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Tag: BREXIT
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Beyond Brexit – Nigeria wants a new trade deal with Britain, Atiku Abubakar
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Brexit sends Britons seeking Irish passports up 22% in 2018
The number of British citizens applying for Irish passports rose by 22 per cent in 2018, Ireland’s foreign office said on Monday, more than doubling the total of annual applications since Britain voted to leave the EU.
Almost 100,000 eligible Britons sought to hang onto their EU citizenship via a passport from their nearest neighbour this year, up from 81,000 in 2017 and 46,000 in 2015, the year before the Brexit vote led to a sharp rise in applications.
Anybody born in the Irish Republic or Northern Ireland, or with an Irish parent or grandparent, is entitled to an Irish passport – a total of about six million British citizens.
They are able to hold dual citizenship.
Registrations for Irish passports in Northern Ireland, whose citizens can hold both an Irish and British passport as the province is part of the United Kingdom, rose by two per cent in the year to the end of December.
With three months left until the UK is due to leave the EU on March 29, the draft divorce deal reached between both sides is floundering ahead of a planned vote in the British parliament next month.
This will be opening up a range of possibilities from a Brexit without a trade deal to calling it off entirely.
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I will be Prime Minister to take Britain out of EU – May
Theresa May said on Saturday she would be the Prime Minister to take Britain out of the European Union and that parliament should back her Brexit deal to ensure certainty for the future.
May sealed a deal with EU leaders last Sunday that would see Britain leave the bloc on March 29 with continued close ties, but the odds look stacked against her getting it approved by a deeply divided British parliament in a vote on Dec. 11.
Reuters reports that the deal has been criticised by many of May’s Conservative MPs, both supporters of a cleaner break with the EU and those who want to keep closer ties. Opposition parties and a small Northern Irish party which props up May’s minority government have also said they plan to reject the deal.
Several of her ministers have resigned in protest at the deal, and some of her MPs have called for a confidence vote in her leadership, something some believe could happen if she loses the vote in parliament.
“There is a lot more for me still to do, not least delivering on Brexit and being the prime minister that does take the United Kingdom out of the European Union,” May told a news conference at the G20 Summit in Argentina, when asked what her legacy would be if she is forced to quit.
“I will be talking with Members of Parliament … and explaining why passing this deal in the vote that will take place in the House of Commons will take us to certainty for the future, and that failure to do that would only lead to uncertainty.”
May said that during a series of bilateral meetings with world leaders at the summit she had updated them on the Brexit deal and told them it would be a good deal for the global economy as well as international firms which have invested in Britain or that use European bases to supply the UK market.
“That this deal sets a path for the UK to a brighter future has been affirmed by the discussions I have had on trade over the past two days,” she said.
“Friends and partners have made clear that they are keen to sign and implement ambitious free trade agreements with us as soon as possible,” she added.
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Brexit deal: May expresses optimism following EU leaders’ approval [Video]
British Prime Minister Theresa May has expressed optimism following the approval of her Brexit deal by twenty-seven leaders of the European Union (EU).
TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports the Brexit deal seeks to end free movement once and fall, with a new skills-based immigration system.
The deal also seeks a free trade area with the EU for goods, with no tariffs, which protects United Kingdom (UK) jobs; no more sending vast sums of money to the EU, meaning the UK can spend it on NHS.
It will signal end of the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in the UK, meaning Britain will be able to control its own laws; protecting the rights of citizens living in the UK and UK citizens living in the EU.
The UK will then have the ability to strike trade deals with other countries; have a close relationship on defence, tackling crime and terrorism to keep people safe; and also leaving the Common Agricultural Policy and Common Fisheries Policy.
“The British do not want to spend any more time arguing about Brexit. They want a good deal done, that fulfills the vote and allows us to come together again as a country.
“So, I will take this deal back to the House of Commons confident we have achieved the best deal available and full of optimism about the future of our country.
“In parliament and beyond it, I will make the case for this deal with all my heart and I look forward to that campaign,” said May.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bqmvg3wn748/
The European Council (EC) endorsed the agreement on the withdrawal of the UK and Northern Ireland from the EU and the European Atomic Energy Community, following the special meeting that finalized and formalized the outcome of the Brexit negotiations in Brussels on Sunday.
The twenty-seven EU leaders approved the two key Brexit documents: the EU Withdrawal Agreement and the Political Declaration.
The Withdrawal Agreement ensures that the rights of citizens are fully protected, and the peace process in Northern Ireland is not affected, and that the UK will continue its payments to the EU budget during the transition period and legal certainty will be secured.
TNG reports the EC approved the Political Declaration setting out the framework for the future relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
On this basis, the EC invited the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council to take the necessary steps to ensure that the agreement can enter into force on 30 March 2019, so as to provide for an orderly withdrawal.
The Council restates the Union’s determination to have as close as possible a partnership with the United Kingdom in the future in line with the Political Declaration.
“The Union’s approach will continue to be defined by the overall positions and principles set out in the previously agreed European Council’s guidelines. The European Council will remain permanently seized of the matter,” the EC said in a statement.
The Council thanked Michel Barnier for his tireless efforts as the Union’s chief negotiator and for his contribution to maintaining the unity among EU27 Member States throughout the negotiations on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union.
President of the EC, Donald Tusk, in his remarks after the special meeting of the EC on Sunday, said the EU and the (UK) will continue to maintain cordial relationships, prior and after 30 March 2019.
The EC President, however, noted that the process of ratification as well as further negotiations for the Brexit deal might be difficult.
“Ahead of us is the difficult process of ratification as well as further negotiations,” he said, adding: “But regardless of how it will all end, one thing is certain: we will remain friends until the end of days, and one day longer”.
Meanwhile, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, while speaking on Marr on Sunday morning, had called the Brexit deal dodo.
“The problem is, the deal’s a dodo,” Blair stated, while stressing that he has respect for Prime Minister Theresa May.
“The central question here is if it’s not a deal which satisfies the people who voted Brexit, why on earth are we doing it?
“The only way you’re going to unite the country is to take it back to the people. The Prime Minister’s deal has only succeeded in uniting people in opposition to it,” he further stated.
In an article, Blair had earlier said the departure of Britain from the European Union (EU) will diminish the weight of Europe.
“Since the referendum, we have had 2 and a half years of negotiation and discovered there are many varieties of Brexit.
“The choice is between a painful Brexit and a pointless Brexit – that’s the issue we’ve had the whole way through. This isn’t what the people who voted to Leave voted for,” he said.
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Brexit: European Council President says EU, UK will remain friends
President of the European Council (EC), Donald Tusk, has said the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) will remain friends, following endorsement of the Brexit deal by EC.
TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports Tusk stated this in his remarks after the special meeting of the EC that endorsed the deal on Sunday.
The EC President, however, noted that the process of ratification as well as further negotiations for the Brexit deal might be difficult.
“Ahead of us is the difficult process of ratification as well as further negotiations,” he said, adding: “But regardless of how it will all end, one thing is certain: we will remain friends until the end of days, and one day longer”.
Meanwhile, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, while speaking on Marr on Sunday morning, had called the Brexit deal dodo.
“The problem is, the deal’s a dodo,” Blair stated, while stressing that he has respect for Prime Minister Theresa May.
“The central question here is if it’s not a deal which satisfies the people who voted Brexit, why on earth are we doing it?
“The only way you’re going to unite the country is to take it back to the people. The Prime Minister’s deal has only succeeded in uniting people in opposition to it,” he further stated.
In an article, Blair had earlier said the departure of Britain from the European Union (EU) will diminish the weight of Europe.
“Since the referendum, we have had 2 and a half years of negotiation and discovered there are many varieties of Brexit.
“The choice is between a painful Brexit and a pointless Brexit – that’s the issue we’ve had the whole way through. This isn’t what the people who voted to Leave voted for,” he said.
The EC endorsed the agreement on the withdrawal of the UK and Northern Ireland from the EU and the European Atomic Energy Community, following the special meeting that finalized and formalized the outcome of the Brexit negotiations in Brussels on Sunday.
Twenty-seven EU leaders approved the two key Brexit documents: the EU Withdrawal Agreement and the Political Declaration.
The Withdrawal Agreement ensures that the rights of citizens are fully protected, and the peace process in Northern Ireland is not affected, and that the UK will continue its payments to the EU budget during the transition period and legal certainty will be secured.
The Political Declaration sets the direction as regards future relations.
EU27 has endorsed the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration on the future EU-UK relations.
— Charles Michel (@eucopresident) November 25, 2018
On this basis, the EC has invited the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council to take the necessary steps to ensure that the agreement can enter into force on 30 March 2019, so as to provide for an orderly withdrawal.
TNG reports the EC approved the Political Declaration setting out the framework for the future relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The Council restates the Union’s determination to have as close as possible a partnership with the United Kingdom in the future in line with the Political Declaration.
“The Union’s approach will continue to be defined by the overall positions and principles set out in the previously agreed European Council’s guidelines. The European Council will remain permanently seized of the matter,” the EC said in a statement.
Ahead of us is the difficult process of ratification as well as further negotiations. But regardless of how it will end, one thing is certain: we will remain friends until the end of days, and one day longer. #Brexit
— Charles Michel (@eucopresident) November 25, 2018
The Council thanks Michel Barnier for his tireless efforts as the Union’s chief negotiator and for his contribution to maintaining the unity among EU27 Member States throughout the negotiations on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union.
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Former Prime Minister says Theresa May’s Brexit deal is dodo
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has said the Brexit deal, approved by the European Council on Sunday, is a dodo.
TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports the former Prime Minister stated this while speaking on Marr on Sunday morning.
“The problem is, the deal’s a dodo,” Blair stated, while stressing that he has respect for Prime Minister Theresa May.
“The central question here is if it’s not a deal which satisfies the people who voted Brexit, why on earth are we doing it?
“The only way you’re going to unite the country is to take it back to the people. The Prime Minister’s deal has only succeeded in uniting people in opposition to it,” he further stated.
In an article, Blair had earlier said the departure of Britain from the European Union (EU) will diminish the weight of Europe.
“Since the referendum, we have had 2 and a half years of negotiation and discovered there are many varieties of Brexit.
“The choice is between a painful Brexit and a pointless Brexit – that’s the issue we’ve had the whole way through. This isn’t what the people who voted to Leave voted for,” he said.
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Brexit: Britain’s departure will diminish Europe’s weight – Tony Blair
Former Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Tony Blair has said the departure of Britain will diminish the weight of Europe.
TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports the former Prime Minister, who is also the Executive Chairman of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, stated this in an article to EU leaders on Sunday.
The full article read: “I know politics too well, particularly European politics, not to know that you will come to an agreement on Brexit. But you should do so understanding the risk you are running and the danger you are courting for the whole European project.
“If you think it is a bad deal but better than the alternative of no deal, realise at the same time: the British PM does not have the agreement of the British people, the British parliament or even significant parts of her cabinet for it. And those who most ardently advocated “leave” even say they would prefer staying in the EU to leaving on these terms. If you think it settles the issue; it doesn’t.
“I ask you: be prepared to offer a way out if we are prepared to reconsider.
“The magnitude of the decision I know you accept. At a time when the politics of America are uncertain and the rise of China no longer a prediction but a fact, Britain’s departure will diminish the weight of Europe, upset its political balance, damage its single market and deprive both of us of the maximum influence over world affairs when we have never needed that influence more.
“You will agree but say: what choice do we have? It is Britain that has decided to leave. I understand that. I have watched you watch us these past 30 months. Whereas Brexit has occupied every waking moment of British politics, it has often barely featured in yours. It has been met with bewilderment at the way a country renowned for its common sense, decisiveness and savvy has become defined by indecision and flights of fancy.
“The magnitude of the decision I know you accept. At a time when the politics of America are uncertain and the rise of China no longer a prediction but a fact, Britain’s departure will diminish the weight of Europe, upset its political balance, damage its single market and deprive both of us of the maximum influence over world affairs when we have never needed that influence more.
“You will agree but say: what choice do we have? It is Britain that has decided to leave. I understand that. I have watched you watch us these past 30 months. Whereas Brexit has occupied every waking moment of British politics, it has often barely featured in yours. It has been met with bewilderment at the way a country renowned for its common sense, decisiveness and savvy has become defined by indecision and flights of fancy.
“What can be negotiated and what can’t is and always has been clear except to the British leadership. It has been often said in Britain that Europe has failed to respond reasonably to British proposals. You know the reality, which is that you have offered Britain a variety of different options. We can stay in the single market like Norway. Leave it and have a free trade agreement like Canada. Be in the customs union like Turkey. Be partially in the single market with a zero tariff customs arrangement like Switzerland. And of course, our deal would be a bespoke British deal which might combine aspects of the others.
“But all these models share one thing. To the extent that you are part of the economic structures of Europe, you abide by Europe’s rules. You are a rule-taker not a rule-maker. And if you’re not part of them, as with Canada, then your access to the market is not the same as those who are part of it. This is why the British position throughout the negotiation has been flawed. The government famously used to claim we would leave the single market but still retain the same benefits as those in it. This always was impossible.
“So finally, with the Chequers proposal, the PM chose an option of staying in the single market, but just for goods. And she accepted that this would mean agreeing to have in British law all existing European regulation and abiding by future regulation unless and until we decided to depart from it and therefore left the market. But to appease the Brexiteers, the option was heavily camouflaged by language which suggested we would retain independence from European regulation when obviously we wouldn’t.
“You didn’t agree to that proposal because you weren’t sure what it meant. Meantime, the PM’s internal political problems got worse. In any event your immediate concern is the withdrawal agreement and the Irish question.
“The PM agreed to a backstop that means the whole UK remains in the customs union until a technological solution is found. But such a solution must be to the satisfaction of both sides, and this gives Europe a veto. This caused outrage amongst both the Conservative Brexiteers and the DUP.
“So effectively you decided that you would permit more camouflage around the Irish border question but keep intact your veto. Then to ease the PM’s path to a deal, you agreed to a political declaration whose language is now so vague that it could mean any one of those options above. This is an artifice based on a misguided political fix I promise you we will all regret.
“The Brexit people think it’s a betrayal. The remainers like me think it is completely pointless. The British people are naturally confused by it all. But once they know it is keeping us tied to Europe but losing our say, it will be deeply unpopular.
“The cabinet Brexiteers disagree only on tactics with their colleagues who resigned. It is the opposite of what the people who voted Brexit were promised. It renders meaningless the meaningful vote commitment of the government. And it will plunge us all into years of uncertainty as post-March 2019 the fight about future arrangements continues.
“Know all this as you make this “deal”.
“There is a way out. Parliament votes down this mess. You step forward with an offer which deals with the principal British anxieties about Europe which, other than those of the Brexit fanatics, are also European ones, especially around immigration, and we go back to the British people.
“Too much is at stake. Our destiny and yours. It is not too late”.
The article is titled: “Tony Blair to EU leaders: Giving Us a Way Out Will Save Both Britain and Europe”.
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Brexit: I am going to see this through -Theresa May
Theresa May has dismissed speculation she could be ousted as prime minister over her Brexit agreement, saying: “I am going to see this through.”
Despite a series of ministers resigning and talk of a no-confidence vote, she vowed to get the deal signed off in Brussels and to put it to MPs.
“The course I have set out is the right one for our country,” she said.
The BBC understands Michael Gove has rejected Mrs May’s offer to become the new Brexit secretary.
BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said Environment Secretary Mr Gove had said he might accept – if he could try to make changes to the negotiated deal.
Sources said Mrs May made it clear that was not possible. He is now considering his position and contemplating resignation.
Other sources have told the BBC a wider group of ministers were discussing whether to try to force the PM to seek changes to the deal.
Earlier, Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey both quit in protest at the withdrawal agreement, along with two junior ministers.
And leading backbench Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg submitted a letter of no confidence in Mrs May to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the Tories’ backbench 1922 Committee.
A vote will be triggered if 48 Tory MPs write letters to Sir Graham – it is understood 48 letters have not yet been received.
Mrs May spent nearly three hours fielding largely critical questions from MPs before holding a press conference in Downing Street to further answer her critics.
She acknowledged the agreement negotiated with the EU had entailed “difficult and sometimes uncomfortable decisions”.
“I understand fully that there are some who are unhappy with those compromises but this deal delivers what people voted for and it is in the national interest,” she said.
“We can only secure it, if we unite behind the agreement reached in cabinet yesterday.
“If we do not move forward with that agreement, nobody can know for sure the consequences that will follow.
“It will be to take a path of deep and grave uncertainty when the British people just want us to get on with it. They are looking to the Conservative Party to deliver.”