Zellery wrote:Good post Lagamorph.
Turboman wrote:Lagomorph..... Is ..... Right
twitter.com/thetimes/status/968254354275946497
The international trade secretary’s upbeat vision of life outside the customs union risks being overshadowed today by the former top official in his own department. Martin Donnelly, who quit last March as permanent secretary at the department of international trade, will give his own speech in London tomorrow that basically ridicules Fox’s position. Some of the punchiest lines from Donnelly’s speech — and there are plenty — are below. Each one directly contradicts what Fox will say today, and offers a withering verdict on Britain’s prospects outside the customs union.
Martin Donnelly … on Global Britain: “There is a marked lack of evidence that leaving the EU customs union and single market will lead to greater U.K. trade with third countries.”
On cutting trade deals: “The EU as a trade negotiator has the economic weight to deal with China and the U.S. as trade equals. The U.K. does not.”
On the impact of Brexit: “For the U.K. to give up existing access both to the EU single market, and to the preferential trade agreements which the EU has in place with over 50 countries, in exchange for its own bilateral trade deals at some future date, is rather like rejecting a three course meal now in favor of the promise of a packet of crisps later.”
On ‘smart’ border checks: “Technology cannot offer a frictionless solution to border controls.”
On leaving the single market: “Having our cake and eating it is not an option in the real world; ‘frictionless trade’ is a phrase without legal content.”
On the task ahead: “To provide U.K. business with guarantees of full and equal access to the single market, without equal acceptance of EU regulatory structures would require not so much a skilled negotiating team, as a fairy godmother specialized in trade law.”
On the future: “Given the negative consequences of leaving, and the lack of any significant offsetting advantages, I believe it is likely the U.K. will seek to return to full membership of the EU single market in due course. But significant damage to employment, the structure of the economy and the competitiveness of U.K. firms can be expected in the meantime.”
twitter.com/DMcCaffreySKY/status/968212921149947904
EU position on Irish border to test UK cabinet unity on Brexit
Draft of EU divorce treaty to say Northern Ireland should remain in customs union in absence of negotiated agreement
In the document to be finalised on Wednesday, the European commission will spell out that, as a last resort to avoid a hard border, Northern Ireland would remain in the EU customs union and aligned to European single market rules.
One senior EU diplomat said the text would reflect that unless there are mutually-agreed alternatives: “Northern Ireland is to stay in a de-facto customs union with the EU combined with alignment on trade in goods.”
British and European negotiators papered over their divisions on Ireland with an agreement on phase one of Brexit talks in December that allowed both sides to claim victory. That agreement – contained in a 15-page joint report – is now being turned into formal legal treaty by EU lawyers, leaving no room for ambiguity about the status of the Irish border.
The British government will be presented with a 200-page Brexit treaty that consists of more than 160 legal articles. Access to the document is tightly controlled. Diplomats are only allowed to view the draft in a reading room and must leave their phones at the door.
The European commission’s leadership is expected to sign off the draft on Wednesday, before handing it to national diplomats of the EU’s remaining 27 member states who aim to revise the draft by the end of March. Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, wants to agree a final version with the UK by October 2018.
The Brexit treaty will cover all aspects of the UK’s divorce and transition out of the EU – but is not a trade deal. Negotiators expect to agree a non-binding outline of key points on trade, allowing formal talks to begin once the UK leaves the EU in March 2019.
The EU and UK have agreed three options to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland.
The first option states that a hard border could be avoided “through the overall EU-UK relationship”, meaning that the UK would remain embedded in EU structures.
EU officials think this is impossible as Theresa May has ruled out keeping the UK in the customs union and single market. In a move to outflank the government, the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, said on Monday he wanted “a new comprehensive UK-EU customs union”. But a customs union is not enough to solve the Irish question. EU officials think Northern Ireland needs to be aligned in other areas, such as animal, medicine and food standards, to prevent the Irish border becoming a back door for smugglers.
The second option calls on the UK to “propose specific solutions to address the unique circumstances of the island of Ireland”. This remains the British government’s preferred option and the government suggested solving the issue through technology or a unique customs arrangement that would make the UK responsible for customs checks on the EU border.
But the EU has dismissed these ideas as “magical thinking” and officials are deeply sceptical that the UK has any “specific solutions” that will be acceptable to the EU. “The issue has been up in the air since 15 December and we have not heard anything,” said the senior official.
The final option, known in Brussels as the backstop, states that “in the absence of agreed solutions”, the UK “will maintain full alignment” with the single market and customs union rules that support the Good Friday agreement and all-island economy.
Hexx wrote:It's going to be amazing watching the Gammons react to the EU expecting them to follow through on December's agreement
Squinty wrote:Hexx wrote:It's going to be amazing watching the Gammons react to the EU expecting them to follow through on December's agreement
Gammons? Never heard that before
Hexx wrote:Squinty wrote:Hexx wrote:It's going to be amazing watching the Gammons react to the EU expecting them to follow through on December's agreement
Gammons? Never heard that before
I've been using it for weeks intermittently!
And I totally came up with it myself...
Moggy wrote:Hexx wrote:Squinty wrote:Hexx wrote:It's going to be amazing watching the Gammons react to the EU expecting them to follow through on December's agreement
Gammons? Never heard that before
I've been using it for weeks intermittently!
And I totally came up with it myself...
Don't listen to his lies, using the word gammons to describe them has been around for a while.
Zellery wrote:Good post Lagamorph.
Turboman wrote:Lagomorph..... Is ..... Right
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