Opening gambits in EU / UK exit negotiations;

[RAyMO]

fishing is an interesting area - and not necessarily straight forward.

I suspect that much to the disappointment of some (some) the quota system or a variant thereof will remain - stocks still have to be managed. Also markets have to be maintained as Davis points out. In NI we have trawlers landing catches in EU ports, We also have boats fishing in EU waters.

So interesting to see what happens - especially since the EU are saying you want access to our fish markets - we want access to your waters (and presumably fish Markets). Ironically Little might change.

[stevewinn]

18 minutes ago, RAyMO said:

fishing is an interesting area - and not necessarily straight forward.

I suspect that much to the disappointment of some (some) the quota system or a variant thereof will remain - stocks still have to be managed. Also markets have to be maintained as Davis points out. In NI we have trawlers landing catches in EU ports, We also have boats fishing in EU waters.

So interesting to see what happens - especially since the EU are saying you want access to our fish markets - we want access to your waters (and presumably fish Markets). Ironically Little might change.

It should be straight forward the UK as 3rd country status will have 3rd country rules i.e anyone wanting to Fish in British waters will have to apply. just as with countries wishing to Fish in Norwegian, Icelandic or Greenland waters. or any country outside of the EU.

Edited March 8, 2018 by stevewinn

[RAyMO]

12 minutes ago, stevewinn said:

It should be straight forward the UK

Yes if the two parties play ball.

[stevewinn]

30 minutes ago, RAyMO said:

Yes if the two parties play ball.

It should be but This is the EU were talking about.

[keithisco]

In other news today...

Quote

 

The European Commission has written to the UK government saying the UK owes €2.7bn (£2.4bn) in customs duties on shoes and textiles imported from China.

The UK is accused of doing too little to prevent fraud after it was warned about the problem by the EU's watchdog Olaf in 2017.

It begins a legal process which could end at the European Court of Justice.

HM Revenue and Customs said it did not recognise the commission's estimate of what it owed.

The Olaf investigation said the UK was a "significant hub" for so-called undervaluation fraud - where importers can profit from evading customs duties and related taxes.

The investigation found organised crime groups had been using fake invoices to undervalue goods being imported from China - many of which were destined for the black market in other parts of the EU, investigators claimed.   Source: BBC

 

 Having lived 10 years in Spain I would very much like to know how much Brussels is charging the Govt. there? Chinese goods are absolutely everywhere in Madrid and in the coastal resorts where the Black Market operates freely and without any form of impediment;a few back-handers here and there and problems just "disappear".

There are myriad complaints made about "Zreo Hours" contracts of employment in the UK, but in Spain you are lucky to get any sort of contract (illegal according to EU Employment Legislation) which means no social security or access to the Health System. Why does Brussels turn a blind eye to these much more serious breaches??

[hetrodoxly]

7 hours ago, RAyMO said:

Yes if the two parties play ball.

Knowing how crooked the EU is you do have a point.

[keithisco]

Brexit is equivalent to the 19 Smallest EU Nations leaving the EU: a snippet from the European Parliament Plenary Session from 28.02 2018:

 

[stevewinn]

12 hours ago, keithisco said:

Brexit is equivalent to the 19 Smallest EU Nations leaving the EU: a snippet from the European Parliament Plenary Session from 28.02 2018:

 

They know it but apparently losing their second largest Net budget contributor, losing their single biggest trade market, losing their trade surplus with the UK, losing access to the worlds number 1 financial centre, losing access to the worlds 5th largest economy, and on top of that is this economic reality of which is highlighted the UK leaving is the equivalent of 19 members out of the 27 all leaving at once. Damn. and Captain risky the other day asked what problems do the EU face.

Also note, It was mentioned on BBC's Political Show 'This Week' that the EU wants a trade deal in goods were they run a surplus with us, but they wont do a trade deal in financial services in which the UK runs a surplus with them. 

The good old EU, making a right dogs dinner out of Brexit.

Another good video where Mr Henkel mentions the 19 countries.

 

[stevewinn]

 

Interesting goings on at EU HQ.

Quote

A very EU coup: Martin Selmayr’s astonishing power grab

How a bureaucrat seized power in nine minutes

Jean Quatremer

Martin Selmayr has always dreamed of being known beyond the Brussels bubble. His wish has now been granted, albeit in not quite the way he might have hoped. It has arrived in the form of a brilliantly executed coup that has handed this 47-year-old German bureaucrat near-total control of the EU machine.

The coup began at 9.39 a.m. on 21 February, when 1,000 journalists were sent an email summoning them to a 10.30 a.m. audience with Jean-Claude Juncker. The short notice suggested urgency — and for such a meeting to be happening at all was unusual in itself. Since becoming President of the European Commission, Juncker has held hardly any press conferences.

https://www.spectator.co.uk/2018/03/a-very-eu-coup-martin-selmayrs-astonishing-power-grab/

 

 

 

 

Edited March 19, 2018 by Saru
Trimmed for length - please avoid copy and pasting entire articles.

[Space Commander Travis]

Have people noticed that PrimeMinister Theresa May's Government seems to have completely forgotten about Brexit for this last week or so due to all the hysteria about Putin's Assassins roaming the country? It's been a most useful distraction for the EU hasn't it, it must have put back negotiations and everything else really no end.  

[keithisco]

23 hours ago, stevewinn said:

 

 

Interesting goings on at EU HQ.

 

 

 

I dont know about interesting... it is corruption of the highest order!!! How can this be allowed to occur? Are they all complicit in the Commission-OK, that is rhetorical because the piece explains how they have all been bribed to keep quiet. Disgusting!! Glad that we will be out of it.

[stevewinn]

24 minutes ago, keithisco said:

I dont know about interesting... it is corruption of the highest order!!! How can this be allowed to occur? Are they all complicit in the Commission-OK, that is rhetorical because the piece explains how they have all been bribed to keep quiet. Disgusting!! Glad that we will be out of it.

The European Parliament have requested an investigation. lets see how this goes, Will it be a case of the Commission investigating the Commission. it also highlights the disconnect between the EU Parliament and the Commission and who exactly has the power.

[keithisco]

In todays offering:

Quote

LABOUR party MEPs have been accused of betraying the UK’s national interest after they helped defeat a motion in the European Parliament aimed at protecting UK fisheries.

 

[stevewinn]

Quote

Gove and Davidson in fisheries control call

Ruth Davidson and Michael Gove have teamed up to call for the UK to leave the common fisheries policy (CFP) when Britain leaves the European Union.

The Scottish Conservative leader and UK environment secretary say it is "vital" that the country regains control over its own fisheries management.

It came as Scottish fishermen demanded the UK operated as a "fully-functioning coastal state" after leaving the EU.

In a joint statement, Ms Davidson and Mr Gove say: "We believe it is vital that we regain control over our own fisheries management.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-43363044

 

Edited March 19, 2018 by Saru
Trimmed for length - please avoid copy and pasting entire articles.

[keithisco]

Reported yesterday in The Times and other media outlets (but curiously, NOT the BBC-unless I missed it):

Quote

 

Britain can sign trade deals while in single market, Brussels rules

Britain will be free to sign trade deals during the Brexit transition period without permission from the European Union after a climbdown by Brussels, The Timeshas learnt.

EU negotiators have accepted the UK’s demand that it should be able to pursue an independent trade policy while remaining inside the customs union and single market.

Publicly, the EU’s negotiating guidelines still state that Britain will not be able to implement trade deals “unless authorised to do so by the union”. Behind closed doors the position taken by Michel Barnier, the bloc’s chief negotiator, is understood to have softened significantly. The latest draft of a potential transition deal says that Britain will be able to both negotiate and sign trade deals during the period.

The EU has also agreed that the UK will not have to defer to Brussels at the World Trade Organisation in Geneva and will be able to participate “in its own right” so long as it does not contradict union policies. This is critical if Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, is to use the transition period to negotiate deals covering the 70 countries with which the EU has existing agreements. European governments conceded the point after realising that it was not in the bloc’s interests to have to unpick existing agreements such as those with South Korea and Japan.

Source; The Times

 

This seems to be a very important development that should have been more widely reported.

[Grey Area]

1 hour ago, keithisco said:

Reported yesterday in The Times and other media outlets (but curiously, NOT the BBC-unless I missed it):

This seems to be a very important development that should have been more widely reported.

Yes I heard this mentioned once as a minor detail in a BBC report this morning.  First and last time I’ve heard it mentioned.

 

[stevewinn]

4 hours ago, keithisco said:

Reported yesterday in The Times and other media outlets (but curiously, NOT the BBC-unless I missed it):

This seems to be a very important development that should have been more widely reported.

the ability was always going to be so, after all we are leaving the ECJ, Customs Union and Single market on 29th March 2019. Who would be the arbiter after this date. The EU jurisdiction would be no more.

The lack of reporting is telling, just like when companies both here and abroad invest in the UK "despite Brexit" the penny has dropped in the media, leaving the EU is not the end of the world as they once thought.  

[stevewinn]

Quote

The UK and EU have agreed on a "large part" of the agreement that will lead to the "orderly withdrawal" of the UK.

The transitional period is set to last from 29 March, 2019 to December 2020, and is intended to smooth the path to a future permanent relationship.

The EU's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said the two sides had agreed on a transition period, calling the announcement a "decisive step".

He spoke after meeting with the UK's Brexit secretary David Davis.

The transitional period will begin from Brexit day - 29 March, 2019 - and is designed to smooth the path to the future permanent relationship.

Mr Barnier said there was also an agreement on the rights of 4.5m EU citizens in the UK and the 1.2m UK citizens in the EU after Brexit.

Both the UK and the EU hope the terms of an agreement on the transitional period can be signed off by Theresa May's fellow leaders at the EU summit this week

more detail

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-withdrawal-agreement-19-march-2018

and here

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/draft_agreement_coloured.pdf

 

Edited March 19, 2018 by stevewinn

[RAyMO]

Its not a surprise that the UK can negotiate Trade Deals during transition - story from Dec 17:

However, adopting a more conciliatory tone the Frenchman [Barnier] publicly acknowledged for the first time that Britain will be able to negotiate its own trade deals during a two year transition period.

 

[Space Commander Travis]

4 hours ago, RAyMO said:

Its not a surprise that the UK can negotiate Trade Deals during transition

I'm surprised they have the time, since they're so preoccupied with their war with Russia. 

[Black Monk]

A couple of nights ago, a Sky News newspaper previewer mentioned the support that Britain is getting from various EU Member States and the EU as a whole over the Skripal poisoning and said that it proves that the Remainers' claim that Britain leaving the EU would affect its security arrangements with EU Member States is wrong.

[Ozymandias]

32 minutes ago, Black Monk said:

A couple of nights ago, a Sky News newspaper previewer mentioned the support that Britain is getting from various EU Member States and the EU as a whole over the Skripal poisoning and said that it proves that the Remainers' claim that Britain leaving the EU would affect its security arrangements with EU Member States is wrong.

Don't you mean the UK? Has the UK already left the EU?

[Black Monk]

5 minutes ago, Ozymandias said:

Don't you mean the UK? Has the UK already left the EU?

Just one year and nine days to go. Not long now.

[stevewinn]

3 hours ago, Black Monk said:

A couple of nights ago, a Sky News newspaper previewer mentioned the support that Britain is getting from various EU Member States and the EU as a whole over the Skripal poisoning and said that it proves that the Remainers' claim that Britain leaving the EU would affect its security arrangements with EU Member States is wrong.

is that the same France, Germany, Netherlands etc... who are members of NATO. the same NATO the UK is remaining part of even after our EU exit. The same NATO that have come out in support of the UK over Skripal. The same NATO that's ensured peace and security in Europe.

On the other Hand are we talking about the same EU security who've made the continent a organised crime and terrorists paradise, €500 Euro bank note, making it easier for criminal gangs to transport money. then we have at the height of world Islamic terrorism they throw open the gates to Europe #allwelcome to all and sundry and expect only the good and great to come, millions and millions of unknowns from some of the worst Islamic fundamentalist countries, infested with terrorist groups now wandering across frontiers in Europe, the EU fair weather border policy exposed for all to see. The same EU who's failed expansionist policy (Ukraine) which as brought conflict to the Western frontier of Europe, in confrontation with a Regional and Nuclear Power....And they (remainers) talk about the EU and European Security. Do they say it with a straight face?

 

[Ozymandias]

Forget the EU and the rest. The real threat is from the enemy within - Cambridge Analytica.