To cover posts relating to Brexit
Can the EU steal London’s banking business? Would Italy be better off outside the eurozone? Will the EU manage to overturn yet another referendum vote it doesn’t like? Would equal taxes be fairer to all EU member states? More Negotiations Reuters reports in an article that can be found here: https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-options/stairway-to-brexit-barnier-maps-out-uks-canadian-path-idUKKBN1ED23R “[I]n an interview with … More Shorties-18
There may be reasons to be fearful of leaving the EU but what are the reasons to be cheerful about remaining? After her Salzburg savaging Theresa May demanded respect from the EU. Council President Donald Tusk duly complied, saying “We decided that for the good of the negotiations, and out of respect for the efforts … More Reasons to Be Cheerful
Labour’s official policy on Brexit is to honour the people’s choice in the 2016 Referendum by leaving the EU (as promised in its 2017 manifesto). It would seek to remain in the Single Market with membership of A customs union. This would mean we would have all the economic benefits of remaining in the EU … More Leave’s Labour’s Lost
This post is the third and final part of our review of Jean-Claude Juncker’s speech to the European Parliament. The full text of his speech can be downloaded from here: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/soteu2018-speech_en_0.pdf Responsibility: Swipes and Digs “It is our Galileo programme that is today keeping Europe in the space race. No single Member State could have … More State of the European Union 2018 – 3
The White Paper (WP), following the agreement of (much of) the Cabinet in early July, sets out the details of the UK Government’s latest proposal for the UK to leave the European Union. This posts offers comments on selected ‘highlights’ from the paper. In her Foreword the Prime Minister refers to the result of the … More Chequers White Paper
In this post we continue our commentary on the EU’s draft withdrawal agreement and consider a section of the draft withdrawal agreement that takes up the theme of Ireland. (See Part 1 for how to download the draft agreement.) The Irish question is key to the ‘negotiations’ and has been weaponised against the UK as … More Draft EU/UK Agreement – 2
This draft agreement was prepared by the European Commission and published on 15 March 2018: The 123-page document can be downloaded from here: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/negotiation-agreements-atom-energy-15mar_en.pdf This very long and tedious document translates into legal terms the intention of the EU to prevent the emergence of a dynamic and critical competitor just off its coast. In summary, … More Draft EU/UK Agreement – 1
David Cameron failed to get a fair hearing, let alone a decent deal, after he promised a renegotiation with the EU and a referendum on the outcome. He lost the subsequent Referendum; this was attributed by many as a vote on the big issue he had attempted to get Brussels to accept – immigration. When … More Wisdom and War
A cynic is “a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing” [Oscar Wilde]. In relation to Brexit a typical Whitehall mandarin knows the risk of everything and the opportunity of nothing. Except they don’t know the risks, they are guessing at the cost of Brexit using estimation methods already shown … More Canny or Carney?
Can the market adjust if today’s food supply chains cost more after Brexit? The chances of leaving the EU without a deal are now very serious according to the Trade Secretary, Liam Fox, and Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, agrees. One of the most serious alarms about this possibility was raised a while ago … More Bacon, Lettuce and Tomatoes
This EU Won't Work 