Category Archives: Foreign policy

Brexit: EU must show flexibility, says Raab before Johnson-Juncker meeting – live news

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Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including Boris Johnson’s meeting with the European commission president Jean-Claude Juncker

Jean-Claude Juncker, the European commission president, was asked if he was confident of progress as he went in for his lunch with Boris Johnson. According to the Press Association, he replied: “We will see.”

According to the Telegraph’s James Crisp, Juncker also offered to pay for lunch.

Juncker and Johnson are having their powwow in Le Bouquet Garni. 18th C restaurant opposite ducal palace. Boris, who was greeted by a protest said nothing on way in.

Juncker on other hand
.. 1/ pic.twitter.com/ccgfgW5X3b

Juncker said he never runs out of patience before saying he would pick up the bill.

"I have no choice" he joked.

Here is some footage of Boris Johnson meeting Jean-Claude Juncker. This is from the BBC’s Larissa Kennelly.

Commission Pres @JunckerEU shakes hands with @BorisJohnson as he arrives for (s)nails and salmon in Luxembourg. Lunch on Juncker apparently. pic.twitter.com/vWFoTEYKm7

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EU dismay as Boris Johnson compares himself to Hulk

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Breaking ‘manacles’ comments come a day before PM travels for Brexit talks in Luxembourg

European officials reacted with exasperation on Sunday as Boris Johnson compared himself to the Incredible Hulk throwing off the shackles of the EU the day before he is due to travel to Luxembourg for talks in pursuit of a Brexit deal.

No 10 struck a combative tone before the scheduled meeting with European commission president Jean-Claude Juncker saying Johnson would tell him that the UK must reject any new Brexit deadline.

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Brexit: UK ministers talk up Irish border compromise as key to deal

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Stephen Barclay and Priti Patel insist focus is on achieving agreement before 31 October

Two of Boris Johnson’s senior cabinet ministers have talked up the possibility of securing a Brexit deal through some divergence on the rules in Northern Ireland, as the government’s rhetoric showed fresh signs of shifting ahead of crucial talks next week.

With Johnson due to meet Jean-Claude Juncker, the European commission president, on Monday, Stephen Barclay, the Brexit secretary, and the home secretary, Priti Patel, accepted the Irish border was likely to be a key to any potential agreement.

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We must stop Brexit in any form, councillors tell Jeremy Corbyn

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Grassroots leaders call for a decisive stance to stay in EU and deliver a radical new manifesto

Jeremy Corbyn has come under growing internal pressure to commit Labour to a unequivocal policy of remaining in the European Union as more than 100 councillors issued a joint warning to the party’s ruling body that any form of Brexit would threaten jobs, public services, workers’ rights and the environment.

In a letter to the national executive committee (NEC), which meets this week, the Labour councillors, including several leaders of county and borough councils, called on the party “to campaign unambiguously and energetically for a public vote on Brexit and to endorse a ‘remain and transform’ position in all circumstances”.

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Hopes of clean break with EU are nonsense, says ex-Brexit official

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A no-deal exit would trigger complex negotiations, argues former top DexEU civil servant

Claiming a no-deal Brexit represents a clean break with the European Union is “nonsensical”, according to Philip Rycroft, the former permanent secretary at the Department for Exiting the EU.

Boris Johnson has promised to extricate the UK from the EU on 31 October “come what may” – and has hinted that he could try to get around legislation mandating him to request a Brexit delay.

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No 10 plays down hopes of Brexit breakthrough

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Downing Street has no plans to publish proposals despite chance of border compromise

Downing Street has played down the prospect of an early breakthrough in Brexit talks despite hopes of a compromise on the Irish backstop, as Boris Johnson prepares to meet the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker.

There has been a renewed drive in No 10 for an agreement since parliamentarians passed a law aimed at blocking a no-deal Brexit on 31 October and twice rejected Johnson’s demand for a snap general election.

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John Bercow: I’ll stop Boris Johnson breaking the law on Brexit

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Commons Speaker issues direct challenge to ministers threatening to ignore legislation

John Bercow has threatened Boris Johnson that he will be prepared to rip up the parliamentary rulebook to stop any illegal attempt by the prime minister to take the UK out of the EU without a deal on 31 October.

In a direct warning to No 10, the Speaker of the House of Commons said he is prepared to allow “additional procedural creativity” if necessary to allow parliament to block Johnson from ignoring the law.

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European parliament to raise alarm over UK’s treatment of EU citizens

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Leaked resolution says it will use veto against any Brexit deal without an insurance policy

The European parliament is to criticise the British government’s treatment of EU citizens living in the UK and insist it will refuse to ratify a deal that fails to include an Irish backstop or provisions that tie the UK into EU standards after Brexit.

A leaked copy of a resolution of the parliament due to be voted on next week lays out a series of concerns about the conduct of Boris Johnson’s government. The parliament has a veto on any deal agreed.

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Jeremy Corbyn is wise to emulate Harold Wilson’s pragmatism on Europe | Steve Howell

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Wilson left it late before backing his own deal in the 1975 referendum. Corbyn should keep Labour’s options open too

It is said of Harold Wilson that he epitomised the quip: “If you can’t ride two horses at the same time, you shouldn’t be in the circus.” He was often criticised for putting pragmatism before principle in his 13 years as Labour leader, but it was an attribute that served him well in preventing the party from tearing itself apart on Europe in the 1970s.

When Wilson won a fourth general election on 10 October 1974, he faced the challenge of navigating Labour’s deep divisions on whether or not to reverse the 1972 decision to join the common market. The party’s election manifesto had promised the British people a “final say” on Britain’s membership without committing itself one way or another to a recommendation. “It is as yet too early to judge the likely results of the tough negotiations which are taking place,” it said.

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Scottish judges rule Boris Johnson’s suspension of parliament unlawful

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Court backs MPs who said prorogation breached constitution

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Scottish appeal court judges have declared Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend parliament in the run-up to the October Brexit deadline is unlawful.

The three judges, chaired by Lord Carloway, Scotland’s most senior judge, overturned an earlier ruling that the courts did not have the power to interfere in the prime minister’s political decision to prorogue parliament.

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Three Australians, two of them dual British citizens, held in Iran

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Two British-Australian women believed to be in prison, while location of Australian man is unknown

Three Australian citizens – two of whom also hold British passports – have been arrested and detained in Iran.

A female British-Australian academic who has been teaching at a university in Australia was arrested several months ago, sources confirmed to the Guardian.

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EU looks to Northern Ireland-only backstop to break Brexit deadlock

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EU trade commissioner says he believes ‘penny is finally dropping’ for Boris Johnson

The EU is pinning hopes on British negotiators reverting to the Northern Ireland-only backstop that was previously rejected by Theresa May as a threat to the constitutional integrity of the UK.

With Boris Johnson facing a choice between breaking his word and extending the UK’s EU membership beyond 31 October or bringing back a tweaked deal for a last-gasp vote in parliament, officials and diplomats have expressed hope that the prime minister will make a U-turn.

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Avoid irresponsible remarks on Hong Kong, China warns UK MPs

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Ambassador Liu Xiaoming says politicians free to express their opinion – within limits

China’s ambassador to the UK has accused British politicians of exhibiting a “colonial mindset” when they express support for demonstrators in Hong Kong or raise concerns about Huawei or freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

Liu Xiaoming said British MPs were free to express their opinion about the Hong Kong crisis but needed to recognise there were limits. Critical comments were not a problem “as long as you do not interfere in Hong Kong’s affairs,” he said.

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No-deal Brexit will not be clean break, Irish PM warns Boris Johnson

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Leo Varadkar says UK and EU will still have to negotiate, with same problems on agenda

The Irish prime minister has warned Boris Johnson that there will be no “clean break” from the EU, with further fraught negotiations to come if Britain crashes out of the bloc without a deal.

In a tough message to his British counterpart on the steps of Ireland’s Government Buildings, Leo Varadkar warned Britain would be back to square one on the very issues that it refuses to agree on now in a no-deal scenario.

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Boris Johnson heads to Dublin amid fears of more resignations

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PM battles to keep Brexit plan on track after Amber Rudd quit the government on Saturday

Boris Johnson will fly to Dublin to meet the Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, on Monday, as he battles to show his Brexit plan remains on track after Amber Rudd dramatically quit the cabinet.

Against a backdrop of mounting disquiet inside government at Johnson’s gung-ho approach and the combative style of his chief strategist Dominic Cummings, the British prime minister hopes to demonstrate that he is serious about negotiating a fresh Brexit deal.

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British-Iranian relations strained as oil tanker is seen off Syria

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Adrian Darya, previously called Grace 1, photographed near Russian navy facility

Britain is seeking to establish whether Iran has sold oil to Syria in breach of written undertakings given by Tehran to authorities in Gibraltar.

Iran’s foreign ministry said on Sunday that a tanker seized by British Marines on 9 July and released in August had reached its final destination “on the Mediterranean coast” and sold its oil – without identifying the country.

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France threatens to veto further Brexit extension

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French foreign minister decries ‘worrying’ lack of progress as EU diplomats express frustration

The French government has threatened to veto a further Brexit extension due to the “worrying” lack of progress in the recent talks, as EU diplomats expressed their frustration at being caught up in game-playing by the British government.

In a sign of rising exasperation, the French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, highlighted the lack of realistic proposals being put forward by Downing Street as an alternative to the Irish backstop.

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How UK’s foreign policy efforts to dislodge Mugabe ended in failure

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Series of misunderstandings and protection from other African leaders meant Britain could only wound the regime

Britain’s 40-year effort to find a way to either influence or dislodge Robert Mugabe is one of the country’s great post-war foreign policy failures. It is a story spanning six UK prime ministers, nearly £1bn in aid and every conceivable strategy.

Whether the cause of that failure lies at the door of a colonial mindset in the Foreign Office, a failed land transfer policy, the collective weakness of the Commonwealth, a cowardly African political elite or simply the corrupt thuggery of Mugabe himself will be a matter of dispute for generations.

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Brexit: Boris Johnson short of options as rebels vow to secure delay

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PM suggests he will break the law to avoid asking for extension of article 50 as his hopes of election by end of October recede

Boris Johnson’s shrinking options have narrowed further on Friday, after opposition leaders agreed to reject his demand for a snap general election, until a Brexit delay has been secured.

The prime minister reportedly wrote to Tory members on Friday evening pledging to break the law that will require him to seek an extension of article 50. “They just passed a law that would force me to beg Brussels for an extension to the Brexit deadline. This is something I will never do.”

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