Thread by @PeteNorth303

1. For the benefit of the hard of thinking and for possibly the billionth time, there is only ONE way to ensure the UK maintains its current trade with the EU and that is by joining Efta and retaining the EEA agreement. (#Brexit thread)

2.There are means to ensure the bare minimum essentials continue but the EU is a major market actually on our doorstep so there is no way we should even be considering options that only maintain the bare minimum. The UK as a matter of fact needs a fully comprehensive relationship

3. As pointed out by the European Commission, a customs union covers only those functions listed in red and is not EVEN required to address those issues. The majority of border concerns are regulatory issues covered by the EEA.

4. A more basic agreement would only cover point to point transactions but would eliminate the huge services markets we enjoy which can never be replaced by an FTA or substituted with trade further afield.

5. All of the alternatives to the EEA mean bolt ons to an FTA and the only way the EU is ever going to allow frictionless trade is by adopting the rules verbatim under ECJ direct applicability UNLESS we are in Efta. It will not budge on this even a bit.

6. Being that the EEA is an adaptive framework with obligations to eliminate customs formalities there is every reason to believe that once we are in the EEA we can design a UK specific protocol that eliminates the need for as customs union - much along the lines of Norway.

7. We would adopt the Union Customs Code and that should be a basis for eliminating the remaining checks most of which can be handled with behind the border auditing. Existing checks in Norway are mainly for contraband and declarations which could be electronic.

8. As to the downsides, there are a few but we are out of time. They said we could get a better deal than Norway but now it looks like no deal oblivion or a miserable vassal state version of an FTA. For all that the ERG have pissed around and whined they do not have a better plan

9. They've had all the time in the world to come up with something credible that can be accepted by the EU yet all we see is the same recycled errors they've been pushing from the beginning. They have no right to be taken seriously and they have missed their window.

10. If we are pragmatic and sensible about it, the EEA solves most of the problems and ensures we can leave without trashing the economy and and ensuring we can mitigate the worst impacts on Brexit day. The time has come to choose and the EEA is the only game in town.