Maxim Znak says only two members of the Belarus opposition coordination council are still free and in the country, including himself.
On Tuesday, the Belarusian opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova ripped up her passport in order to avoid being deported from her own country, according to Ukrainian media reports.
Continue reading...Mairead McGuinness to take role in overseeing access for the City of London to EU markets
The veteran MEP Mairead McGuinness has been proposed as Ireland’s new EU commissioner, replacing Phil Hogan, who was forced to resign after breaching coronavirus lockdown rules.
McGuinness, a European parliament vice-president, would take on the portfolio of financial services, giving her a key role in overseeing access for the City of London to EU markets.
Continue reading...UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab says safe return of Maria Kolesnikova must be Lukashenko regime’s ‘highest priority’
Germany and Britain have demanded answers on the whereabouts of senior Belarusian opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova, who was reportedly snatched off the streets in central Minsk.
Kolesnikova was taken along with members of the Coordination Council, which was set up to seek a peaceful transfer of power amid widespread rejection of elections that gave Alexander Lukashenko 80% of the vote.
Continue reading...Brussels suspicions come as European commission chief warns Britain to abide by Northern Ireland protocol
Brussels’ plummeting trust in Boris Johnson has been laid bare in leaked diplomatic cables obtained by the Guardian, as the Brexit negotiations reopen in London with a warning from the European commission president that Britain must respect international law.
Ursula von der Leyen made her extraordinary intervention on Monday as Downing Street struggled to control the damage from disclosures suggesting it was backtracking on agreements made last year to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland.
Continue reading...Grant Shapps says Lesvos, Tinos, Serifos, Mykonos, Crete, Santorini and Zakynthos will be added on Wednesday
The Department for Transport press release about Grant Shapps’ announcement has now arrived. This is what it says about the inclusion of the seven Greek islands on the quarantine list for England.
The first changes under the new process were also made today, with seven Greek islands to be removed from exemption list – Lesvos, Tinos, Serifos, Mykonos, Crete, Santorini and Zakynthos. People arriving in England from those islands from Wednesday 9 September 04.00am will need to self-isolate for two weeks. Data from the Joint Biosecurity Centre and Public Health England has indicated a significant risk to UK public health from those islands, leading to Ministers removing them from the current list of travel corridors.
At the same time, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has updated its travel advice for Greece to advise against all but essential travel to Lesvos, Tinos, Serifos, Mykonos, Crete, Santorini and Zakynthos. The rest of Greece remains exempt from the FCDO’s advice against all non-essential international travel.
Shapps says he is not lifting quarantine for Spain’s Canary or Balearic islands.
He says there might have been a case for this when quarantine was imposed on Spain. But the number of cases in country has risen sharply, he says, and now it has 127 cases per 100,000. He say it is not safe to reduce quarantine for those islands.
Lesvos, Tinos, Serifos, Mykonos, Crete, Santorini and Zakynthos removed from air corridor exemption list.
Continue reading...UK on collision course with EU and Ireland over unilateral powers for British ministers
Downing Street has defended plans to give British ministers unilateral powers over Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland, putting them on a collision course with the EU and Irish leaders in a week of crunch negotiations.
A No 10 spokesman said the measures were “limited and reasonable” and insisted the UK would remain compliant with the Northern Ireland protocol – despite anger from Brussels and Dublin at the plans leaked overnight.
Continue reading...A row over over borders, gasfields and national pride risks regional disorder
Some claim it has been centuries since the Mediterranean has been viewed as the cockpit of history. But great powers and coastline states, wishing to capture hydrocarbon riches, are today vying for mastery of the sea – or at least its eastern waves. The trouble surfaced last month when a Turkish frigate escorting an oil-and-gas exploration ship collided with a Greek naval vessel. Since then, tempers have flared, with the unresolved question of Cyprus providing a flashpoint between the two nations. Greek ships were last week joined by France, Italy and the United Arab Emirates in the waters around Cyprus. Turkey announced that Russia will hold naval exercises. Nato is right that the temperature needs lowering and ought to be congratulated for kickstarting talks aimed at de-escalation. Nato members ought to trade words, not blows.
In Turkey there has been a lurch towards authoritarianism under the executive presidency of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, while the country’s military, economic and cultural power has expanded. Not since the Ottoman empire has the Turkish military had such a sprawling global footprint, with troops and drones recently saving a UN-recognised government in Tripoli from defeat. Despite a Covid recession, Turkish companies retain a global edge – taking advantage of cheap labour, made even cheaper by a weak Turkish lira, and access to European markets. Mr Erdoğan has also won favour in the Sunni Arab world by hosting 4 million Syrian refugees.
Continue reading...Gavin Barwell angered by David Frost’s suggestion that May government ‘blinked’ in negotiations
Theresa May’s former chief of staff has accused the UK’s chief Brexit negotiator, David Frost, of having a “brass neck” after he said the UK government had “blinked first” in negotiations.
Gavin Barwell, a key member of the former prime minister’s negotiating team, said Boris Johnson’s withdrawal agreement was “95% the work of his predecessors” and a deal had only been secured by conceding to the EU’s demand for some customs checks between Northern Ireland and the rest of Great Britain, which May’s team had not agreed to.
Continue reading...David Frost says the country is fully ready for Australia-style agreement with the EU
The UK’s chief negotiator has said the government is not scared of walking away from talks with the European Union without a deal and vowed not to blink in the final phase.
David Frost is due to hold another round of key negotiations in London with his counterpart, Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, next week as they look to agree a trade deal before autumn sets in.
Continue reading...Meeting of EU leaders this month will instead focus on post-Covid recovery and China relations
Boris Johnson’s hopes of a Brexit deal have been dealt a fresh blow as Brussels ruled out EU leaders intervening in the troubled negotiations at a summit this month.
According to EU diplomats, both the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, and Downing Street have lobbied for 27 heads of state and government to seize control of the talks given the current impasse.
Continue reading...White House summit irritates EU diplomats, who say deal brokered by them is near
The leaders of Kosovo and Serbia will meet at the White House on Thursday and Friday, in an encounter that some see as a push for a diplomatic win for Donald Trump to brandish during his re-election campaign.
Kosovo’s prime minister, Avdullah Hoti, will meet with the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vučić, in talks that Trump aides say will be primarily about economic issues between the two countries, but may pave the way to a broader deal.
Continue reading...Warning that lack of agreement means more young people will risk lives crossing Channel
The EU has rejected a British proposal for a system to reunite children seeking asylum with their families in the UK or Europe, prompting warnings that more young people will risk their lives in dangerous Channel crossings.
The government had proposed a post-Brexit agreement to continue transfers of unaccompanied child asylum seekers to families living in either the UK or EU, although with no obligation on either side.
Continue reading...The reassessment of China highlighted by Wang Yi’s trip has political, economic and security implications
The Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi did not exactly end his week-long European tour with his tail between his legs but he may have been chastened if he ever believed Beijing could simply win over Europe by pointing to the extremist cold war rhetoric of Europe’s natural ally America.
The five-nation tour surely marked the end of an era where China can any longer get away with simple homilies on win-win solutions, multilateralism and non-interference in another’s internal affairs. Pointing to Donald Trump is also no longer enough to win European friends.
Continue reading...Spokesman for Boris Johnson says hopes of meeting deadline in December are dwindling
Downing Street has played down the prospect of reaching a trade deal with the EU in time for December, saying it will be “very difficult” – and blaming Brussels’ insistence on tackling tough issues upfront.
The UK’s chief negotiator, David Frost, is meeting his EU counterpart Michel Barnier in London, in advance of the next round of formal talks next week.
Continue reading...Bloc sources say Britain is trying to water down EU geographical protections
The UK government has renewed its attempt to reopen the chapter of the Brexit divorce treaty protecting specialty food and drink, such as Parma ham, roquefort cheese and champagne, in a move that left the EU chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, “a little bit flabbergasted”.
The British proposal on protected status for food and drink was included in a draft free-trade agreement handed to Barnier by his opposite number, David Frost, last week, according to two EU sources.
Continue reading...Hogan’s resignation comes after Irish government signalled it wanted him to quit or be sacked
The embattled European trade commissioner, Phil Hogan, has resigned his post after an outcry over his breaches of coronavirus rules during a golfing break in Ireland.
Hogan issued a statement on Wednesday night apologising to the Irish people and the EU commission for causing hurt and embarrassment, ending his attempts to ride out the controversy and keep his post as a key player in Brexit talks.
Continue reading...Irish government says it has lost confidence in Phil Hogan after he flouted quarantine regulations
The Irish government wants the embattled European trade commissioner, Phil Hogan, to quit or be sacked after concluding he flouted coronavirus regulations during a golfing break in Ireland.
The Green party leader, Eamon Ryan, part of the ruling coalition, on Wednesday said the government had lost confidence in Hogan.
Continue reading...Phil Hogan gave more detail about his trip but said he was exempt from lockdown restrictions
The embattled European trade commissioner Phil Hogan is facing fresh accusations that he flouted coronavirus regulations during a golfing break in Ireland.
Hogan attempted to douse the controversy and save his job in a media interview on Tuesday evening, but ended up tacitly admitting he had violated quarantine rules, triggering more questions and calls for his resignation.
Continue reading...Svetlana Tikhanovskaya tells MEPs ‘intimidation didn’t work’ after two allies detained
The Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has vowed that the country’s movement for democratic change will not give up, despite the arrest of two allies working for a peaceful transition of power.
Speaking to the European parliament’s foreign affairs committee from exile in Vilnius, Lithuania, Tikhanovskaya said the authorities had responded with threats and intimidation to the coordination council, set up by the opposition to bring about non-violent change. But, she insisted: “The intimidation didn’t work. We will not relent. We demand to respect our basic rights. We demand all political prisoners be free.”
Continue reading...Brussels’ chief negotiator says talks often go backwards as UK fails to grasp EU red lines
Michel Barnier has accused the British government of “wasting valuable time” and warned that a post-Brexit deal between the EU and the UK looks “unlikely”.
With two months to go until the EU-imposed deadline of October, the EU’s chief negotiator said: “Frankly I am disappointed and I am worried.” Barnier said he was “a little surprised” because Boris Johnson had told EU leaders earlier this summer he wanted an outline deal by July.
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