Recommendation 41

Despite Ministers talking about ‘implementing’ the outcomes of the first UK-EU summit, substantive and potentially difficult negotiations with the EU to translate many of them into practice are very much on-going. Significant changes in the UK’s relationship with the EU were never likely to happen quickly. Realistic expectations management by the Government is key to continued confidence in the “reset”. Ministers should avoid inadvertently creating false expectations of imminent practical benefits, in particular while negotiations are on-going. (Conclusion, Paragraph 112)