Having spent 31 years doing nothing else but negotiating complex multi £million equipment supply contracts, one thing I learnt very early on is to have the key decision makers in the room who you are negotiating with. No disrespect to Barnier or the EU President but they are just the 'messengers' for Macron and Merkel to hide behind. What's needed is all of them in the room to thrash this out. The top decision makers, fully empowered to make decisions for their respective corners, then they might just come out with a deal.
I actually feel sorry for Frost and Barnier to be put in this position without the power and authority to go with it. Delegation means exactly that, delegate the authority and empower those who know how to negotiate and come out with a workable soln.
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