No one denies Caroline Flint's expertise on the European Union. After all, she was a Europe Minister in Gordon Brown's Labour government. She possesses a wealth of knowledge about the EU.
But her doubts about Brexit must be proven wrong at all costs. By referring to a six year process of leaving the EU once Theresa May finally triggers Article 50 next Wednesday, Flint is suggesting that Britain may have to resort to membership of the European Economic Area, which consists of Iceland, Norway and Lichtenstein.
The European Economic Area
These countries are members of the Single Market, but they influence which SM rules they accept via the European Economic Council.
They do not have the hated Common Agricultural and Common Fisheries Policies and can form free trade deals with other countries.
But later on, the Government would then have to trigger Article 127 to exit the EEA, which would further complicate Brexit.
No control on immigration
Lichtenstein may have an Australian points-based system, which Vote Leave promoted last year, but it took them 14 years after they joined the EEA in 1995 to achieve this.
The EEA may sound like an attractive proposition to Remainers and soft Leavers, but it is purely a means of trapping us in another superbloc. So let's hope Flint is worrying too much.
