FROM the perspective of someone in the UK, there are many things to miss after having left the EU.
Perhaps it’s the loss of the freedom to live and work across the continent without barriers, the opportunity to take part in the Erasmus scheme, the days when you could export fresh fish to our nearest neighbours without facing a world of checks, or go to the supermarket confident in the knowledge that the shelves wouldn’t be empty.
From the perspective of someone in the EU however, the situation is a little different.
That was summed up in one moment from COP26, shared on Twitter by CNN’s Amy Cassidy.
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The EU Commission’s First Vice-President, Frans Timmermans, was asked if the bloc’s delegation missed the UK.
Amid claims that the EU is "not doing enough at COP", Timmermans was asked: “Are there differences between EU member states that are causing this lack of ambition… or are you missing the UK being part of the EU delegation?”
The Dutch politician, who holds the second highest office in the EU Commission behind its president, Ursula von der Leyen, just laughed. As did German MEP Peter Liese, who was sat beside him.
“Are you missing the UK being part of the EU delegation?”
— Amy Cassidy (@amy_cassidy1) November 11, 2021
The EU: pic.twitter.com/GxMAxkLNc4
That just about sums Brexit up from Scotland’s perspective too. Well, perhaps we’re less sure whether to laugh or cry.
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