The EU is planning to take legal action over the UK governments unilateral extension of grace periods in the Northern Ireland Protocol. Maybe the Westminster government is willing to accept a series of legal challenges that it can drag out, ignore, appeal against and then denounce as interference in its internal affairs. Certainly most the media will back it. But in Brussels and elsewhere the legal action is a sideshow. They increasingly do not trust the PM or his Government to do what they promised to do.
In international relations game theory shows that being untrustworthy, breaking your word, undermining agreements you painstakingly negotiated and breaking the law give you a huge first starter advantages. Other countries will try to placate you, re-negotiate, compromise and assume you have genuine grievances.
Then game theory shows, you lose that advantage and are rapidly overtaken by the other players and not just the one you have been in dispute with. One day you wake up and find that everyone; distrusts you, doesn’t believes a word you say, demands cast iron guarantees, ignores you and your opinions and demands cash in advance, so to speak.
This game theory applies not only diplomatically, it works just as well in the school playground, in sporting competitions, the workplace, business deals and even personal relationships.
Most people and politicians therefore learn it very early on, most but not all.
https://jonty.substack.com/
In my experience everyone has an agenda of what they want and are willing to tollerate! The EUs is you will do it the way we want or we will make your life a misery. Ours is we left the EU get over it. We will break away at the earliest opportunity from the EUs stifling agreement based bureaucracy at the earliest opportunity and ensure they understand we aren't part of their empire.
From our point of view we didn't leave this unpleasant and oppressive club to continue to be ruled by it - that is not the way it works.
You can ramble on about not trusting Boris but I'm happy with him.