Is there any point talking to the EU?

From what we know of the 90-minute discussion between Theresa May and the EU’S Brexit negotiators on Monday night it is hard to see what purpose was served by her attendance. Downing Street maintains that the function had been in the diary for some time, even if it did not feature on Jean Claude-juncker’s official programme for the week. Be that as it may, the “constructive and friendly” gathering failed to break the deadlock in the talks. The best Mrs May managed to extract was that negotiations would “accelerate” in the coming months. Since this process realistically needs to conclude by October of next year and we have not yet even begun to discuss the future UK-EU relationship this is not much of a concession and nor was it intended to be.

The key problem is the decision of the EU to insist that long-term matters such as trade cannot be discussed until “sufficient progress” has been made on three issues, arbitrarily chosen. These are the divorce bill, citizens rights and the Irish border. The money is Britain’s ace in the pack, given the EU’S desperation to be recompensed for Brexit, so it is not surprising that the Government is unwilling to put a figure on the table beyond the £20 billion to be paid for a two-year transitional access to the single market.

Citizens’ rights could be sorted out tomorrow since the UK has made its position clear. Ireland can only be decided in the context of the wider agreement, which the EU mandate will not allow us to discuss. This so-called “sequencing” is the real blockage and it is in the gift of the EU to unlock the process by showing greater flexibility. As Boris Johnson said in the Commons yesterday, progress will only be made if the EU shows it is serious about wanting to move on to the next stage.

Yet is seems they are not prepared to do so – at least, not yet. Of course this is a negotiation and strong positions are often adopted. But the obduracy is entirely on the EU side and is arguably in breach of Article 50. This is becoming a matter of national honour: how long are we expected to endure this belittling treatment before the Prime Minister makes a stand? This is not an argument for walking away without a deal but to question whether there is any point continuing to negotiate when good faith is absent on the other side. If Mrs May is simply being lined up for another humiliation at the EU council in Brussels on Friday she may want to ask herself whether it is worth going at all.