Britain’s planned departure is already changing Brussels

SCRATCH your head and the memory flickers into life. Britain was once an influential member of the European Union. Its politicians were infuriating but effective, its diplomats skilled at crafting alliances, its officials adept at the push-me-pull-you of shaping EU law. This is how Britain earned a budget rebate, an opt-out from the euro, and, under David Cameron, a “renegotiation” of its membership (since voided by the Brexit vote). Nor were its energies devoted solely to carving out special treatment. Vital EU achievements like the single market and post-1989 enlargement owe their existence to dogged British diplomacy.