The wrangling is far from over, but an essay towards a formula has eventually been crafted. Europe is poised to defend itself in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The welter of measures unveiled last Wednesday is riveted to the interests of the people.

This is only very humane for it is the people who voted for Britain’s exit from the European Union ~ however marginally ~ two years ago, and may yet again be called upon to vote on the pregnant issue. It thus comes about that the EU headquarters in Brussels has urged governments in Europe to adopt what it calls a “generous” approach to protect the rights of one million Britons living in the European Union, if the UK pulls out of Brexit talks without a deal.

In a no-deal planning paper, the European Commission has called on governments to grant temporary residence permits to British nationals so that people have time to make applications to secure their long-term status.

With 100 days to go until the United Kingdom leaves the European Union in March 2019, EU has promised that British people on short visits will be exempt from visas, as long as the British government offers a reciprocatory gesture for EU nationals.

The British government has pledged to uphold the rights of 3.5 million EU citizens to live and work in the UK, even in the event of a no-deal Brexit, but some existing rights would cease, for example rights that allow elderly parents to come and live with their grown-up children in the UK.

Notably, there is no “blanket bail-out” for British citizens living in one of the EU countries. They will instead be treated on a case-by-case basis by the member states, a decision that will deepen the uncertainty. Overall, it is a critical instance of give-and-take before the final parting of the ways, at once a consummation devoutly wished for and a messy divorce in British constitutional history.

No less critical than the interests of the people must be the economic factor, over which there has been considerable discord within the ruling Tories. The EU has set out no-deal plans in 14 spheres, including aviation, customs, financial services and road transport, but there are major omissions, notably the Irish border.

Arguably, there will have to be controls to protect illegal or non-compliant goods entering the European single market, once the frontier becomes the land border between the UK and the EU. The obligation on Ireland to ensure border controls is implicit as the no-deal paper notes that member-states must be ready to enforce the EU Customs code, indeed the rules on goods entering the bloc.

The historical strain in Anglo- Irish relations is reflected in the proposal on continuing EU funds to support peace in Northern Ireland. The European Commission has initiated an essay to address the tangled skein of people’s interests, trade, and a swathe of the United Kingdom.