Brexit process still a complete mess

The European Union autumn summit in Brussels last week yielded no concrete progress on Brexit, one of its key subjects. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

The protracted and complicated Brexit negotiations reflect the intense interest game between the United Kingdom and the EU.

According to the EU, it will extend the time frame of negotiations for another 21 months, if the two sides cannot reach agreement at a special summit planned for next month.

Although two of the three key issues in the first phase of the negotiations have been largely settled－citizen rights of the two sides and the breakup fee, the third－the administration of the 500-kilometer border between Ireland and North Ireland, the only land border between the EU and the UK－is still riddled with divergences between the two sides.

Also, few breakthroughs have been made in the second phase of negotiations on topics such as trade, security and future ties, which are directly concerned with each side's core interests, as both sides stick to their own argument. The UK still wants to keep the current close economic and trade ties with the EU, while the latter blames it for only being intent on enjoying the benefits without sharing the responsibilities.

The UK is more conservative on the immigration problem, while the EU stresses on a more open and free Europe. And the EU insists the border issue must be resolved first as a foundation for negotiations on the other subjects, including the trade issue.

More and more Britons are calling for a new referendum to redefine relations with the EU, especially since the EU's economy has recovered, and immigration and the threat of terrorism seem to have been controlled. A sense of anxiety has built up over the protracted Brexit negotiations, and bitter pills the UK is likely to swallow after a possible Brexit without agreements.

In fact, the referendum and the marathon negotiations have already split British society to some extent, and the related uncertainties have affected foreign investment in the country.