Brexit

BRUSSELS: Problems increased on Monday (Dec 21) in the bid to put a trade deal between the European Union and the United Kingdom on the rails before a Brexit transition period ends on New Year's Day, with the EU legislature insisting ever more it will not have time to vet and approve an agreement. British and EU negotiators were still deadlocked over fishing rights on Monday with only 10 days to go before a chaotic, costly economic break between both sides is to become official. Barring a late breakthrough, it would impose tariffs on trade between the sides, on top of the customs and other administrative red tape imposed by Britain's decision to leave the 27-nation bloc. Hundreds of thousands of jobs are at stake throughout the economies of both sides if no deal is found but Britain is still insisting its sovereignty trumps concessions granting EU vessels rights in U.K. waters, while the EU is refusing to open its lucrative single market to the U.K. unless it commits to play by … [Read more...] about EU-UK trade talks slog on past another Brexit deadline

The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, Arlene Foster as well as senior DUP lawmakers are going ahead with lawsuits to challenge the Brexit deal's arrangements on Northern Ireland. "We have considered a number of legal routes, and will be joining other unionists from across the United Kingdom in judicial review proceedings to challenge the protocol, unless arrangements are put in place", Foster said in a statement. Separately, a party source involved in the initiative told PA that preparatory work on a "series of very significant legal challenges" was at an advanced stage. "No stone will be left unturned in the pursuit of justice for the people of the union", the source said. The DUP are thus set to join other unionists across the UK in their legal action unless Downing Street puts in place alternative post-Brexit trade arrangements that secure their consent. © Sputnik / Chris Summers Brexit: Paramilitaries Stir in Northern Ireland as Opposition to 'Irish … [Read more...] about DUP Leaders Joining Legal Action Against Northern Ireland Brexit Protocol

PARIS/BRUSSELS: Spain, Ireland and Hungary have tried and failed to loosen EU airline ownership rules in a draft aviation deal with the UK, two people with knowledge of the matter said, out of concern about Brexit's impact on British Airways owner IAG, Ryanair and Wizz Air. France and Germany are said to have rejected a softening of longstanding rules that require EU airlines to be owned and controlled by EU nationals or else lose their licences. While the ownership issue poses no immediate threat to flights, it brings a longer-term challenge to some of Europe's biggest aviation names, with or without a trade deal. British investors will be deemed non-EU after the Brexit transition ends on Dec. 31 - a headache for airline groups with EU-licensed carriers and large UK shareholder bases. "There's been a last-ditch effort from a few member states to get something more liberal in the agreement on ownership and control," said an aviation source briefed on the discussions. … [Read more...] about Exclusive-Brexit clouds airline ownership as Spanish-led fix rebuffed

LONDON: France will reopen its borders to passengers from England on Wednesday (Dec 23), ending a blockade intended to stop the spread of a new coronavirus variant, but which has held up thousands of lorries before Christmas. Much of the world shut its borders to Britain after a significantly more transmissible mutated coronavirus variant was discovered spreading swiftly across southern England. With queues of trucks snaking to the horizon in England and some supermarket shelves stripped just days before Christmas, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson scrambled to get French President Emmanuel Macron to lift a ban on freight from Britain. Late on Tuesday a deal was reached with Paris to allow French and other EU residents to return home, providing they have a negative COVID-19 test that is less than 72 hours old. Britain said it would begin handing out tests at multiple locations on Wednesday, but cautioned that the process would take time. "We'll be making sure that … [Read more...] about France to reopen border with England for travellers cleared of COVID-19

LONDON: The European Union recommended Tuesday that all 27 member countries should discourage all non-essential travel to and from the United Kingdom until further notice. With EU countries imposing ad-hoc restrictions on UK travel following the emergence of a new coronavirus variant, the European Commission urged them to take a coordinated approach, but not prevent people in the UK or Europe from returning to their homes. EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said “member states should take coordinated action to discourage nonessential travel between the UK and the EU. At the same time, blanket travel bans should not prevent thousands of EU and UK citizens from returning to their homes.” The EU’s executive arm said people returning to their home countries or main place of residence should be able to do so provided they produce a negative test or quarantine themselves. Transport workers should be exempt from any travel ban when they are traveling across a border to and from … [Read more...] about EU recommends against non-essential travel to the UK