評論
打印
Leaders
社論
Britain and the European Union
英國和歐盟
Into the endgame
進入尾聲
How Parliament should weigh up the Brexit deal
英國議會應該如何權衡退歐協議
At last, Britain’s game of three-dimensional chess with the European Union is entering its closing phase. On November 14th the two parties published a draft divorce agreement, 585 pages in length. Nearly two-and-a-half years after the British shocked their own government by voting to leave the EU, they are about to discover what Brexit really means.
最終，英國與歐盟的三維棋局正進入最后階段。11月14日，雙方公布了一份長達585頁的脫歐協議草案。在英國投票退出歐盟震驚本國政府近兩年半后，他們即將發現英國退歐的真正含義。
The game is by no means over. The deal still has to be agreed by the EU and, harder still, by the British Parliament. Several ministers, including the Brexit secretary, resigned in protest; Theresa May could yet be toppled. MPs must grapple with multiple loyalties: to their constituents, their parties and their own beliefs, all of which are likely to have shifted since the referendum. Within weeks they will have to make the biggest decision facing Britain, and one of the biggest for Europe, in generations.
游戲絕不可能結束。該協議仍需得到歐盟的同意，更困難的是英國議會的同意。包括英國退歐大臣在內的幾位部長辭職以示抗議；特雷莎·梅可能會被推翻。議員們必須與多重忠誠做斗爭:選民、政黨和自己的信仰，這些都可能在公投后發生改變。幾周內，他們將不得不做出英國乃至歐洲幾代人以來最大的決定。
If the country has learned anything since 2016, it is to look before it leaps. Yet, in what well summed up the level of debate on Brexit, hardline Leavers and Remainers alike trashed the deal before they had read a word of it. This makes no sense. The terms of the divorce will take time for MPs and those they represent to digest—and they may well be amended by European leaders before Parliament has its vote. Nor is it clear what would happen in the event that the deal were voted down: more negotiating, a second referendum or crashing out without a deal? But as the crunch vote nears, MPs must consider how to approach this fateful question.
自2016年以來，如果說英國學到了什么，那就是三思而后行。然而，在英國退歐辯論的激烈程度上，強硬的退歐派和留歐派在還沒讀到一字之前就把協議搞砸了。這毫無道理。對于議員和他們所代表的人來說，脫歐條款需要時間來消化。在議會投票之前，歐洲領導人很可能會修改這些條款。也不清楚如果交易被否決會發生什么：更多談判、第二次公投，還是沒有達成協議就崩潰? 但隨著關鍵投票的臨近，議員們必須考慮如何處理這個重大問題。
First, forget the past. The cheating that went on during the campaign, the premature triggering of Article 50 and the thin preparations are maddening. But they are questions for the inquiry that will surely one day dissect this national fiasco. The task before Parliament is to decide in a cool-headed way whether adopting the terms on offer is better for the country than rejecting them.
首先，忘記過去。競選期間的作弊行為、第50條的過早觸發以及準備不足都讓人抓狂。但這些都是調查的問題，有朝一日肯定會剖析這場全國性的慘敗。擺在議會面前的任務是冷靜地決定，接受所提供的條款是否比拒絕它們對國家更好。
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