About a month ago, the general opinion was that this week’s European Council would give the United Kingdom a further extension to implement Brexit, particularly as the House of Commons voted through a law forcing the Prime Minister to ask for such an extension if no exit deal had been reached by the end of October. And a deal seemed unlikely, in view of the intransigence and lack of diplomacy of Boris Johnson.
In addition, Ms von der Leyen had just finished revealing the composition of her...