Deal with EU will be reached

Sir, - The general election result will not have changed the view of the rest of the EU over the likely terms of Brexit.

A mutually acceptable deal continues to be something that does not fit the hard or soft Brexit rhetoric used by those reluctant to accept the outcome of the EU vote.

At the end of the process, the UK cannot be a full member of any EUrelated body, whether that is the EU’s own single market, or arrangements like EFTA.

Both sides understand the advantages of reaching a compromise, but cannot do so in a way that undermines the EU project, or that leaves the UK looking as if it remains in the EU.

The likeliest deal will involve free trade secured at a cost.

Compromises will be reached on everything from free movement of people, to the terms upon which EU nationals already here will remain, as well as for UK citizens living in the EU.

Elsewhere, hybrid arrangements will be secured in relation to matters as diverse as the European Court and fishing policy, with the outcomes capable of being portrayed as saving face on both sides.

It will be a fairly expensive deal to both the UK and the EU.

This will be a special deal, but not for just a single part of the UK as some have argued, but for the UK as a whole. As it is in the UK and the EU’s interests that such a deal is secured, the odds are it will be. Keith Howell. White Moss, West Linton.

Both sides understand the advantages of reaching a compromise, but cannot do so in a way that undermines the EU project, or that leaves the UK looking as if it remains in the EU