The European Council conclusions issued last Thursday were a misstep by the European Union. It is positively Carthaginian to think that in a negotiation all the concessions have to come from one side. As I say in the magazine this week, No. 10 has seized on this overreach to push, not only for concessions on the process — Michel Barnier has offered to ‘intensify’ the talks and start working on a legal text, a long-time British ask — but also a recognition that both sides will have to compromise.