How the British became the new Turks

LIFE IN BRUSSELSEUEUMPEUEUEUEU has become all too exciting for British diplomats. Before Brexit, they needed the patience to haggle over boring, intricate policy. Now they find a knack for bellicosity more useful. Since completing its departure from the at the start of the year, the British government has launched into scraps with its erstwhile colleagues. It began by refusing to offer ambassadorial status to the ’s man in London. It then unilaterally overrode parts of its agreement on Northern Ireland, sparking apoplexy at the European Commission, which accused it of breaking international law. As a backdrop, British s accuse their European peers of vaccine nationalism, after the brought in export controls on jabs made in the bloc. Allegations of hypocrisy and even malevolence zip between London and Brussels like a grumpy Eurostar.On leaving the , Britain was always going to face a choice: should it be more like Switzerland or Turkey? Countries that are neighbours to the world’s largest economic bloc must either accept its supremacy or try to fight it. Switzerland and Turkey best represent these two options. The Swiss, who have a complicated tangle of agreements with the , may grumble about the ’s dominance over their affairs, but ultimately accept the intrusion. Turkey has a far simpler relationship: a customs union that allows goods to move relatively freely. Yet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government wrestles the Europeans at any opportunity.