Category Archives: European Union

Boris Johnson: no deal would mean UK did not owe Brexit divorce bill

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PM says keeping £39bn is not threat but ‘reality’ before meeting with Donald Tusk

Boris Johnson has said the £39bn Brexit divorce bill would not “strictly speaking” be owed to Brussels in full in the event of no deal, insisting: “It’s not a threat. It’s a reality.”

Speaking to broadcasters as he prepared to meet the European council president, Donald Tusk, at the G7 summit in Biarritz, Johnson said: “If we come out without an agreement it is certainly true that the £39bn is no longer, strictly speaking, owed.”

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Brexit deal solution at risk from ticking clock, not Merkel or Macron

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With or without a 30-day deadline, the Brexit endgame will play out in London – rather than Paris or Berlin

If a week is a long time in politics, three weeks feels like an eternity in Brexit. Newly installed in No 10 in July, Boris Johnson vowed that he would not sit down for talks with EU leaders until they agreed to drop the Irish backstop from the Brexit withdrawal agreement.

Less than a month later, the prime minister was in Paris and Berlin, where he heard the leaders of France and Germany pledge their support for the “indispensable” backstop – the insurance plan to avoid a hard border on Ireland that has become the stumbling block of Britain’s EU exit.

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Macron tells Johnson Brexit backstop is indispensable

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French president tells Boris Johnson he must present concrete proposals for UK exit

Emmanuel Macron has described the Irish backstop as “indispensable” to a Brexit deal and urged Boris Johnson to set out his proposed alternatives as soon as possible, as he met the British prime minister in Paris.

The French president told Johnson on Thursday that the EU would like “visibility” on London’s concrete proposals for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU within a month, echoing language used by the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, on Wednesday.

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‘Unelected PM … gambling with peace’ – Irish EU commissioner launches attack on Boris Johnson – live news

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Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen

From Bloomberg’s Jess Shankleman

The pound slipped to the day's low after we reported France now sees a no-deal Brexit as the most likely outcome #gbp https://t.co/Xmvg4Lpvkf pic.twitter.com/AQcwazbBaf

This is from Jenny Hill, the BBC’s Berlin correspondent.

Sat outside German Chancellery. Slovakian president’s motorcade has just whisked her away following her first meeting with Angela Merkel. Next on the guest list, Boris Johnson in just over an hour.....

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EU rejects Boris Johnson request to remove backstop

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Johnson says MPs who claim they can prevent no deal are to blame for hardline EU response

The European Union has rebuffed Boris Johnson’s attempts to tear up the Irish backstop, in a coordinated response that appeared to close the door on further meaningful Brexit negotiations.

In remarks shortly before the prime minister departed for a whistle-stop tour to meet European leaders, Johnson put the blame for the EU’s hardline response at the feet of Conservative rebels, claiming his negotiating strategy was being undermined by those who said they could prevent no deal.

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Brexit free-movement cutoff plans worse than Windrush, says Abbott

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Senior Labour MP says no-deal Brexit proposal would create chaos for EU citizens in UK

Ending the free movement of people with a no-deal Brexit on 31 October would cause chaos and confusion for EU citizens on a scale that would make the Windrush scandal look like a minor blip, Diane Abbott has said.

The shadow home secretary said Boris Johnson’s policies were taking the country “towards a catastrophe” as 2 million EU citizens resident in Britain had not yet registered for settled status, having been told the deadline was December 2020.

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‘Reckless’ plan to cut off free movement alarms EU nationals

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European citizens in UK fear they could be caught up in hostile environment policies

Plans to end freedom of movement for EU citizens immediately after a no-deal Brexit have caused anxiety and confusion among European nationals in the UK, with concerns they could be caught up in hostile environment policies.

Downing Street confirmed rules allowing EU nationals to move to live and work freely in the UK would end abruptly if the UK leaves the bloc without an agreement at the end of October.

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No 10 furious at leak of paper predicting shortages after no-deal Brexit

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Government figures seek to play down predictions of food, medicine and fuel shortages in leaked document

Downing Street has reacted with fury to the leak of an official document predicting that a no-deal Brexit would lead to food, medicine and petrol shortages, with No 10 sources blaming the disclosure on a hostile former minister intent on ruining Boris Johnson’s trip to see EU leaders this week.

The leaked document, detailing preparations under Operation Yellowhammer, argues that the most likely scenario is severe extended delays to medicine supplies and shortages of some fresh foods, combined with price rises, if there is a no-deal Brexit on 31 October.

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Brexit: leaked papers predict food shortages and port delays

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Medicines will also be subject to shortages in what Whitehall sources called ‘the most realistic assessment’

The UK will be hit with a three-month meltdown at its ports, a hard Irish border and shortages of food and medicine if it leaves the EU without a deal, according to government documents on Operation Yellowhammer.

The documents predict severe extended delays to medicine supplies and shortages of some fresh foods combined with price rises as a likely scenario if the UK leaves without a withdrawal agreement, which is due to happen on 31 October.

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G7 leaders wait nervously for Boris Johnson’s debut on the world stage

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As the prime minister heads for the Biarritz summit, he has no relationship with the other governments and very little trust

For weeks things have been quiet in the summer heat. But in recent days the normal diplomatic back-channelling between London, Brussels, Paris, Berlin and Rome has cranked into gear before the G7 meeting in Biarritz of the world’s most advanced economies.

British officials have been liaising with their EU counterparts on how to get on the right side of the trade war between the US and China, tread a diplomatic fine line over the European-backed Iranian nuclear deal opposed by Donald Trump and get the rhetoric right on the precarious situation in Hong Kong in the presence of the Chinese leader Xi Jinping. “This is a diplomatic quagmire of a G7,” said a European diplomat.

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Brexit: no-deal exit edges closer as key Tories refuse to back Corbyn

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Oliver Letwin becomes latest figure to reject call for unity government led by Labout leader

Splits in the anti-no deal alliance of MPs in parliament threatened to stymie plans to stop a no-deal Brexit on Friday, as Conservatives and independent MPs ruled out backing plans brokered by Jeremy Corbyn.

The row between the Liberal Democrats and Labour deepened as the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, urged the Lib Dem leader, Jo Swinson, to seriously reconsider Corbyn’s offer to head a temporary government to stop a no-deal Brexit. The Lib Dem’s former leader Vince Cable demanded Corbyn name a unity figure whom he would back if his plan failed.

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Jo Swinson says she would work with Labour to avoid no-deal Brexit

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Lib Dem leader also says she thinks Corbyn-led unity government would not win MPs’ confidence

The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Jo Swinson, has reiterated that she would work with the Labour party to prevent a no-deal Brexit amid pressure from other opposition leaders, but underlined her belief that a Jeremy Corbyn-led unity government would not win the confidence of the House of Commons.

The Conservative grandee Ken Clarke and senior Labour MP Harriet Harman – the father and mother of the house – are prepared to lead the emergency government, Swinson added, saying she had won both of their assurances.

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Corbyn: Westminster should not block second Scotland poll

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Labour leader opposes UK breakup but says not parliament’s place to bar independence vote

Jeremy Corbyn has confirmed he believes Westminster should not block a second referendum on Scottish independence, but said he opposed the breakup of the UK.

Corbyn implicitly endorsed remarks by his close ally John McDonnell last week where he said a Labour government would not obstruct a fresh independence vote if there was sufficient support for one in the Scottish parliament.

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Labour bloc plans ‘radical’ move to push through Brexit deal

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Call for ‘dramatic intervention’ to thwart no-deal Brexit by passing withdrawal agreement

Labour MPs opposed to a second referendum are considering a “radical and dramatic intervention” to make clear to Jeremy Corbyn and Boris Johnson they are prepared to vote for a Brexit deal, with one estimating that dozens of colleagues are now ready to back the withdrawal agreement.

Stephen Kinnock, the Labour MP who coordinates around 30 MPs in a group called Respect the Result, said he believed that passing the withdrawal agreement was the most certain way of stopping the UK crashing out without a deal.

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Bercow will ‘fight’ to stop Johnson closing parliament for no deal

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Speaker insists House of Commons cannot be ‘shut down’ and will be heard

The House of Commons Speaker, John Bercow, has said he will “fight with every breath in my body” to stop Boris Johnson from proroguing parliament to force through a no-deal Brexit without the consent of MPs.

Related: No-deal Brexit would be a betrayal, says Philip Hammond

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Hungary’s far-right government vilifies Finland over rule of law inquiry

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PM Viktor Orbán and his spokesman launch series of attacks on Finnish presidency

Finland has pledged to pursue a hearing into alleged breaches of the rule of law by Hungary’s far-right government after a campaign of vilification led by the prime minister, Viktor Orbán.

Related: Europe must stop this disgrace: Viktor Orbán is dismantling democracy | Timothy Garton Ash

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Branding cheese as feta and gruyere may be banned in Australia under EU deal

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The trade minister, Simon Birmingham, has released a list of food products the EU wants protected as ‘geographical indicators’

Australia is gearing up for a fight with the European Union over the naming of hundreds of products including feta, gruyere and scotch beef as negotiations continue over an “ambitious” free trade agreement.

The trade minister, Simon Birmingham, has released a list of names the EU wants protected as part of the new trade deal – known as “geographical indications” or GIs – which are aimed at protecting European products.

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No-deal Brexit battle set to come to head in September

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Opponents of chaotic exit from EU still divided on strategy to outmanoeuvre Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson is preparing for a parliamentary battle against MPs trying to block a no-deal Brexit in the second week of September, as his cross-party opponents continue to be divided about the best way to stop the UK crashing out on 31 October.

A senior government source said Downing Street believed the first legislative showdown over no deal would be on 9 September, when parliament is due to debate a progress report on power-sharing in Northern Ireland.

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Sajid Javid’s plan to flood tills with Brexit 50p coins

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Chancellor said to be preparing to put millions of coins into circulation for 31 October leave date

The chancellor, Sajid Javid, is said to be drawing up plans for millions of 50p Brexit coins to be minted in time for Britain’s departure from the EU.

Javid has asked officials to look at whether it will be possible to produce the coins in volume ready for the UK’s scheduled EU leaving date of 31 October, according to the Sunday Telegraph.

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