UK refuses request from Brussels for Northern Ireland presence for second time
The Irish border question threatens to derail Brexit talks again as the depth of the row over the EU’s desire to have an office in Belfast is revealed.
The UK’s paymaster general, Penny Mordaunt, has written to the EU to firmly reject a repeated request for an office in Northern Ireland: “The UK cannot agree to the permanent EU presence based in Belfast,” she wrote.
Continue reading...Legal team for family of dead 19-year-old to seek answers in meeting with Raab aides
The Foreign Office has obstructed a search for truth into the death of 19-year-old motorcyclist Harry Dunn, lawyers for his family have claimed prior to a potentially tense meeting with aides to Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary.
Dunn died in August when his motorcycle collided with a car driven by Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US intelligence officer stationed at a US spy base at RAF Croughton, Northamptonshire. Sacoolas immediately admitted to the police she had caused the accident by driving on the wrong side of the road.
Continue reading...‘Limited progress’ in bridging gaps on fisheries, health, environment and workers’ rights
The UK is still optimistic about striking a trade deal with the EU but warned that talks could collapse in June unless Brussels abandons its demands for a common fisheries policy and a level playing field, a source close to the UK’s negotiating team said.
The source said only “limited progress in bridging the gaps between us” had been made at last week’s talks, but there was “confidence that progress can be made quite quickly”.
Continue reading...Clashes expected over plan which Britain says would sow division in Northern Ireland
Brussels and UK officials will clash over the increasingly fraught question of whether the European Union can open an office in Belfast.
At the inaugural meeting on Thursday of a special committee of officials charged with enforcing a de facto Irish Sea border, the European commission is expected to press the case to open “a technical office” in Belfast, three days after the government rejected an EU “mini-embassy” in the Northern Irish capital.
Continue reading...Impact of pandemic could be felt by world’s poorest for years to come, international development secretary tells MPs
The coronavirus pandemic threatens to undo 30 years of international development work, with a bleak picture for the world’s poorest, the international development secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, told MPs.
Giving evidence to a parliamentary inquiry into the effectiveness of UK aid, Trevelyan said her biggest fear was that the secondary impact of the health crisis would be felt by the world’s poorest for years to come.
Continue reading...UK will need extension to agree Brexit deal as pandemic derails talks
Boris Johnson must extend the UK’s transition out of the EU for up to two years to avoid compounding the economic damage of the coronavirus pandemic with a hugely disruptive and disorderly Brexit, according to a close ally of Angela Merkel.
In an interview with the Observer, Norbert Röttgen, chair of the Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee, said it was now impossible to see how the UK and other EU countries could agree even a minimal outline free trade agreement this year because the talks were so behind schedule.
Continue reading...Campaigners condemn government and defence exporters accused of selling weapons to states with poor human rights records
UK arms sales to repressive regimes increased by £1bn last year compared with 2018.
The increase, of more than 300%, has been condemned by arms control campaigners, who accuse the government of putting profits before human rights.
Continue reading...EU negotiator expresses frustrations at UK refusal to discuss key issues of transition
Michel Barnier has suggested the UK is running down the clock in talks over the future trade and security relationship with the EU.
The claim by the bloc’s chief negotiator during a virtual press conference at the end of a difficult week of videoconference talks was swiftly denied by the government.
Continue reading...Leaked German government report shows Britain has been requesting special access
The British government is making impossible demands over access to Europol databases in the negotiations over the future relationship with the EU, according to a leaked assessment of the UK’s position drawn up by the German government.
As talks between the two sides resumed via video calls this week, Britain’s negotiators not only refused to extend the transition period because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but also stated the UK side’s eagerness to continue taking part in EU-wide data-sharing arrangements and even expanding their reach.
Continue reading...It’s clear that the coronavirus pandemic is not the first thing on the prime minister’s mind
On one level, the argument about what Sir Simon McDonald said to the foreign affairs select committee this week can be dismissed as a storm in a Whitehall teacup. Hours after the head of the foreign office had called Britain’s refusal to join the European Union’s procurement efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic a “political decision”, McDonald retracted his words. Whitehall-watchers are fascinated. The wider world has bigger things to worry about.
But on another level, this week’s row is political dynamite – and for two main reasons.
Continue reading...Are state responses to the virus shifting the balance of power between China and the west?
Andrà tutto bene, the Italians have taught us to think, but in truth, will everything be better the day after? It may seem premature, in the midst of what Emmanuel Macron has described as “a war against an invisible enemy”, to consider the political and economic consequences of a distant peace. Few attempt a definitive review of a play after the first three scenes.
Yet world leaders, diplomats and geopolitical analysts know they are living through epoch-making times and have one eye on the daily combat, the other on what this crisis will bequeath the world. Competing ideologies, power blocs, leaders and systems of social cohesion are being stress-tested in the court of world opinion.
Continue reading...Leaked letter reveals scale of bloc’s inability to function during coronavirus outbreak
Boris Johnson’s plan to seal a deal with Brussels on the future relationship with the UK by the end of December has been described as “fantasy land” by EU officials, as a leaked letter revealed the scale of the bloc’s inability to function during the coronavirus pandemic.
The European council headquarters, where member states’ positions are coordinated, is only able to hold one daily video conference due to a lack of facilities. The capacity to carry out work is 25% of what it would usually be.
Continue reading...Key questions around the government’s plan to rescue 300,000 stranded Britons
The government has announced a £75m rescue mission to repatriate an estimated 300,000 British stranded abroad because of the coronavirus outbreak. How will this work and who will be selected for a flight home?
Continue reading...European People’s party says it hopes ‘common sense will prevail over ideology’
The largest group in the European parliament has urged the UK government to do the “responsible thing” and extend the Brexit transition period, as coronavirus plays havoc with the timetable for an EU-UK deal.
The centre-right European People’s party (EPP), which unites the parties of 11 EU leaders, including Angela Merkel and Leo Varadkar, issued a statement on Monday calling on the government to extend the Brexit transition beyond the end of the year.
Continue reading...Campaigners urge government to replace settled status process with guaranteed ‘right to stay’
Campaigners fear that EU citizens who have made their homes in the UK are at risk of becoming illegal as the government diverts resources to fight coronavirus.
Under current rules, all EU citizens have until June 2021 to apply for settled status. However, there are concerns that the pandemic will mean that the government support available to help EU citizens will reduce, and public awareness campaigns, designed to reach the most vulnerable people and those without an online presence, will be delayed.
Continue reading...Brussels laments London’s failure to table comprehensive legal text to work on
Planned negotiating rounds on the UK’s future relationship with the EU have been abandoned as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with Boris Johnson’s government still to table a comprehensive legal text for both sides to work on.
During a European commission briefing on Thursday, envoys for the EU capitals were told that holding negotiations via video-conferencing had so far proved impossible.
Continue reading...Seven ships remained off UK coast for unusually long time this month
Nine Royal Navy ships were involved in a major operation shadowing seven Russian vessels who had lingered in the Channel for several days this month as the coronavirus crisis was beginning to worsen in the UK.
The unusually high level of Russian activity concluded about a week and a half ago and navy officials said they believed it was primarily a response to western exercises in Europe rather than to a perception that the disease was leaving the UK vulnerable.
Continue reading...Envoy says Britain is taking a new approach to the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe without acknowledging any link to the debt
The Iranian ambassador to the UK says the British government is taking a new approach to the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, adding bilateral talks were taking place over the payment of an outstanding £400m debt owed by the UK to Iran.
Hamid Baeidinejad said the two sides were looking at novel ways for the debt to be paid.
Continue reading...Both sides expected to produce legal texts of negotiating positions next week
The UK and the EU have agreed to “dial down the rhetoric” over Brexit in an effort to open up space for a deal, it has emerged.
Brussels and London are expected to produce legal texts of their negotiating positions next week, with diplomatic sources claiming both sides have agreed to “lower the temperature” to enable the texts to be considered in detail to assess the scale of the divergence.
Continue reading...Anoosheh Ashoori appeals for UK to do more to help secure his temporary release
A British-Iranian political prisoner being held in Tehran on spying charges has sent a recorded message saying that the jail he is in was in chaos because of coronavirus and appealing for the UK government to do more to help secure his temporary release.
Anoosheh Ashoori was transferred three days ago within Evin prison to ward four, one of the wards he claims housed coronavirus victims previously. Ashoori was sentenced two years ago to 10 years in jail on charges of spying for Israel, a charge he vehemently denies.
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