Boris Johnson wants a ‘Canada-style relationship’ with the EU – an objective that seems wholly
reasonable as a minimal initial ask. It is in itself a compromise across a range of issues but it has
the merit of simplifying the complex negotiating process.
Yet, because the UK’s relationship with the EU from 1 January 2021 will be governed by a
combination of a ‘future relationship agreement’ and the Withdrawal Agreement with its Northern
Ireland Protocol remaining in force – except to the extent that the ‘future relationship agreement’
might modify them – the EU has already ensured that it cannot offer a proper Canada-style deal at all.
Therefore, it will be better to have no ‘future relationship agreement’ at all rather than continuing
on the current course of negotiating a Canada minus, minus deal.
The table below explains the twelve reasons why the Withdrawal Agreement (and the associated
Northern Ireland Protocol) – if not fundamentally altered or rejected – make an acceptable Canadian
deal impossible.
Click here to read the report in full.