IT IS ALWAYS harder to deal with the European Union when political consensus(共识) is lacking at home. Looked at from Brussels, why bother with the effort to agree on a closer relationship with Andy Burnham’s Britain?(从布鲁塞尔的视角看，何必费心与安迪·伯纳姆治下的英国达成更紧密的关系呢？) After all, opposition parties say they will tear it up(撕毁协议).
当国内缺乏政治共识时，与欧盟打交道总是难上加难。从布鲁塞尔的视角看，何必费心与安迪·伯纳姆治下的英国达成更紧密的关系呢？毕竟，反对党声称他们将会撕毁协议。
Neither the Conservatives nor Reform UK talk much about Brexit these days, because of its unpopularity(不受欢迎). But both still promise to reverse(推翻) Mr Burnham’s planned “reset” with the EU. That would irk(惹恼) businesses wishing to scrap trade barriers(消除贸易壁垒), especially in food and agriculture, through closer alignment(协调一致) with the bloc(集团). If the reset boosts exports and lowers food costs, many firms will want to keep it. A shadow-cabinet source admits privately that the Tories might therefore seek a fudge that retains the deal but gives Parliament a theoretical emergency brake on future EU laws.(一位影子内阁消息人士私下承认，保守党因此可能会寻求一种敷衍方案：保留协议，但赋予议会一项理论上的紧急刹车权，以否决未来的欧盟法律。)
如今，保守党和英国改革党都很少谈论脱欧，因为脱欧不得人心。但两党仍承诺要推翻伯纳姆计划中的对欧“重置”协议。这将惹恼那些希望通过与欧盟更紧密的协调来消除贸易壁垒（尤其是食品和农业领域）的企业。如果“重置”能促进出口、降低食品成本，许多企业会希望保留它。一位影子内阁消息人士私下承认，保守党因此可能会寻求一种敷衍方案：保留协议，但赋予议会一项理论上的紧急刹车权，以否决未来的欧盟法律。
What worries the EU more is the opposition’s pledge(承诺) to pull out of(退出) the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)(《欧洲人权公约》). Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader, now requires all her parliamentary(议会的) candidates to support this. EU diplomats suggest she may not have thought through the consequences. It is not just the embarrassment(尴尬) of Britain, a creator of the ECHR, joining Belarus and Russia as the only European countries outside it. More seriously, ECHR membership is assumed in both the post-Brexit trade and co-operation agreement (TCA) and the Windsor framework(《温莎框架》) that softens the customs border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is also in the Good Friday Agreement(《贝尔法斯特协议》).
更令欧盟担忧的是，反对党承诺要退出《欧洲人权公约》（ECHR）。保守党领袖凯米·巴德诺赫如今要求所有议会候选人支持这一立场。欧盟外交官暗示，她可能没有充分考虑后果。这不仅仅是英国——作为《公约》的创始国——与白俄罗斯和俄罗斯为伍、成为仅有的几个非缔约国之一的尴尬。更严重的是，脱欧后的贸易与合作协定（TCA）以及缓和英国大不列颠与北爱尔兰之间海关边界的《温莎框架》都以《公约》成员国身份为前提。《贝尔法斯特协议》（《星期五协议》）也包含这一前提。