After years of arguing, are Britain and Europe about to get along?

In a parallel universe, Britain and the European Union would be gearing up to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its accession to the club in January 1973. Envoys from the EU’s still-28 countries would be steeling themselves for parties at His Majesty’s Brussels embassy flowing with English wines, one of the unspoken hazards of the local diplomatic circuit. The prime minister might have dropped by the European Parliament and tried a few bon mots of mangled French. London tabloids would no doubt have used the occasion to rustle up outrage over an alleged Eurocrat plot to rebrand Cumberland sausages as Britische Frankfurter. Amid all the jollity, a row would have broken out over money.