're asking for, let's be having it, preferably without the little Englander hubris." - Steve Shaw

If they won't tell the UK how this figure has been arrived at, how can we dispute it, either in total or line by line? - Nigel Parsons

I know that you have never worked in any sort of commercial, or contractual, environment Shaw but if you present a bill to anyone you must be able to justify your entire bill item by item if requested to do so by the party you expect to pay it. If you cannot then you have to compromise and come to a mutually agreed figure. This I know presents the EU Commission with a great problem, after all they have not been able to present ONE set of audited accounts in the entire history of the EU.

3: "And it's perfectly right that they want a financial settlement resolved before discussing trade arrangements. Why would any rational negotiator want those two issues enmeshed?" - Steve Shaw

Maybe we should agree the payment in order to get things moving, and then re-negotiate it later. But better yet, let's get on with things.
The EU may not want the two items enmeshed, but they need to take account of their own instructions. - Nigel Parsons

Well then Shaw here are the EU's guidelines:

"According to European Council (Art. 50) guidelines for Brexit negotiations ". Negotiations under Article 50 TEU will be conducted in transparency and AS A SINGLE PACKAGE. In accordance with the principle that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, individual items cannot be settled separately."

So according to their guidelines it most certainly is NOT "perfectly right" to separate the issues IS IT SHAW?? The EU in adopting the stance they have are clearly disobeying their own guidelines. I take it Shaw that you do know what a SINGLE PACKAGE means don't you? The EU Commission clearly don't.

I do like your line Why would any rational negotiator want those two issues enmeshed? as I have made clear above that it is the EU that has enmeshed the two, and so, are being described by you as irrational! - Nigel Parsons

If ever there was a "Game, Set & Match" on this forum Nigel Parsons destruction of your post (Steve Shaw - 07 Sep 17 - 05:30 PM) was it.