An EU source said 2 warnings from the Commission set “alarm bells” ringing: that Johnson was reducing the ambition of the Joint Report (no hard border, protecting North South cooperation + the all island economy) to a pledge to have trade that is “as frictionless as possible” 2/

— Tony Connelly (@tconnellyRTE) September 3, 2019

The warnings came during a 90-minute briefing of diplomats from EU27 member states by a senior figure from the European Commission Task Force 4/

— Tony Connelly (@tconnellyRTE) September 3, 2019

“The one message that came back very forcefully from the meeting was that there are no concrete proposals,” says one source. “Nothing has been put on the table, not even a proper sketch or hint of a plan. We’re waiting. But for the moment there is zilch.” 6/

— Tony Connelly (@tconnellyRTE) September 3, 2019