Brexit News & Discussion v6: EU Leaders Go to Battle Over Plugging Post-Brexit Budget Gap

[Arkain2K]

 

[Arkain2K]

 

[Arkain2K]

 

[Bald1]

Dumpster fire indeed. Not like there's a template to follow, but all the ifs and unknowns have everyone scrambling in desperation. Quite the thing to follow, and I don't know what to think about it.

 

[Arkain2K]

Brussels hardens Brexit line on EU workers’ rights
By Alex Barker in Paris and Jim Brunsden and Duncan Robinson

Brussels is pushing for EU workers in Britain to enjoy the full range of their EU rights for the whole of their lifetimes, enforced by the European Commission and overseen by European courts.

The hardline opening position in Brexit talks is outlined in an informal European Commission negotiating paper that in effect attempts to maintain the EU model in perpetuity for migrant workers in Britain and for British workers in other countries in the bloc. Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, wants to demand that Britain continue to apply key European social and employment rules — and extend them to family members of foreign workers who come to the UK even after the country’s withdrawal from the bloc.

The requirements would mean, for example, that contentious rules allowing UK child benefit to be paid to children living elsewhere in Europe would remain in force even after Brexit — potentially for decades.

In a move likely to provoke uproar in Westminster, Britain would also have to apply any “future amendments” of EU rules on benefits — meaning it could be left in the position of abiding by EU laws over which it had no say.

Equally controversially, the plans would hand the European Court of Justice a key role in policing Britain’s ongoing compliance. The European Commission also proposed that it should itself have a “supervisory role” in enforcing any eventual agreement and compliance with EU law.

According to the document, ECJ oversight “should be maintained” for all issues relating to “the continued application” of EU law in Britain after Brexit. Although the commission paper mentions alternative arbitration models, this applies only to areas outside EU law, and any system would need to respect the role of the ECJ.

The document sets out the commission’s thinking on how to act on negotiation guidelines being developed to handle the UK’s exit by the EU’s other 27 member states, which will have the final say on the bloc’s position.

The stance is a reflection of the EU’s determination, set out in its draft negotiating guidelines, to give the highest priority to the rights of European nationals who live and work in the UK, and those of their British counterparts on the continent.

The latest draft of that document, also seen by the FT, says that guarantees of migrant rights “must be comprehensive, effective, enforceable and non-discriminatory.”

“Citizens should be able to exercise their rights through smooth and simple administrative procedures,” it says.

Several diplomats involved in negotiations said the call for “simple administrative procedures” was a direct reference to unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles that will make it harder for EU citizens to exercise their rights in Britain — notably the 85-page form to prove that they are permanently resident in the UK.

“We’ve all seen that 85-page form,” one senior EU diplomat said.

The tougher language on citizens rights is one of several changes in the draft guidelines compared with a first draft that was circulated by EU Council president Donald Tusk last month.

Others emphasise the role of the ECJ, the need for continued strong security co-operation after Brexit and the importance that any deal upholds EU standards of banking and market regulation.

The revised guidelines also make clear that the fate of two big EU agencies based in the UK — the European Medicines Agency and the European Banking Authority — must be settled “rapidly” and that Britain will have no say in their future home.

Nearly every EU country has applied to host one or both of the agencies. Diplomats said a goal was to decide on the agencies’ future location by June.

According to the European Commission’s informal paper, Brussels’ intention is that Britain must “fully cover” the cost of relocating the two agencies.

https://www.ft.com/content/13845908-25ad-11e7-8691-d5f7e0cd0a16

 

[Arkain2K]

Brussels demands the UK foots the bill to relocate London-based EU agencies after Brexit
By Peter Foster | 20 April 2017

The EU wants Britain to pay for relocating its own agencies away from London ​

The European Union is expecting Britain to pay the full cost of relocating two major EU agencies from London back to the EU after Brexit, in the latest signal that Brussels intends to play hardball over the costs of UK withdrawal from Europe.

The plan, revealed in a leaked draft of the European Commission’s Brexit negotiating mandate, looks certain to raise the temperature of the debate over Britain’s so-called ‘Brexit bill’.

Europe is expecting to reclaim two of its most prestigious UK-based agencies, covering banking and medicine regulations, which employ hundreds of highly skilled staff in offices based in London’s Docklands.

Last week David Davis, the Brexit secretary, indicated that Britain did not accept that the agencies would necessarily have to be relocated inside the EU after Brexit - a position that was swiftly rejected by senior figures across Europe.

According to the leaked draft negotiating mandate obtained by Politico Europe, the EU side not only wants the agencies relocated inside the EU, but wants Britain to pay the costs too.

“The United Kingdom should fully cover the specific costs related to the withdrawal process such as the relocation of the agencies or other Union bodies,” the Commission writes in the eight-page document.

For the avoidance of doubt, the Commission adds that the UK’s financial obligations - which could hit €60bn according to informal EU estimates - should be “defined in euro” rather than sterling, further inflating the bill given the fall in the value of the pound since last June’s referendum.

More than 20 EU countries are expected to bid for the right to host one of the two offices of the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which employs some 900 EU nationals from all over the continent.

The document was leaked ahead of Jean-Claude Juncker meeting with Theresa May in London next week to discuss the coming negotiations.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) employ some 900 EU nationals in London's Docklands ​

UK officials have made clear that they do not recognise the European Commission’s €60bn calculation of what it is owed, which includes a host of commitments to future projects and historical liabilities.

The Commission’s draft negotiating mandate, which could yet be modified by EU member states, is the detailed negotiating instruction which will be handed to Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, before talks begin in June.

Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker
​

They are based on broader ‘guidelines’ which were published by Donald Tusk, the European Council president last month, and are due to be agreed at a European leaders’ summit on April 29.

Europe has made clear that it will not grant Mrs May’s demand to hold talks on the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU until the Brexit bill has been settled by agreeing a methodology for its calculation.

The document also provides more detail on Europe’s second demand that an agreement is reached protecting the rights of EU and UK citizens after Brexit, before trade talks begin.

British officials have spoken of the need to reach a broad agreement on reciprocal rights, but the document is clear that that EU will demand high levels of legal and technical certainty before agreeing to move on to talks on the future UK-EU relations.

These will include issues such as how to give legal protection to pension and other rights, for “the lifetime of those concerned” and the question of when the cut-off date should fall for EU citizens hoping to obtain permanent UK status after five years of legal residence.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...foots-bill-relocate-prestigious-london-based/

 

[Arkain2K]

Europe will pay if it punishes Britain in Brexit talks, warns Iceland Foreign Minister
Peter Foster | 20 April 2017

Icelandic Foreign Minister Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson addresses a press conference with his German counterpart at the foreign ministry in Berlin on April 6, 2017 ​

Europe should give Britain a trade deal that closely replicates current EU-UK trading relations and not seek to punish the UK after Brexit by erecting trade barriers, the Icelandic foreign minister has told the Telegraph.

Gudlaugur Thór Thórdarson said it was in the interests of both sides to have unfettered trade in Europe “as it was before” Brexit, and that European attempts to punish Britain would rebound badly on the 27 remaining member states.

“There will be no winners if we are going to have trade barriers. I would think that at the end of the day it will be obvious that is it is in everyone’s interests to have free trade in Europe, as it was before,” he said.

Speaking after a tour of Europe that included visits to Berlin, Brussels and then to London to see Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, Mr Thordarson urged Europe to take a pragmatic approach to the coming negotiations.

“What does erecting trade barriers mean?” he added, “It simply means that the politicians in the remaining 27 EU countries will have to explain to the people who could lose their jobs, that they are doing it because they are so 'tough' on the Brits.”

​

German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel during a meeting with his Icelandic counterpart Guthlogur Thor Thordarson

​

Theresa May has called for a “new, deep and special partnership” with Europe after Brexit, but EU leaders have made clear that the UK will face restricted access to the EU single market if it refuses to accept free movement of people and the jurisdiction of EU courts.

Germany, backed by France, has taken a hard line on the “cherry-picking” issue, insisting that a Britain must be worse off outside the EU .

That view was echoed yesterday by Finland’s Finance Minister Petteri Orpo, who predicted that the Brexit deal would serve as a warning to other countries thinking of leaving.

“This divorce, after 40 years of marriage, is inevitably going to be so painful that no one will want to feel it for themselves,” Mr Orpo said in an interview with Bloomberg. “I believe it’s going to be a precedent no one will want to follow.”

However Mr Thordarson added that the concept of ‘defending’ the European Union by punishing Britain was born out of a misguided idea of trying to perfect a vision of Europe which did not exist.

Likening Iceland to a child caught in the crossfire between two feuding parents in a messy divorce, Mr Thordarson, argued for more flexibility from Brussels, noting that Europe already had differing layers of commitment.

Iceland, which is a member of the European Economic Area (EEA) withdrew from EU accession talks in 2013, with surveys showing the country's population firmly against EU membership.

“There are already layers of co-operation in Europe - the EU, the EEA, EFTA, Schengen, the euro, Nato - that’s normal, so if one nation wants to leave one of these spheres of co-operation but still wants to be in close touch in other ways, that is in everyone’s interests,” he said.

However Mr Thordarson added that it would also be necessary for Mrs May to show sensitivity to Europea's concerns, particularly on the question of money.

Noting the €10bn-a-year black hole that was being left in EU budgets by Britain’s departure, Mr Thordarson said that the UK would have to look at ways to “soften” the blow, financially, for the European side if it wanted a good deal.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...-punishes-britain-brexit-talks-warns-iceland/

 

[Arkain2K]

U.S ready to strike trade deal with UK 'as soon as possible', says Paul Ryan
'As your special ally, as your greatest partner, we're going to stand with you through all of this,'
Jon Sharman | April 20, 2017

US Speaker of the House of Representatives, Paul Ryan, arrives in Downing Street

​

The US is ready to strike a bilateral trade deal with the UK "as soon as possible", a senior American politician has said.

Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, said he wanted the UK and the European Union "to come together and strike a lasting agreement" for Brexit.

"A strong UK-EU relationship is in all of our best interests", he said,

In a speech for the Policy Exchange think-tank in London, Mr Ryan said that the US stood "ready to forge a new trade agreement with Great Britain as soon as possible so that we may further tap into the great potential between our two people."

His clear signal provides a significant boost for Theresa May as European Union leaders prepare take the first steps towards agreeing a negotiating position for forthcoming Brexit talks -once the UK's snap general election, on 8 June, is over.

Mr Ryan's comments come as the Prime Minister prepares to hold talks with Antonio Tajani, the president of the European Parliament, which will ultimately have to approve any post-Brexit deal between the UK and EU.

Answering questions from an audience including International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and other Cabinet ministers, Mr Ryan said he was confident the UK and EU could agree an exit deal.

“This is your country, you make those decisions,” he said. “But I assume you will get an agreement, I can't imagine you won't, and I just want you to know that as your special ally, as your greatest partner, we're going to stand with you through all of this.

“We think it's in everyone's interests to have a strong relationship between Britain and the EU, we want to, as soon as the UK is ready and able, to do a trade agreement, a bilateral trade agreement.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...ys-soon-as-possible-theresa-may-a7692001.html

 

[Arkain2K]

Labour Rules Out Second Brexit Referendum as May Heads to Wales
by Alex Morales and Thomas Penny | April 24, 2017

The U.K.’s opposition Labour Party effectively extinguished all prospect of a second referendum on Britain’s European Union membership as Prime Minister Theresa May headed for Wales, where polling suggests she’ll win most of the seats for the first time in more than 150 years.

Keir Starmer, Labour’s Brexit spokesman, offered to soften the Brexit blow by immediately guaranteeing the rights of EU citizens to stay in the country if Labour wins the June 8 snap election. In Wales, where May stands a good chance of ending Labour’s dominance, the premier will make the case that a vote for her will strengthen her hand in negotiations.

In an election haunted by the ghost of Brexit, Labour’s latest outline will come as a blow to the 48 percent who voted to remain in the bloc and are unsure whether their vote can even matter given May’s crushing advantage in the polls. With EU negotiators hardening their positions on sensitive topics such as the rights of citizens and voter fatigue setting in, May is seizing on a narrow window of opportunity to consolidate power before negotiations begin.

Trailing by 20 percentage points in the polls, Labour is struggling to come up with at strategy to stem what could be a landslide victory for May. Starmer said the party “genuinely accepts the outcome of the referendum” -- a concession that may drive those who want to reverse course into the arms of the more pro-EU Liberal Democrats.

Realistic Goals

Instead, Labour will focus on trying to keep the benefits of the single market and customs union -- two things May has indicated she’s prepared to give up.

Starmer described how his ideal Brexit would unfold. After Britain leaves in 2019, there would be a transitional period -- something eagerly wanted by financial services especially. That would mean that a final deal would take shape in five to six years from now.

“At that stage, we would have left the EU three or four years earlier, and therefore the second-referendum argument simply doesn’t hold water,” he said in a speech in London.

The premier, for her part, was in Wales on Tuesday for a series of campaign events in seats the Tories feel they can win. Wales, a Labour stronghold, voted for Brexit in last year’s referendum, even though it has been a major beneficiary of EU funds.

A poll on Monday signaled that Wales, which like Scotland has a semi-autonomous legislature, might deliver another surprise in the June election. The Conservatives have 40 percent support, compared with 30 percent for Labour, enough to take 21 of the 40 Welsh seats in the U.K. Parliament, according to the YouGov Plc poll for ITV Wales.

https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/...o-keep-eu-single-market-benefits-after-brexit

 

[Arkain2K]

General election 2017: Where UK's parties stand on Brexit
25 April 2017

Brexit is a major issue at the UK general election - here's what we know so far about where the main parties across the UK stand.

The Conservatives

Party policy: Prime Minister Theresa May was against Brexit before the EU referendum but now says there can be no turning back and that "Brexit means Brexit". The reason she gave for calling a general election was to strengthen her hand in negotiations with the EU, in which she plans to withdraw the UK from the single market and strike a new free trade deal.

Where the MPs stand: More Tory MPs backed Remain than Leave in last year's referendum - but they now strongly support the UK leaving - in February, only one voted against the government beginning Brexit by invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

Risks and rewards: Theresa May would use an election victory to say the country is uniting around her approach to Brexit, and moving on from the divisions of the referendum campaign. But her uncompromising approach to leaving could upset some of the 48% who wanted to stay in, with the Lib Dems hoping to capitalise in areas - like London's Richmond Park - that backed Remain.

Labour Party

Party policy: The Labour Party campaigned against Brexit in the referendum but now says the result must be honoured, provided workers' rights, access to the benefits of the single market and four other tests are met. It has also ruled out a second referendum on the final deal, but wants MPs to have a decisive say on what happens once negotiations are complete. And it would guarantee the right of EU nationals living and working in the UK to stay in the country from "day one" of a Labour government.

Where the MPs stand: The vast majority of Labour MPs backed Remain ahead of the referendum - but most followed party orders to allow Article 50 to be invoked in February's vote.

Risks and rewards: Labour is hoping its acceptance of the result will fend off attacks from the Tories and UKIP in Leave-backing areas, which are estimated to account for the majority of its seats - including Stoke Central where it won February's by-election. But there are divisions among MPs on the best way forward, and Labour faces the challenge of having to appeal to both sides of a polarising debate.

The SNP

Party policy: SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has been pushing for Scotland - which voted to remain in the EU - to have a special status after Brexit, including remaining in the single market. She has called for a second independence referendum before the Brexit package has been finalised.

Where the MPs stand: The SNP's 54 MPs voted en masse against triggering Article 50 and are expected to maintain their vocal opposition to Brexit in the next Parliament.

Risks and rewards: The SNP will hope to harness Scotland's support for remaining in the EU (it voted Remain by 62% to 38%). But a significant minority of its supporters are thought to have backed Leave - while the Tories are said to be targeting the Moray seat of SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson, where Remain only narrowly saw off the Leave campaign in the EU referendum.

Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats are strongly pro-EU, and have promised to stop what they call a "disastrous hard Brexit". They say they will fight with "every fibre of their being" to protect existing aspects of EU membership, such as the single market and the free movement of people, and want another referendum - this time on the terms of the deal struck between the UK and the EU.

Where the MPs stand: All of the Lib Dem MPs backed staying in the EU, and seven out of nine opposed Article 50, with two abstaining.

Risks and rewards: The Lib Dems are hoping their pro-EU pitch will help them gather voters in pro-Remain areas, as when they captured Richmond Park in London in December's by-election. But according to estimates based on the referendum results, two of their sitting MPs represent areas that backed Leave last June - which might make the party's second referendum policy a tough sell on the doorstep.

The Green Party

Green Party of England and Wales joint leader Caroline Lucas has called for a second EU referendum on the Brexit deal reached with Brussels, and the Greens have promised "full opposition" to what they call "extreme Brexit".

UKIP

UKIP leader Paul Nuttall has vowed to "hold the government's feet to the fire" on Brexit and will be hoping to take votes from Labour in areas that backed Leave. But with the formal exit process already under way, will the party's longstanding anti-EU message still have the same resonance?

Plaid Cymru

Plaid Cymru, which campaigned to stay in the EU, says it accepts that the people of Wales voted to leave, but says single market membership should be preserved to protect Welsh jobs.

Democratic Unionist Party

The DUP campaigned in favour of leaving the EU - and, in its manifesto for this year's Assembly elections, said it wanted to see a "positive" relationship with the rest of Europe, involving "mutual access to our markets to pursue common interests".

SDLP

Having campaigned to stay in the EU, the SDLP's MPs have opposed the invoking of Article 50, saying it is being done "against the will of people in Northern Ireland", where most people voted to Remain in the EU.

Ulster Unionist

Before the referendum, the Ulster Unionist party said that on balance, it was better for Northern Ireland to stay in the EU - although not all its members agreed. It says it would honour the referendum result, and wants "unfettered" access to the single market and no hard border with the Republic of Ireland.

Sinn Fein

Sinn Fein has accused the Conservative government of "seeking to impose Brexit on Ireland". It wants Northern Ireland to have a "designated special status" inside the EU.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-39665835

 

[Arkain2K]

France wants EU to regulate the City of London after UK leaves
Ben Chapman | April 26, 2017

Securing the future of the UK's banking and financial services is seen as a key priority for a deal once the UK leaves the EU
​

France has warned Britain that the City must continue to be overseen by European regulators after Brexit and financial services could be excluded from any trade deal.

Securing the future of the UK's banking and financial services is seen as a key priority for a deal once the UK leaves the EU. But France and other member states changed the negotiating terms in a draft document that was agreed on Monday, according to Reuters.

Negotiations will begin after the 8 June snap general election and will be guided by those terms, which are due to be discussed further on Thursday and expected to be finalised at Saturday’s EU 27 summit.

“Any future framework should safeguard financial stability in the union and respect its regulatory and supervisory standards regime and application,” the new negotiating clause says in a draft quoted by Reuters.

“The 27 will not necessarily consider financial services in a free trade agreement, as Theresa May has expected,” one official told the news agency.

The UK financial industry has recently looked towards the option of “regulatory equivalence”. Under this scenario, Britain’s financial firms could be overseen by local watchdogs and still sell their services across the union using a passport, as long as the rules here remain similar enough to the EU’s.

The latest negotiating document could cast the viability of that option into doubt. EU figures are understood to be reluctant to allow London to maintain its position as Europe’s dominant financial centre without close oversight from Brussels.

The document also reportedly insists Britain grants permanent residence to EU citizens who arrive in the UK before formal separation. Last month, MPs rejected a House of Lords amendment to the Government’s EU Notification of Withdrawal Bill that would have unilaterally guaranteed citizenship rights for three million EU citizens currently living in the UK.

More than 5,000 financial services firms could be at risk if the City loses the right to operate across the 27 remaining members of the EU – “passporting”.

A total of 5,476 UK-registered firms hold at least one passport to do business in another member state of the EU or the wider European Economic Area, according to December figures from the Financial Conduct Authority, quoted by Treasury Select Committee chair Andrew Tyrie. Around 8,000 firms registered in other EU or EEA member states hold passports to do business in the UK.

Finance firms have been drawing up contingency plans for Brexit in recent months, with many preparing to set up EU bases in cities such as Frankfurt, Paris or Dublin.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/b...n-regulate-leave-european-union-a7702941.html

 

[deise69]

Why we need to start planning for a united Ireland
Northern Ireland must be saved from an isolated and uncertain Brexit existence

Just as the Belfast Agreement neared its 20th birthday, the Brexiteers and their DUP followers unexpectedly gave our island’s kaleidoscope an unexpected shake.

As the pieces settle over the next few years, it is time for a new departure in the Republic’s relationship with Northern Ireland, to imagine and plan a united future that all of Ulster society could want to share.

There is no obvious way to avoid some hardening of the Border that snakes 300 miles across the fields of Ulster. At the very least, there will be uncertainty and inconvenience for families, communities and business.

The British government’s intention to leave the customs union and the single market, and their emphasis on strict immigration control, means that the Border may again become a scar.

There was little concern for any of that in the Brexit referendum. To say Northern Ireland barely registers in British public discourse would be a generous understatement: interest mostly hovers between ignorance and neglect, with occasional bursts of irritation or panic.

Even during the current political crisis, British prime minister Theresa May could not seem less interested, while the best one can say about James Brokenshire’s leadership of the recent Stormont talks is that his surname seems darkly appropriate.

http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/why-we-need-to-start-planning-for-a-united-ireland-1.3066881

 

[MayhemMonkey]

“It would not be impossible to prove with sufficient repetition and a psychological understanding of the people concerned that a square is in fact a circle. They are mere words, and words can be molded until they clothe ideas and disguise.”
― Joseph Goebbels

“But the most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly and with unflagging attention. It must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over. Here, as so often in this world, persistence is the first and most important requirement for success.”
― Adolf Hitler

 

[Gregolian]

France wants EU to regulate the City of London after UK leaves
Ben Chapman | April 26, 2017​

​

This is why you are the butt of jokes France.

 

[Arkain2K]

Remaining 27 EU countries agree Brexit guidelines as Hollande says UK must 'pay price'

The EU 27 have unanimously agreed their guidelines for the forthcoming negotiations with the UK, in a meeting that lasted “one minute” and ended in spontaneous applause, as the draft guidelines were ratified without a single major alteration.

Donald Tusk, the European Council President, said the guidelines had been "adopted unanimously", adding: "The EU 27 firm and fair political mandate for the Brexit talks is ready.”

Meanwhile, the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said he felt the UK was underestimating the challenges of Brexit.

At a press conference after the summit , Mr Juncker said: “I have the impression sometimes that our British friends, not all of them, do underestimate the technical difficulties we have to face.

“A single and not simple question of citizens’ rights is in fact a cortege of 25 different questions which have to be solved.

“So this will take time and if we want to be precise and to deliver guarantees to citizens, this will take a huge amount of time.

"Although, as a Commission we have already prepared a text which could be adopted immediately if our British friends would be ready to sign it, that will probably not happen.”

French President François Hollande said the UK must “pay the price” for its decision to leave the EU.

“There will inevitably be a price and a cost for Britain, it’s the choice they made,” Mr Hollande said as he arrived at the summit.

“We must not be punitive, but at the same time it’s clear that Europe knows how to defend its interests, and that Britain will have a less good position outside the EU than in the EU.”

Only a small number of amendments were made to the draft guidelines, which now list securing protections for EU citizens resident in the UK ahead of its financial obligations - reversing the previous position.

Along with citizens' rights, the disputed “divorce bill” the UK will have to pay on exit - estimated at a potential £50 billion - and the question of how to maintain a free-flowing Irish border are among the key issues.

Mr Tusk said “sufficient progress” on all three were needed before the EU's future relationship with Europe and trade deals could be addressed, in spite of Ms May's call for parallel talks.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...hollande-says-uk-must-pay-price-a7709016.html

 

[deise69]

“It would not be impossible to prove with sufficient repetition and a psychological understanding of the people concerned that a square is in fact a circle. They are mere words, and words can be molded until they clothe ideas and disguise.”
― Joseph Goebbels

“But the most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly and with unflagging attention. It must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over. Here, as so often in this world, persistence is the first and most important requirement for success.”
― Adolf Hitler

Good luck trying to get more staff for the NHS, when they don't even pay enough to survive on and nurses have to get meals from food banks to survive.

 

[MayhemMonkey]

Good luck trying to get more staff for the NHS, when they don't even pay enough to survive on and nurses have to get meals from food banks to survive.

the queues to the foodbanks will be strong and stable under Theresa Mays leadership

at least if she said that she'd be telling the truth for once

 

[snakedafunky]

Remaining 27 EU countries agree Brexit guidelines as Hollande says UK must 'pay price'
European Council President Donald Tusk has confirmed that guidelines for the bloc's negotiations with the UK have been unanimously ratified.

The EU 27 have unanimously agreed their guidelines for the forthcoming negotiations with the UK, in a meeting that lasted “one minute” and ended in spontaneous applause, as the draft guidelines were ratified without a single major alteration.

Donald Tusk, the European Council President, said the guidelines had been "adopted unanimously", adding: "The EU 27 firm and fair political mandate for the Brexit talks is ready.”

Meanwhile, the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said he felt the UK was underestimating the challenges of Brexit.

At a press conference after the summit , Mr Juncker said: “I have the impression sometimes that our British friends, not all of them, do underestimate the technical difficulties we have to face.

“A single and not simple question of citizens’ rights is in fact a cortege of 25 different questions which have to be solved.

“So this will take time and if we want to be precise and to deliver guarantees to citizens, this will take a huge amount of time.

"Although, as a Commission we have already prepared a text which could be adopted immediately if our British friends would be ready to sign it, that will probably not happen.”

French President François Hollande said the UK must “pay the price” for its decision to leave the EU.

“There will inevitably be a price and a cost for Britain, it’s the choice they made,” Mr Hollande said as he arrived at the summit.

“We must not be punitive, but at the same time it’s clear that Europe knows how to defend its interests, and that Britain will have a less good position outside the EU than in the EU.”

Only a small number of amendments were made to the draft guidelines, which now list securing protections for EU citizens resident in the UK ahead of its financial obligations - reversing the previous position.

Along with citizens' rights, the disputed “divorce bill” the UK will have to pay on exit - estimated at a potential £50 billion - and the question of how to maintain a free-flowing Irish border are among the key issues.

Mr Tusk said “sufficient progress” on all three were needed before the EU's future relationship with Europe and trade deals could be addressed, in spite of Ms May's call for parallel talks.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...hollande-says-uk-must-pay-price-a7709016.html

Oh the Irony, that must have been the fastest and easiest the EU ever agreed to anything. And they were fighting over small stuff before.
But when it comes to the complicated Brexit everyone agrees within one day.
If they only showed this kind of unity before we might would not have a Brexit.

 

[deise69]

At least you still have the billions to spare for trident missiles !

 

[JDragon]

Oh the Irony, that must have been the fastest and easiest the EU ever agreed to anything. And they were fighting over small stuff before.
But when it comes to the complicated Brexit everyone agrees within one day.
If they only showed this kind of unity before we might would not have a Brexit.

Brexit will contribute more to European identity formation than the past 15 years of EU enlargement.