Boris Johnson: 9/11 commemorations show failure of terrorism'

In an exclusive interview withExpress.co.ukDr Adrian James, a former Scotland Yard detective, and now Reader in Police Studies at Liverpool John Moores University did not see Brexit impacting intelligence work. When asked how important a role intelligence sharing is in the prevention of terrorism, in particular, in a post-Brexit era, he said: Im not sure that withdrawal from the EU is as significant as some might think. He added: The UK always contributed more than it took out and withdrawal has had only limited impact on other conduits Interpol, bilateral agreements and so on.

However, Dr James acknowledged that the terror threats have changed.

He said: The threat from lone actors is in addition to the pre-existing threats. That means that the police and security services resources are spread even more thinly.

Dr Dan Lomas, a lecturer in security studies from Brunel University also spoke exclusively toExpress.co.uk.

He said: Liaison and sharing of info were in debate during Brexit negotiations, but liaison between security services is done without EU and political systems, unlike with policing.

Dr Lomas also discussed how varying levels of intelligence have been affected by Brexit.

On this, he said: The UK can bring a lot to the table, but the impact of Brexit has only affected the lower levels of security, for example in organised crime, but terrorism and larger events still have wider interests.

The analysis comes as a lone violent non-state actor attempted to cause major damage in a taxi outside Liverpool Womens hospital.

A combination of a failed explosive device, as well as the heroics of the driver, David Perry, prevented a more catastrophic outcome.

Agreeing with Dr James on how thinning resources was a major problem in fighting terrorism was Dr Natalie James, the head of the counter-extremism unit at the University of Leeds.

She said: Resource limitations in terms of security provisions, monitoring those who operate alone is far more complex, time-consuming and quite frankly more difficult than those that operate in groups.

Speaking of how technology has added to the dilemma, she said: Online spaces add to the ease with which extremist ideologies, terrorist manifestos and guides can be found, and the gaps between domestic legislation and transnational social media company regulation make it very difficult to create laws around online content.

READ MORE:Terror fears as 'incendiary device' found outside aerospace firm - ...

Questions have been raised on how the UK is better able to protect itself in light of recent events.

Education and integration emerged as the key factors in the prevention of terrorism in the UK.

However, with budgets becoming ever tighter, Dr Adrian James expressed the benefits of reaching out, but the downfalls of financial support to do so.

He said: We need PREVENT or something that probably would look similar. I am concerned that budgetary cuts have impacted policings reach into communities. Definitely, something that needs to be reviewed.

The Governments PREVENT strategy is to reduce the threat to the UK from terrorism by stopping people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.

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Adding to the notion of education being the best method of detecting, deterring and disrupting terrorism, Dr Natalie James also discussed the notion of stopping hatred.

She said: Education is fundamental to the challenges we face in relation to extremism and terrorism, but also more broadly around division and hatred.

She added: Education is a space for the skill development of critical thinking, media literacy, communication, and community building - all of which are, I believe, the foundations for individuals who, when they come across problematic ideas - be they linked to extremism online, hatred in their communities, wider divisive headlines in the media, or something else - are able to pause and reflect critically on what they are seeing and hearing, rather than simply accept what they are being told.

The Covid-19 pandemic added to the problems that security services now face, in particular as more online traffic became the norm during lockdown.

Many suggest that mental health issues become more apparent during lockdown, and hence saw many people turning to more extremist views.

Speaking of the problem this causes to counter-terrorism and extremism, Dr Natalie James said: The links between mental health and engaging in extremism arent yet proven, but what we do know is that loneliness and isolation, no doubt heightened for some during the pandemic, have an impact on the so-called processes of radicalisation.

She also said: We also know that radicalisers and those purporting extremist narratives find safe hiding in some online platforms and research has demonstrated how easy it is for people to move from mainstream platforms to niche ones where these narratives can be extremely problematic and concerning.

Concluding, she said: These two things together have almost certainly provided more easily accessible spaces where extreme narratives are readily available for those vulnerable to latch on to this kind of rhetoric.

Dr Adrian James also said: I think there is sufficient evidence now to say that the World Wide Web provides many new opportunities.

In light of the recent incident in Liverpool, the Government raised the security threat level from substantial to severe, meaning an attack is highly likely.

Britain has seen varying forms of violent non-state actors performing on their land, and the methodology of this has changed over the decades.

With Britain priding itself as a multi-cultural society, the notion of education, integration and prudence is key to preventing further acts.

Now the UK is out of the European Union, some have called for Britain to rejoin Europol in order to share intelligence.

Yet, on a wider scale, Britains security services still enjoy sharing intelligence with its allies.

Read more:

Britain's intelligence networks not affected by Brexit as UK 'brings a lot to the table' - Daily Express

SATURDAY, 13 NOVEMBER was a record day at Rosslare Europort, says Glenn Carr.

Over the course of the day, almost 1,000 units of freight travelled through the ferry hub, according to the ports general manager, making it one of the busiest days in the history of the Wexford port.

This level of activity is something that Carr and his team have had to get used to in 2021.

So far this year, the volume of cargo travelling through the Wexford port has ballooned by 55%, according to Carr. Because of an increase in direct trade with Europe, continental freight volumes which have skyrocketed by 378%, Carr says are driving the overall numbers.

Once upon a time not long ago, Stena Lines Fishguard and Irish Ferries Pembroke services, both in Wales, accounted for most of Rosslares business.

Our only services to the continent, going back over 18 months ago, would have been primarily Stena Lines three services a week to the port of Cherbourg in France, Carr explains.

But there are now 30 weekly services operating to and from Rosslare and the continent, compared to just three or so pre-Brexit.

Overall, there are now 44 direct routes from ports in Ireland to continental Europe up from around a dozen last year.

Rosslare Europort on 13 November

Whats being captured by these numbers is a major shift in the rhythms of Irish trade, brought about by Brexit.

Typically, prior to Brexit, you were probably looking at about 120,000 freight units a year going into the port every year and in or around close to a million passengers pre-pandemic, Carr toldThe Journallast week.

But in 2021, Irish importers are bringing in fewer goods from the United Kingdom than they were a year ago. At the same time, indigenous companies are exporting and importing more directly to and from the continent, fueling demand for direct sailings.

As a result, Rosslare Irelands closest sea trading hub to the continentgeographically is now the main Irish port for roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) traffic serving Europe, Carr says. And having fixed its gaze firmly on Europe in recent years, the Iarnrd ireann-operated hubs importance within the national port network looks set to grow even more over the coming months and years.

Further shocks

Carr took the reins at the port a little over three years when the question of what sort of Brexit, hard or soft, we would end up with was largely unanswered.

At the time, Rosslare had essentially just two customers Stena Line and Irish Ferries.

While they were very good customers to us, Carr says, Rosslare was massively dependant on their business.

This became abundantly clear when Irish Ferries pulled its Rosslare to France services in 2018, choosing to operate from Dublin Port instead.

Even without the threat of Brexit, it became obvious that the port would have to grow to protect itself from further shocks.

We undertook a strategic review of the port and we identified a number of core areas that could be developed. One of those was the business role, the actual business itself, Carr says.

He recalls, We asked ourselves, What are the fundamental strengths of Rosslare Port?

And one of the fundamental strengths is that were the closest port geographically to Europe. Sailing-wise, youre quicker getting to the main ports in Europe from Rosslare than any other port in Ireland. So that always struck me as an advantage.

Obviously, we also saw that with the likely outcome that was emerging from Brexit, the chances were that supply chains were going to change fundamentally because the fundamental point was that Britain was exiting Europe and becoming a third [region].

The ports response was to get out into the market, Carr says, and aggressively promote Rosslare as an alternative RoRo port to Dublin.

Roll-on/roll-off or RoRo refers to a type of cargo shipping service where trucks or trailers are loaded directly onto the ferry with the cargo theyre transporting, taking the journey along with the goods.

Theyre considered quicker and cheaper than Load-on/Load-off (LoLo) services when the truck pulls up to the board and unloads the cargo, which is then loaded onto a container and put on the vessel.

RoPax services, then, are ones that facilitate roll-on/roll-off cargo transport and also passengers travelling aboard the ferries.

As a RoPax port, Rosslare saw the passenger side of its businesses devastated by travel restrictions at the outset of the pandemic in March and April 2020. But around the same time, something else was beginning as businesses began to wake up to the potential for Brexit-related disruption.

I definitely got a sense from around March, April last year, exporters and importers were beginning to look at alternative suppliers, Carr says.

Glenn Carr, Rosslare Europort's general manager

The UK landbridge which usually refers to a route linking Dublin, Holyhead, and Cherbourg or Le Havre in Northern France was once considered the cheapest, quickest way to get goods into Ireland from Europe or move them in the opposite direction.

But with Brexit, at that stage, looming over the horizon and with it the prospect of customs checks, additional costs and lengthy queues in Great Britain, alternative arrangements for trading with Europe were quickly becoming very appealing.

Then everything started to change for Rosslare Europort.

Traffic congestion

In the March before Brexit, Brittany Ferries made a move to come to Rosslare. So that was the first thing, Carr says.

Brittany were operating to Spain from Cork but the service wasnt doing very well and the haulage industry was telling them that they needed to operate from Rosslare.

Traffic congestion at Dublin and Cork ports in 2019 and the fear that it would only get worse as a result of Brexit had created demand from hauliers for new services from Rosslare, Carr explains.

He says, Were just over 90 minutes from greater Dublin. There were times where hauliers were telling me they were 90 minutes in traffic trying to get into Dublin Port.

So I believed that there was demand in Dublin and Cork from hauliers, given their geographical location, who would prefer to come to Rosslare. We proved that then when Brittany Ferries came to Rosslare.

After that, things began to snowball.

Around the same time, Danish shipping company DFDS approached Rosslare about a new direct route from the port to Dunkirk in France. That service got up and running shortly after Britains formal withdrawal from the EU in January 2021.

Ships lining up ahead of Brexit Day last January

Earlier this month, Brittany Ferries announced a new sailing from Rosslare to Le Havre in Northern France. The ports existing customers have also increased capacity on direct European routes.

All of this is being driven by demand from Irish businesses and hauliers.

Part of it is companies wanting to avoid the landbridge, Carr says.

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Theres definitely been more engagement from both importers and exporters about direct sailings, says Carr.

Thats on two fronts. One is that the landbridge, which was traditionally the way you went. The reality is now, though, when you add in all the extra preparation, the customs checks that have to be cleared, the risks that you could get stopped at border inspections and the time thats lost there when you add that altogether and you look at a direct route, you can basically go hassle-free. So a significant number of companies have directed that their supply chains move away from that immediately.

But the other factor is Irish businesses finding new customers and new suppliers in Europe as an alternative to Britain.

In particular industries, were definitely seeing where traditionally a lot of goods were sourced in the UK or exported to the UK, theres been a switch to Europe, he says.

We definitely see it in the port in terms of the mix of goods that are there now ingredients, food, dairy, pharmaceuticals.

In the year so far, Carr says overall freight volumes travelling to and from the UK through Rosslare are down 55% compared with the same period last year. Earlier this month, Dublin Port said its overall UK trade volumes were down 21% while Central Statistics Offices figures published last week revealed overall Irish imports from Great Britain are also down 21%.

He expects these trends to continue in 2022. Asked what his biggest Brexit-related concern is for the coming year, Carr claims he doesnt have any major ones.

We would like to see our UK traffic return to a more appropriate level than what it is at the moment, he says.

Well be working with our shipping lines on what we can do as a port to help them get more trade going. But I dont have concerns about next year. I have great excitement about further opportunities.

At some stage next year, the UK is set to finally implement long-delayed checks on goods coming into Great Britain from the EU.

Well see if that happens, Carr says, and depending on how that happens, and the degree of what happens, we could see even further substantial demand for additional direct services.

Wed like to think, however, that we will find a sensible solution that will ensure we ultimately will always trade with the UK.

This work is co-funded by Journal Media and a grant programme from the European Parliament. Any opinions or conclusions expressed in this work is the authors own. The European Parliament has no involvement in nor responsibility for the editorial content published by the project. For more information, seehere.

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Rosslare Europort had one of the busiest days in its history this month - thanks to Brexit - TheJournal.ie

Saturday 27 November 2021 10:30 am

Around half of UK SMEs believe that Brexit has had a negative impact on the UKs society as a whole awhile 64 per cent believe that it has negatively influenced the UK economy.

Moreover, one in four said Brexit has affected their business directly, according to new data shared with City A.M. this weekend.

Cloud accounting provider FreeAgent found that over half of businesses experienced shrinking customer bases, while 43 per cent were impacted by supply chain issues and found it harder to get cost effective supplies or produce for their business.

Meanwhile, two in five of SMEs said costs had increased since Brexit, particularly to import goods, while 16 per cent suffered a talent shortage as they are finding it harder to recruit staff.

Without doubt, Brexit has had a drastic impact on all businesses large or small. However, the research emphasises how the challenges presented by Brexit are now being felt more so by UK SMEs, commented Roan Lavery, CEO and co-founder of FreeAgent.

Lavery told City A.M. this weekend that leaving the EU has presented significant bottlenecks to the survival of these businesses including both supply chain issues, increased red tape and higher costs.

So, how do SME owners feel about Brexit?

Nearly one in five SMEs (19 per cent) have considered closing their business during Brexit and one in five also did not think their business would survive Brexit.

Even now, nearly half (46 per cent) of SME business owners are worried about the future of their business. This worry increases for younger business owners, with 57 per cent of 18-34 year old SME owners concerned about the future of their business

In addition, over half believe that Brexit has a greater negative impact on SMEs than it had on large businesses while 68 per cent of SME owners believe that Brexit has led to a more divided United Kingdom.

SME owners are more likely to agree with this statement if they also said that Brexit had a negative impact on the UK economy and the society as a whole where it rises to 79 per cent and 85 per cent respectively). This is also the case for SME owners who are worried about the future of their business (81 per cent).

The onus rests on the government to support these businesses, which make a significant contribution to the wider economy. Many SMEs are still tackling uncertain times as we as a society emerge from a pandemic stricken world, Lavery said.

In light of this and the concerns expressed by SME businesses in this research, government support is clearly still needed to put these worries at bay, he concluded.

Continue reading here:

Brexit has made our life more difficult, say two thirds of all small businesses across Britain - City A.M.

THE Johnson administrations wilful throwing up of barriers to economic growth in Scotland and the rest of the UK, both in the immediate term and over a much-longer timeframe, becomes ever more demoralising as challenges mount.

There was much talk as the coronavirus pandemic took hold that it might, conveniently for the Conservative Government, mask the major negative effects of Brexit.

However, those inevitably huge effects have been plain for all to see, even amid the grim coronavirus crisis.

The chaos suffered by UK exporters, for example, has been crystal clear. And so too has the effect of what was for many Brexiters the whole dismal point of the Leave folly clamping down on immigration from the European Union.

Of course, for years before the Brexit-obsessed Johnson administration was finally able to implement its long-planned clampdown on immigration from the EU from the start of 2021, the UK was already paying a heavy price for the foolish Leave vote of 2016.

In the wake of the Brexit vote, unsurprisingly given the alarming signals it sent, net immigration to the UK from the EU collapsed.

READ MORE:Ian McConnell:Brexit could have taken many forms. Cheshire Cat Boris Johnson chose this one

And, of course, things have been exacerbated greatly by the replacement of free movement from EU countries to the UK with a points-based immigration system.

Paul Sheerin, chief executive of Scottish Engineering, sums up the huge and continuing problems visited upon his sector at the most difficult of times by Brexit in the industry bodys latest quarterly survey, published today. And he highlights the fact that a further challenge is about to be heaped on in the form of Brexit-enforced import checks due to begin at the start of next year.

Mr Sheerin writes: If you are looking for the risks that raise concern, Brexit still lingers like a bad smell, a gift that not only keeps giving but never seems to go away either. In the crucial skills area, one-quarter of members have been impacted by the loss of EU nationals, and over 70 per cent honestly outline that they are not fully prepared for the scheduled implementation of Brexit-enforced import checks due to start from January 1st, 2022. Thats not surprising after the year-and-a-half of plate-spinning that industry has had to do just to stay alive, but its galling that this extra headache comes once again without support, and especially with zero benefit to industry in Scotland or indeed the UK.

READ MORE:Ian McConnell: Vaccine refusers jeopardise freedom - not governments

The hurdles to doing business erected by the Johnson administration with its Brexit crusade are indeed galling.

The Conservatives have been forced to issue temporary visas to enable recruitment of heavy goods vehicle drivers, poultry workers and pork butchers from the EU. While such visas are hardly attractive propositions for many people in the EU, this move must have really stuck in the craw of the Johnson administration and shows the seriousness of the problem.

Of course, we have also been able to see the gravity of the troubles in huge supply-chain disruption in the UK, exacerbated by a shortage of lorry drivers which has been estimated by the Road Haulage Association at around 100,000.

The woe is, of course, much wider than this, as can be seen from Mr Sheerins observations. And the hospitality and care sectors have been thrown into further disarray by labour shortages.

The UKs labour and skills shortages crisis has been highlighted in survey after survey.

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A report published this week by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales shows the proportion of Scottish businesses reporting problems in hiring people for non-management roles is the highest since comparable records began in 2004.

This is particularly frustrating at a time when businesses are trying to maximise their part in the economic recovery, following the collapse in gross domestic product caused by the pandemic.

The ICAEW survey shows confidence among Scottish businesses about the economic prospects facing them over the next 12 months, compared with the preceding year, is also the highest since the professional bodys survey of members began in 2004.

It would be good if the UK Government even tried to create an environment to unleash this optimism, rather than constructing barriers to doing business.

Scottish Engineering flags the major problems being encountered by companies in the sector in finding staff. It says of its own survey findings: Staffing intent remains positive...and once again we listen to member feedback of the challenge of actually filling the vacancies where they seek to hire additional roles. More than ever, this has proven difficult as all resources become increasingly scarce, and the impacts of Brexit still far from done are evident in staffing, logistics and concern that import checks scheduled for the new year may bring further headaches.

The ICAEW survey shows Scottish businesses expect the fastest rise in their input costs for more than a decade. Transport problems for companies have risen dramatically. And the survey signals growing concern over the tax burden, following hikes announced by the UK Government.

Meanwhile, a column in The Herald this week by Colin McLean, managing director of Edinburgh-based SVM Asset Management, threw into stark relief the longer-term demographic challenges facing the UK and other countries.

Given these challenges, of which the ruling Conservatives should have been only too aware as they took us down the destructive Brexit path, the Tory stance on immigration truly beggars belief.

Mr McLean noted that, alongside the COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, the city hosted some expert gatherings of thought leaders.

He flagged his view that one of the most challenging discussions was in the Longevity Forum, adding: The focus was on sustainability, but with some surprising evidence and conclusions. World population may not be on the upward trajectory built into current long-term planning.

Mr McLean added: In future more of the world may look like Japan. A study in the Lancet journal last year challenged existing UN population estimates. That is likely to mean a shrinking working-age population and labour shortages, possibly with countries competing for migrants to boost their populations.

The Johnson administration might want to reflect on the degree to which it is impeding the Scottish and broader UK economies, and listen to Mr Sheerin.

And it might want to think about the longer-term picture painted by Mr McLean and where its policies will leave the UK in this context.

On past form, sadly, we can be pretty sure it will do neither.

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Ian McConnell: Why does this Tory Government build barriers to growth? - HeraldScotland

DOVER, England, July 9 (Reuters) - Trade disruption could return if British holidaymakers head for European summer breaks, the head of the country's biggest port said, calling on the government to urgently reconsider funding to redevelop Dover to prevent long-term damage.

Britain's passage out of the European Union was eased by a lack of tourist traffic to France during the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling port staff to process the extra paperwork now required for trucks to access Europe and keep goods moving.

But the government dropped a travel quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated Britons on Thursday, potentially increasing the number of vehicles that could descend on the south-west port over the summer holiday months. read more

A pre-Brexit trade rush led to 20-mile queues, but Doug Bannister, CEO of the Port of Dover, told Reuters the site had so far managed the switch to customs checks well, after Britain left the EU trade bloc at the end of 2020.

"That's because we haven't seen the demand for tourists coming from our facilities, as we would normally expect to see," he said on a bright sunny day as a ferry departed for Calais.

"There will be longer transaction times and more processing," Bannister said, if there was a rapid return of passenger cars to Dover, which was used by some 2.4 million trucks, 2 million tourist cars and 74,000 coaches in 2019.

Britain's transport minister Grant Shapps has said that new vaccination status checks could also cause queues at airports and ports, including the busy cross-Channel route.

BREAKING POINT

British industry had warned in the run-up to Brexit - which took Britain out of the EU's single market and customs union - that the supply chains could be strained to breaking point.

Even the government said that some 7,000 trucks could back up from Dover if they failed to fill out paperwork correctly.

Instead, a December rush to stockpile goods in the country meant trade dropped off in January and enabled manufacturers and logistics groups to adapt to the new demands.

Dover, just 21 miles across the Channel from the French coast, had applied to the government for 33 million pounds in funding to adapt the port for the additional checks it needs to make, an application that was rejected.

It is challenging that in court.

Now it is asking again, and for more, to build increased passport checking capacity, to reroute some traffic and make it easier for trucks with the wrong paperwork to leave a site that is sandwiched between Dover's towering white cliffs and the sea.

Dover is also unclear on what changes it would need to make, if any, before the introduction of a new EU security plan, the Entry/Exit System, that collects data on the movement of people.

"We handle 122 billion pounds ($168 billion) worth of trade every year, and that is significant," Bannister said. "Now if that starts to curtail, then that's going to be felt throughout all regions of the United Kingdom."

"If the money is not forthcoming then we've got some tricky decisions to make."

Bannister said it was only logical that the government should fund the redevelopment because increased customs checks formed part of the Brexit deal it had negotiated. He said an "alternative funding mechanism from government" was now needed.

A spokesman for the government, which has given money to the local area and built nearby customs processing centres, said it could not comment because of the legal proceedings, which it said it would "robustly" contest.

($1 = 0.7256 pounds)

Reporting by Kate Holton; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge, Alexander Smith and Raissa Kasolowsky

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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EXCLUSIVE Dover warns of Brexit trade disruption as tourists hit Europe - Reuters UK

British and European Union flags are seen ahead of a meeting of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in Brussels, Belgium December 9, 2020. Olivier Hoslet/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

July 8 (Reuters) - The European Union said that the United Kingdom is liable to pay 47.5 billion euros ($56.2 billion) to the EU as part of its post-Brexit financial settlement.

The EU's consolidated budget report for 2020 said that the money is owed under a series of articles which both sides agreed to as part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement.

The UK Treasury, however, insisted the Brexit divorce settlement remained within its previous central range of 40.74 billion euros to 45.40 billion euros, the Financial Times reported late on Thursday. The Treasury did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The 47.5 billion euros amount is significantly higher than expected. The UK's Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicted in its March 2018 economic and fiscal outlook report that the bill would amount to 41.4 billion euros.

An initial amount of 6.8 billion euros is due for payment in 2021, the EU's consolidated budget report added, with the remainder of the amount to be paid later.

A sum total amount of 47.5 billion euros was mentioned in the report as "net receivable from the UK".

A trade and cooperation deal between the UK and EU was struck in December after more than four years of acrimonious negotiations and lingering mistrust as Britain ended 47 years of EU membership.

On Tuesday, the European Union urged London to consider a Swiss-style veterinary agreement with Brussels on agri-foods to end a post-Brexit 'sausage war' row over certain goods moving between Britain and its province of Northern Ireland. read more

Tension has mounted over trade arrangements for Northern Ireland, particularly for chilled meats, because the province's open border with EU member Ireland is Britain's only land frontier with the EU and its vast single market.

($1 = 0.8448 euros)

Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Sonya Hepinstall and Richard Pullin

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The rest is here:

EU says UK liable to pay 47.5 billion euros to EU in post-Brexit settlement - Reuters UK

The EUs latest concessions on enforcing post-Brexit trade rules at Northern Ireland ports dont touch the heart of the problem as Brussels still seeks to impose an impossibly rigorous trade border there, according to U.K. Brexit point-man David Frost.

Frost told the Policy Exchange think tank Thursday hes determined to reduce current volumes of checks on goods arriving from Britain without imposing more, as the EU expects.

He left open the prospect of Britain defying the EU when a ban on shipments of British chilled meat products is due to come into force at the end of September.

The Northern Ireland protocol, agreed as part of the U.K.s Withdrawal Agreement with the EU, requires Britain to enforce EU customs and sanitary controls on goods shipped to Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K. It's designed to avoid imposing such controls on the 500-kilometer border with the Republic of Ireland.

Seeking to avert a potential trade war, Frosts European Commission counterpart in ongoing negotiations, Maro efovi, last week announced a three-month delay on enforcement of the chilled meat ban. He also pledged new EU legislation to ensure British medicine supplies can keep flowing without restriction to Northern Ireland hospitals and pharmacies.

Yet under terms of the trade protocol agreed by Frost, the EU still expects chilled meat shipments from Britain to stop by October 1. On the same date, it expects Britain to launch customs and sanitary checks on consumer parcels and retail products coming from Britain but staying in Northern Ireland another part of the protocol deal that Britain unilaterally postponed arguing that companies, port staff and IT systems couldnt handle the load.

We need to find a new balance in the way this works. That needs to be taken seriously as a way forward, said Frost, speaking alongside Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis. If operating the protocol on the current basis is making the situation worse, then how can pressing for even more of it be the right response?

Frost said he would present the Westminster Parliament with his negotiating plans before it rises July 22. These plans, he said, foresee a big effort by both sides to resolve their protocol arguments in talks likely to extend into the autumn.

Yet Frost ruled out the EUs central proposal to eliminate four-fifths of proposed checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from Britain: a temporary agreement aligning the U.K. to the EUs food and veterinary standards.

Obviously, aligning with or adopting the EUs agri-food legislation is not going to be a solution, Frost said. We are sometimes accused of being ideological for not accepting that. But actually, the ideological thing is to say that the only solution to these problems is that we adopt EU law. That is simply a non-starter for this problem.

He accused the EU of not providing detailed responses to more than a dozen issues highlighted in U.K. position papers, nor engaging seriously with the U.K.s counterproposal for an equivalence agreement. This would involve the EU accepting that U.K. standards dont currently deviate from EU requirements; it wouldnt bind the U.K. to observe any upcoming EU legislation on food or animal health.

Wed like to discuss this in depth. It hasnt been possible at the moment. But an alternative solution is on the table [and] can be discussed, he said.

Frost said efovis conciliatory moves last week were welcome signs of flexibility, but theyre not really the heart of the problem. This reflected Prime Minister Boris Johnson's assessment Wednesday that they represented only "a stay of execution."

If the protocol is implemented in a way in which the GB-Northern Ireland trade boundary is like any other external boundary of the EU, then we will definitely have problems, because it isnt that and we cant operate it as if it was.

Lewis said the upcoming October 1 rules, if enacted as the EU wants, would require British supermarkets with no outlets in the Republic of Ireland (such as Asda and Sainsbury's) to face the same level of bureaucracy as those like M&S and Tesco that do ship goods there via Northern Ireland ports.

The threat of increased red tape and costs for veterinary certificates would deter many firms in England, Scotland and Wales from continuing to fulfill orders in Northern Ireland, he warned.

If you cant get a product through Amazon or from your supermarket that you used to be able to get, that as a U.K. citizen you should be able to get, that is an issue, Lewis said.

Both Cabinet ministers were asked about blistering criticisms levied against them this week by John Bruton, a former Irish prime minister and EU ambassador to Washington.

Bruton argued that conceding to British demands for lax or loophole-filled controls at the ports of Belfast and Larne would set a dangerous precedent and undermine Irelands own essential access to the EU single market.

Frost and Lewis, he predicted, would spend the three-month extension of the chilled meat ban inciting feeling against the EU and endeavoring to pressurize EU states individually, in the hope that the EU will dilute or corrode the legal foundations of the EU single market in the interest of domestic U.K. politics.

Frost and Lewis declined to respond directly to those criticisms. But Frost said the current poor state of U.K.-EU relations couldnt improve until their deadlock over the protocol was decisively broken.

The issues around the protocol are obviously central to the tensions between us, Frost said. I dont think we will ever get this relationship onto a new and constructive footing unless we can find a good solution to this problem which everybody in Northern Ireland can live with, which we can work with and which the EU can work with."

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UKs Frost says EU dodging heart of problem in post-Brexit trade - POLITICO Europe

Jul 10th 2021

FIVE YEARS ago, straight after Britains vote to leave the European Union (EU), Nissan, a Japanese carmaker, warned that the future of its factory in Sunderland was in doubt. On July 1st it announced a 1bn ($1.3bn) investment in a new battery plant that will secure the factorys future. And on July 6th Stellantis, another motor manufacturer, said it would be investing 100m to produce electric vans in Ellesmere Port. Further news is expected soon from BMW and Toyota. The trade deal that Britain struck with the EU in December 2020and eye-watering amounts of government cashhave bosses musing less about upping sticks, and more about the advantages of post-Brexit regulatory freedom.

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Before the vote, things had been going swimmingly for Britains motor industry. Production hit a two-decade high in 2016, at over 1.8m units. Measured by vehicles per employee, Britain had become one of Europes most productive carmakers by 2016, with around 160,000 employees producing almost 11 vehicles each annually, compared with an EU average of less than eight. By making it harder to transport parts across borders, Brexit put this at risk.

A modern car is the result of a complex, international production process. It typically has around 3,000 components. For cars assembled in Britain, only around 40% of those components are produced domestically. The crankshaft in a BMW Mini crosses the Channel three times before being installed in Oxford. Around four in five cars made in Britain are exported, over half of them to the EU. Nissan opened its Sunderland plant in 1986, drawn partly by the prospect of a liberalising labour market, but also by easy access to Europe. Others followed, and since the failure of MG Rover in 2005 all the volume manufacturers in Britain have been foreign-owned.

Although the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) between Britain and the EU did not give the industry all it hoped for, it came close. Trade can mostly continue without tariffs or quotas. Customs checks and fees introduce some friction, but are minor compared with the threat of 10% tariffs under World Trade Organisation rules if no deal had been struck.

Rules of origin requirements are more troublesome. These aim to stop companies importing goods from a third country, and re-exporting them as if they were domestically produced. For the purpose of tariffs, the TCA treats Britain and the EU as a single bloc, but excludes countries with which both have a trade deal, such as Japan. By 2027 the percentage of components by value originating from outside Britain or the EU must be cut to 45% for most cars, if tariffs are to be avoided. Manufacturers that sell in the EU and have supply chains that extend into Asia thus have a choice: shift from Britain, or double down on it. They are making different calls. Nissan is investing in Britain; Honda is closing its Swindon factory next year.

All this coincides with industry-wide reinvention, as carmakers shift to electric vehicles. Batteries, like the engines of petrol-fuelled cars, are expensive. If you are not sourcing the batteries domestically, I dont see how you can stay compliant, says a production manager. Britain currently lacks a so-called gigafactorya word coined by Elon Musk of Teslato mass-produce them.

Nissans planned new plant, a joint venture with Envision AESC, a Chinese firm, will be able to produce 9 gigawatt-hours (GWh) annually by the mid-2020s, enough to power 100,000 cars. Capacity could reach 25 GWh by 2030. Britishvolt, an independent consortium of battery manufacturers, plans capacity of 30 GWh by the end of the decade. But both together would not reach the 60 GWh that the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, a trade body, reckons will be needed by 2030 if as many cars are to be made then as now.

In the upheaval, Britains government spies an opportunity to influence carmakers thinking about where to invest. The super deduction, an especially generous time-limited tax break announced in the budget in March, will let firms reduce their tax bills by up to 25p for every pound of capital investment this financial year and next. Billed as a pandemic-recovery measure, it is better seen as a huge subsidy to cover the costs of supply chains adapting to Brexit, says an accountant. Cash is also being splashed. Nissan and its partners will receive around 100m of direct subsidy for the new gigafactory, on top of 80m from Sunderland city council to build an energy grid connecting it to wind farms and solar parks. Such measures would have been possible while Britain was in the EUbut might not have been needed.

Rather more pleasingly for those who hoped Brexit would mean less red tape, rather than more handouts, climate-change targets and new technologies are providing a pretext. Carmakers think the British government will be nimbler and more forward-looking when it comes to regulating electric and autonomous vehicles. European regulators, who must hold the ring between 27 countries, always move slowly. Moreover, they are bound to be heavily lobbied by the big German carmakers, for whom the industrys reinvention is a serious threat. Industry bosses point to the fact that, whereas Britain has already pledged to ban the sale of new diesel- and petrol-powered cars by 2030, the EU is still only debating banning them from 2035. Big car firms are pressing it to move slower still.

Overall, Brexit is still likely to be negative for Britains economy, reducing potential growth. But subsidies, tax breaks and fewer barriers to innovation mean that for carmakers, life outside the bloc will be cosier than they once feared.

For more coverage of matters relating to Brexit, visit our Brexit hub

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline "Pedal to the metal"

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Britain's car industry is finding Brexit far less of a problem than expected - The Economist

As the European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, managed what some considered the impossible. He and his team came to an agreement with the UK for its departure from the union. They did so in 1600 days during which time twists and turns in the Brexit tale were frequent.

The former French Minister and former European Commissioner has now written a book that describes his time as the EU's chief Brexit negotiator. It's entitled "My Secret Brexit Diary: A Glorious Illusion" and will be available in English from October.

In an exclusive interview with Euronews, Barnier tells us about his book, Brexit, his thoughts on Europe and his plans for the future.

To watch the full interview of Michel Barnier, click on the media player above.

You have written a diary that tells the story of when you battled with your British counterparts to try to find a Brexit agreement. Now it's been around six months since negotiations ended, what word would you use to describe all these years? Disappointment, relief, concern, disgust?"

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator:

"Six months ago what is the word that would characterise the negotiations? I'd say tenacity and respect. Since then though, I would say vigilance because this agreement is only worth something if it is implemented and respected. We are worried both about fisheries in the second agreement we made for our future relationship and also for Ireland where the British are trying to distance themselves".

You have occasionally painted an unflattering picture of some of your counterparts. It seems like you're sometimes rather annoyed by their lies, by their low shots, by their way of avoiding real questions. Among all these people, all the personalities you encountered, which one left you with the worst memories?

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator:

"I'd rather say that I have a lot of respect for Olly Robbins, for example, who was Mrs May's European adviser. I have a lot of respect for Theresa May herself, who was courageous and tenacious. I'd rather stop there in regards to the people I've described. But perhaps it will encourage people to read the book".

Reading your book, it seems like nothing is finished, that it's just the beginning, and for Brexit terms to really unfold we will still have to be patient. We know that in recent weeks already there has been friction. We've heard about the sausage war with the European Union in regards to the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. We've heard about the lobster war in Jersey with French fishermen. Is this just the beginning?

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator:

"It is the beginning of a new relationship with a country that has left, that wanted to leave the EU. We are not the ones leaving, they left the European Union and the single market, and this has had many consequences that were not fully taken into account by the British or at least that were not explained well.

I am confident that this great country will honour its commitments even if it has intentions that I find difficult to understand because if you put things in perspective, the most important thing for the British, is to maintain a good relationship with the EU, its great neighbour and a market with 450 million consumers. If they were to question their commitments, I think it would be a serious problem for the trust that we require".

You mentioned fishermen, I got the impression from reading your book that European fishermen have paid a high price because of Brexit, is that true?

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator:

"If you listen to Scottish or Cornish fishermen, they will tell you that this is a very bad agreement for them. I think it's a balanced agreement. It couldn't be a good deal for us because they could have got everything back. If there was no trade agreement, if we had failed in this negotiation, the British could have taken back all their waters and excluded us. So we avoided that. Let's just say that it's a good agreement, it's not ideal, but now we must vigilantly implement it".

Another major topic of discussion and negotiation was the famous border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Will this agreement remain viable in the long term because we know that violence is never far away? Recently, there have been tragedies in Northern Ireland, a journalist was killed. Is enough being done to cement this agreement between the two countries?

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator:

"First of all, let me remind you that the border we are talking about, the boundaries we are talking about, are between the United Kingdom, which Northern Ireland is part of, and not just with the Republic of Ireland, but with the whole European Union. That's the problem. On this island, there are two countries with a long history, many tragedies. Recently, in Northern Ireland, the conflict between several communities caused 4000 deaths and there's a fragile peace there like you said. I think the protocol we signed which was negotiated step by step, comma by comma, with Boris Johnson himself, not with Mrs. May, but it was Boris Johnson who signed this agreement, who asked his parliament to approve this protocol which was then ratified, this agreement is the only one possible. It is complex, it is sensitive, but it must be implemented. It consists of preserving what is called the "all-island economy", preserving cooperation between the two communities, not building hard borders on the island because that was impossible, there would have been new troubles. For us Europeans, it was created to see that the products that enter our market are controlled. Let me remind you that a cow that leaves England by boat and arrives in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in the same country, the United Kingdom, that cow enters France and Germany, it enters Finland, it enters the single market, so we must control it from the point of view of food safety and health safety. We owe it to Irish consumers and to European consumers and citizens. So what was agreed by Boris Johnson himself, what we ask him to respect, what he signed, is basically that this cow and all other products are controlled by the British authorities with our cooperation on entry to the island, Belfast, at the port or at the airport, so that European rules, customs and health codes are respected".

Putting aside the Irish question for a moment, you mention at the end of your book all the risks related to this historic agreement, this new trade agreement with the United Kingdom and you mention already social, fiscal and economic dumping.

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator:

"Yes, we must be vigilant, like I said. We knew that the British leaving the single market, leaving the European Union, wanted and want to regain their regulatory autonomy. What are they doing with that? Are they managing it properly by controlling things or are they using it as a social dumping tool against us? We will not accept social, fiscal, or environmental dumping because the United Kingdom, which is a very large country right next to us, that touches the European Union in Ireland, is the one with which we have the most trade in the world when compared to Canada, the United States and Japan. We trade the most with the United Kingdom because we were in the same market. Let me remind you that the British export 47% of their products to us and we export 8% of our European products to the UK. It is in their interest to behave properly and we have to behave properly as well to avoid these issues, unfair competition and look for a "level playing field".

There are safeguards that you fought hard for, that exist. Are they enough to stop any temptations?

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator:

"I hope we won't have to use them. They allow us to retaliate, to take compensatory measures, to re-establish customs tariffs on various sectors, to do what is called a "cross suspension", i.e. to cross suspend this or that part of the agreement, or if necessary, even suspend the agreement itself.

I think everyone needs to pay attention because, really, that's been one of my concerns for the last four years. I would like to put this divorce agreement in perspective. What is the perspective? The perspective is that the United Kingdom, that has become totally independent, and the European Union must and will face common challenges. I can name them. There will be other pandemics, we will need to cooperate like we are today whether it's due to a human pandemic or an animal pandemic. There will be other COVIDS, unfortunately. There will be turbulence in the financial market that will affect us, just like the 2008-2009 crisis affected everyone and violently. There will be other attacks, there will be migration that we will have to control, migration especially linked to poverty in Africa. There will be climate change, there is climate change. Clearly, we will have to cooperate. That's why, on behalf of the European Union, I made this agreement in that spirit. The divorce is based on a perspective of cooperation".

Considering the content of your book, you could have called it: A Practical Guide to leaving the European Union. The divorce was very complicated, very painful, but in the end the United Kingdom left the European Union. Do you think this is enough to put off the 27 that remain onboard the European ship, or do you fear that other countries will one day ask to leave the European Union?

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator:

"We talk about successful negotiations. I don't know if we can talk about success when you use the word divorce, because divorce is always negative. In any case, we wanted to limit the consequences and we succeeded because we wanted these agreements. So did the British. So we delivered Brexit. Even if we regret it. We have respected the will of a British majority who made this decision themselves on the 23rd of June 2016. I think the negotiations that were very long, were very transparent thanks to Jean-Claude Juncker. He authorised me to use total transparency. We never hid anything, you can see that in the book. We discussed everything with everyone about every subject and we did this for four years. This is what created trust and it's the key to the unity of the 27 member states.

Everyone was able to see, the trade unions I met, the entrepreneurs I met, the national parliaments in each country that I met two or three times during public hearings, everyone was able to see in a practical way what an exit from the European Union is like. I think this partly explains why Mrs. Le Pen in France, Mr. Geert Wilders and Mr. Salvini, who now supports Mario Draghi in Italy, no longer talk about leaving the European Union.

But I'm wary. I think we have to be careful because there is always the same nationalism, the same intention to break up the European Union. Mr Farage told me that he wanted to blow up the European Union. We don't have to please Mr Farage, but there is also a popular feeling that has been expressed and that exists in many of our European countries, in many regions. It's a feeling of exclusion, of having no future, no jobs, insufficient public services, poorly controlled immigration. All these popular feelings are not populism. It is a popular feeling that is deep-rooted. In France, we saw it once again in recent elections, like in many other countries. We must react to it, we must change what needs to be changed in Brussels: ie less bureaucracy, more reciprocity in our commercial exchanges, less naivety. There's a will, that has been expressed for two or three years now, to invest together by borrowing together, to have a digital industrial European policy. There are answers in each capital and also in each region".

You talk about the future and a Conference on the future of Europe has begun, a big citizen consultation. Do you really believe listening to citizens can lead to important changes?

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator:

"It is always important to listen to citizens and see how they feel, like they did in the United Kingdom, and that could also happen in our countries. So we must be careful and I think it is an important opportunity to put more democracy in the European debate".

As long as it serves a purpose...

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator:

"Yes, as long as it serves a purpose. For example, there is an idea, which this conference could take up, which I would like to see implemented in France, but perhaps it is better to do it on a European level. The idea is to evaluate or screen all European policies to see if they still have the same added value, to see if in some areas it is still useful or necessary to be together. Or could we trust the member states again? In certain areas, we could. So in these cases, it's also important to explain why it is still necessary for us to remain together in other policy areas.

For example, trade, competition, agriculture, digital, these are subjects where we must be together. Then there are perhaps areas like health where we should be together and we were not. So this would also have an educational and democratic value. Do we need to make other institutional changes? We have made many. We've tried to do that a lot in the past fifteen years. I think that rather than talking about the mechanics of the engine, we should talk about the road we are on and why we are on this road".

And talk about projects...

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator:

"And projects. There are many challenges within the Green Deal, with our response to climate change. Climate change is fundamental, it will change everything in our home, in agriculture, transportation, construction, in our exchange. There are also many challenges in our digital and industrial ambitions that we need to reaffirm, and in the single market which needs to take on more human dimensions. We have to look at the map of the world as it is and look at this world with our eyes wide open. In this world, there are powers, continent-states that still have hope for us, but no longer expect us to turn up. There's the United States, that is our ally, but being an ally doesn't mean allegiance. There's also China, India, Brazil and Russia. What do we bring to the table with them? Are we really at their table? That's the question. There are areas today in the world, let's be honest, where we Europeans, have to be united, otherwise we'll become subcontractors and be under the influence of China and the United States".

Let's get back to some more down-to-earth European news. A Hungarian law has been a hot topic recently. It's a law that many consider homophobic, a law that caused an uproar at the last European Council to the point where the Dutch Prime Minister even said "with this law, the Hungarians have no business being in the European Union". Hungary is not the only one, there is Poland, and there is Slovenia. Mr. Jansa, who has taken office as the head of the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union, has not escaped criticism either. For ten years, European values have been under attack, systematically called into question, and I have the impression that Europe is letting it slide.

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator:

"I don't think that Europe is looking the other way. You yourself mentioned the debate that took place at the European Council. There are procedures that have been or can be initiated by the Commission to ensure that everyone respects the treaties. At the same time, you have to ask yourself what would happen in these countries if they were not part of the European Union, with its legal body, without rules, without co-habitation rules, the situation would be much more serious. I fight for the implementation of these procedures, for the use of pressure, to convince leaders that everyone should behave. I think dialogue is the best way to force them, to convince them, rather than exclusion".

On the same topic, you write in your book that it is late to breathe new life or give back the energy to the founding fathers of the EU, but it's not too late, what do you mean by that?

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator:

"What I mean by that is that there is fatality only where there is fatalism. A politician, or a citizen, or the man that I am, cannot be fatalistic. We are not allowed. I think there are concerns, there are warnings and electroshocks. Brexit is one of them. There are external threats. There are internal threats to the European project, but there is also good news. There's the capacity we have demonstrated to react to the COVID-19 crisis, to borrow together, to invest together. There is unity".

With some glitches...

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator:

"Yes, not everything is easy. To all those listening, I want to say that the European Union is not a federation. It is not a single state. There is not one European nationality, there is not one European nation. There are 27 nations, each with its own differences, its own national identity. We hold on to that and yet, we work together, we partly decide on our destinies and policies together. It can't be easy. The price to pay for a united, but not uniform Europe is that we accept a certain complexity in the European system. We must explain this to those who are listening to us".

One last question. You end this book with a very French resolution. You present a political project. My question is simple, you have been asked it several times already. Would you be interested in participating in your party's primary elections, the Republican's primary elections, to then run in the Presidential elections in nine months?

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator:

"This book does not end on just a French note, it ends on the note of someone who is a proud politician, a patriot and a European. For those listening, the book will be published in English on October the 1st, in Spanish on September the 15th and also in Greek and Romanian. I am happy that my experience and this story can be read in all or many of our European languages. Yes, I am ready to take part in the Presidential debate. I am a politician. I have the energy, ideas, the ambition, the capacity to be useful. I can't tell you yet where and how because I have to check with my political family that I can be useful. This is my serious answer to a very serious question. For me, the time has not come yet to answer this, but I am preparing myself, I am seriously preparing myself because it is necessary to be serious in an election like this one and I am ready".

See original here:

'Divorce is always negative': Michel Barnier gives an overview of Brexit - Euronews

Bruised by its divorce from the European Union, Britain is busy getting out more, making new friends and renewing old acquaintances.

Serenaded with promises of cheaper cars, whiskey and marmite, Australia was first to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with the UK but New Zealand is not far behind.

The National Party opposition was quick to criticise the Labour government for being too slow with a UK deal, but Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern responded pointedly by saying New Zealand wanted quality over speed.

The significance of the Australian deal has also been downplayed, with the credit rating agency Moodys saying, the economic impact of the trade deal is negligible. Others have argued the deal is more about demonstrating post-Brexit sovereignty than economic gain.

Yet theres no denying Britain needs to diversify its markets to offset the negative economic impacts of Brexit. New Zealand, too, is keen to grow trade after the pandemic disruptions and diversify its trade markets beyond China.

With a deal expected this August, the big questions are: whats really in it for New Zealand, and what considerations will have guided negotiations?

Much has changed since Britain joined the old European Common Market and cut the colonial apron strings. New Zealand is a different country now, and can cut a deal on its own terms.

Where once Britain was New Zealands most important trading partner in the 19th century, today it ranks sixth. Well behind China, Australia and (ironically) the European Union, trade with the UK was nonetheless worth nearly NZ$6 billion by 2019. But its not exactly a two-way street.

While New Zealand embraced free trade and did away with many import tariffs, Britain still imposes tariffs on imports. So, while British motor vehicles attract very little in the way of tariffs (other than GST) in New Zealand, there remain prohibitively high tariffs and quota restrictions on New Zealands key exports to the UK.

For example, beyond limited quota volumes, British tariffs on New Zealand butter and cheese are equivalent to 45% of the product value, 16% on honey and up to 20% on seafood products. The tariff on New Zealand wine ranges between 10 and 26 ($18$48) per litre.

Read more: The UKAustralia trade deal is not really about economic gain it's about demonstrating post-Brexit sovereignty

So, New Zealand should expect nothing less for it exports than the gains Australia has just made. While there is a lot of detail yet to come about the Australia-UK FTA, it appears British quotas will rise and tariffs drop quickly over the next decade. According to some analysis, this is effectively an elimination of the old trade barriers.

The same must be a bottom line for New Zealands primary products, too. There may be resistance from the British agricultural sector, which has been sounding the alarm that free trade could could spell the end for farmers. It wont, but the Australian FTA reportedly caused a ferocious row within Prime Minister Boris Johnsons cabinet.

Regardless, settling for anything less than Canberra achieved would be a national disgrace for New Zealand.

The FTAs scope needs to be wider than just product exchange. For example, New Zealand is part of an international initiative pushing for an agreement on climate change, trade and sustainability.

Including the guiding principles of that agreement removing tariffs on environmental goods, eliminating harmful fossil fuel subsidies, and the development of eco-labelling programmes should be a priority.

As New Zealand continues to improve its agricultural response to climate change and humane farming standards, this will help deflect any blowback against its exports. It also represents a competitive advantage, with New Zealand being seen to be using international trade to drive sustainability standards.

Read more: There's a lot we don't know about the UK trade agreement we are about to sign

Mori interests must be the other main priority in this area. After all, Mori have a unique relationship with the British Crown, given it was the emissaries of Queen Victoria with whom the Treaty of Waitangi was signed.

As the emissaries of Elizabeth II (the great-great-granddaughter of Victoria) negotiate this latest milestone in the relationship, they must be made fully aware of the importance and relevance of the Treaty to any new agreement, especially with Mori-led trade initiatives.

Finally, the agreement must also be about people. Britain will be seeking to mitigate the reduced migration flows caused by Brexit, and New Zealanders will be prime targets. Aside from the tourist potential, Britain will want Kiwi students, workers and entrepreneurs.

Retaining and expanding British access for New Zealanders, however, must be reciprocal. If not, New Zealand risks losing one of the few positive outcomes of COVID-19, namely the brain gain of returning expats.

Read more: AustraliaUK trade deal can help spur post-pandemic recovery

The governments so-called once-in-a-generation reset of the immigration system is central to this, moving New Zealand away from relying on low-skilled workers to attracting those with higher skills. Making New Zealand an attractive and viable option for Britains best and brightest should be a byproduct of the FTA.

With formal negotiations concluded, the quality of the eventual deal remains to be seen. But New Zealanders should expect an agreement that appropriately acknowledges the special relationship between the two countries.

More than that, New Zealand is no longer the junior partner. The reality is, for post-Brexit Britain, a good deal for New Zealand is still a good deal.

Read the original here:

What New Zealand should win from its trade agreement with post-Brexit Britain - The Conversation AU

I admit that you, England, are playing the best football of the tournament; and that you, England, are going to win it. Am I saying this because Italians are too superstitious to write the opposite? Perhaps. See you at Wembley.

'People are saying England are a typical Italian side'

By Rob Fleur, Dutch football journalist

This isnt like your usual English team and in Holland, people are saying they are more like a typical Italian side. They play for the result, they do what they have to do to win and it is built on a compact team, really strong in defence. When you dont concede goals, you have an excellent chance of doing well in tournaments. It is funny because England are going to come up against a team that is just like them in the final.

We recognised that this is an excellent team and there is a lot of praise for the job that Gareth Southgate has done. We like him but the team, I think previous English teams have been more popular here even though they were less successful. We like the traditional English style, always looking to attack.

There are also complaints that players like Grealish and Foden are not starting games. They would both be in the Holland team if they were Dutch. They are creative players, exciting to watch, but Southgate has other options and they are in the final so

The player who has really caught the eye over here is Kalvin Phillips, perhaps because we did not know much about him before the tournament. There has been a lot of praise for him.

The other player is Grealish, we like him a lot. But we do not know why Jordan Henderson is not playing, he is very well known and very well liked here.

'Everybody here will be supporting Italy on Sunday'

By Dani Gil, Spanish football journalist

In Spain, England have always been seen as the team who fail to deliver. At the big moments, theyve always 'fracasado'.

But this is different. On the streets of Spain, people are saying that Euro 2020 is now Englands to lose.

England are seen as a fearsome team, with the biggest, strongest and most versatile squad in Europe, but also a lucky one. Theyve played six of their seven games at Wembley, after all, which has created a fair amount of resentment towards them in Spain.

There are a few conspiracy theories doing the rounds. Some people here even think that Uefa have given England favourable treatment for helping break up the Super League. Untrue, of course, but Raheem Sterlings dubious penalty did not help things on that front.

More people will be supporting Italy on Sunday, even if it was the Azurri who knocked out Spain in the semi-finals.

'Germans now look to England with envy'

By Stefan Bienkowski, German football journalist

As most German fans sort through the rubble of their own teams Euro 2020 campaign, a begrudging respect has been applied to Gareth Southgates England team.

Like their own pundits and ex-players, German fans thought a last-16 clash with England would have proved to be the perfect tonic after a gruelling group stage but the 2-0 defeat at Wembley ultimately underlined where both of these two nations are at the moment.

Continued here:

'First Brexit, now this' - the view from Europe on England reaching Euro 2020 final - Telegraph.co.uk

Officials at the Department for Transport (DfT) are said to be holding talks with industry chiefs over a sgortage of 100,000 truck drivers due to Brexit and the Covid pandemic. One measure could be bringing in short-term visas, the Telegraph has reported.

A source said: Everyone involved is sworn to secrecy as the Home Office is taking a very hard line.

The Home Office has the final decision on this and the DfT knows it has a very tough sell, so need the very best evidence.

British goods exports to the European Union rose to their highest since October 2019 in May, official data showed on Friday, reversing a slump at the start of 2021 when Britain exited the bloc's single market and customs union.

Britain's government is likely to view the data as backing its expectation that the change in customs arrangements would only cause temporary inconvenience to most businesses.

However, overall trade with the EU has lagged behind growth in sales to the rest of the world, and business groups said they still faced extra red tape dealing with European customers and suppliers as a result of Brexit.

"While we are seeing a modest pick-up in demand for UK goods in the last month as economies reopen, the overall climate remains fragile," the head of trade policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, William Bain, said after the data.

Britain's Office for National Statistics said goods exports to the European Union, excluding precious metals, rose to 14.0 billion pounds ($19.4 billion) in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, their highest since October 2019 and almost twice January's level.

Total goods exports of 27.9 billion pounds, excluding precious metals, were the highest since January 2020, just before the coronavirus pandemic began to cause disruption.

READ MORE:EU cracks showing as Brexit dubbed huge loss for Sweden

Imports from the EU have also risen after a slump at the start of the year, when COVID-19 disrupted traffic across the English Channel, although they remain slightly below imports from the rest of the world. Before 2021, Britain almost always sourced most of its imports from the EU.

The head of Britain's biggest port - Dover - told Reuters trade disruption could return if British holidaymakers head for European summer breaks, adding to strain on stretched customs staff.

Meanwhile, trade minister Liz Truss will discuss how to tackle threats to free and fair trade with US Trade Representative Katherine Tai during a five-day visit to the United States from Sunday.

"I'm visiting the U.S. to build on the progress we've already made on tackling market-distorting practices that threaten the future progress and prosperity we can make around the world through free and fair trade," said Truss.

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She will also travel to the West Coast to meet businesses in a bid to promote Britain as a destination for tech investment.

Britain and the United States had started talks on a post-Brexit bilateral free trade deal while former President Donald Trump was in office but failed to reach an accord before Joe Biden entered the White House in January.

"Truss will speak with leading Democrats and the tech industry about how a future UK-US free trade agreement can set gold-standard rules on digital trade," the international trade ministry said in a statement.

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Brexit chaos as Government holds crisis talks over shortage of truck drivers - Daily Express

Moreover, our own tariff regime that replaces the EUs Common External Tariff is much nimbler. Of a total of almost 12,000 tariff lines, some 2,000 have been eliminated and almost 5,000 simplified. So companies importing from countries outside the EU with which we do not have a trade deal already benefit from a clearer regime with lower average tariffs.

One much remarked upon bit of supposed economic self-harm has been the exodus of EU workers following Brexit. But this is hardly the economic disaster that it has been painted to be. It turns out that some 5m people of EU origin have applied for settled status in the UK, far more than official estimates of the numbers who had moved here in the first place. There is likely to be more immigration of skilled workers from outside the EU. This may still leave labour market conditions tight for some industries, notably hospitality, and my guess is that wages there will have to rise.

Surely the big picture is that Brexit has made relatively little difference. Ofcourse, Covid has grossly distorted economic statistics so that it is even more difficult than usual to disentanglevarious effects. Yet it is clear that, despite the ravages of the pandemic, unemployment has not soared, nor has the housing market plunged into an abyss, as the 2016 Treasury assessment of Brexit warned would happen.

Admittedly, anyone who thought that Brexit would bring an immediate dividend will have been sorely disappointed. But in my view they were seriously misguided in the first place. It has always been clear to me that most of the economic benefits of leaving the EU would be backloaded, whereas most of the costs would be frontloaded.

On the tax system, membership of the EU did not really constrain us, except with regard to the permitted ranges for rates of VAT. But as things currently stand, far from heading off in the direction of being a low tax offshore competitor, the Government seems to accept that we will need to raise taxes, and perhaps by a large amount. In fact this is far from inevitable but if borrowing is to be contained, it will take a continued strong economic recovery combined with tough control of government spending to head off higher taxes, let alone to make lower taxes feasible. Thefirst of these seems much more likely than the second.

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Project Fear was wrong but Brexits rewards are also yet to materialise - Telegraph.co.uk

England made history as the side reached its first major tournament final since winning the World Cup in 1966, after beating Denmark 2-1 in a gripping encounter at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday. Gareth Southgate's Three Lions had to come from behind to win and, as the match went into extra-time, a rebounded penalty decided the result. Southgate told the UEFA website: "I'm so proud of the players.

"It was an incredible occasion to be a part of. The fans were incredible all night."

England will now face Italy in the final after the Azzurri beat Spain on penalties on Tuesday.

While many have tried to keep politics out of this tournament, because it is the first European Championships since Brexit was concluded, it has automatically gained a considerable international political value.

Pierre-Etienne Minonzio wrote for L'Equipe that in France there is a feeling that UEFA have done everything they can to help England win because of Britain's withdrawal from the EU.

Moreover, when asked if French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel would want to see England winning the Euro 2020, Swedish MEP Peter Lundgren told Express.co.uk: "From the experience I have...

"I would say they would definitely not be in favour of England winning.

"They never like [it] when the UK is successful."

As tensions across the continent rise, unearthed reports reveal how in 2018, England fans were told their team could get punished for pro-Brexit songs during their World Cup game against Belgium.

FIFA, the world's footballing governing body, confirmed the Football Association would be sanctioned if Three Lions supporters were found in breach of its rules on displaying insulting or political slogans in any form, and uttering insulting words or sounds during the match in Kaliningrad, Russia.

Asked what would happen if pro-Brexit chants were sung against Belgium, a spokesman told The Telegraph: Of course, there is a risk of some kind of punishment to the FA.

Pro-Brexit England fans were vocal about their voting intentions at the 2016 European Championship, with chants such as F*** off Europe, were all voting out heard during a series of riots in Marseille that almost got the Three Lions thrown out of the tournament.

JUST IN:EU's Brexit punishment unveiled: 'They are wrongly interfering!'

Jurgen Loos, the former German central midfielder who was spearheading the Franco-German proposal, said at the time: "Solidarity is a core principle in Europe, and this is true in the great game of football no less than trade or politics.

"If Britain leaves, then we should be clear: out means out.

Draft legal documents seen by The Telegraph also set out contingencies for dealing with angry English fans whose Euro 2016 tickets and EU passports would have been automatically invalidated in the event of Brexit.

Yuro Baloni, spokesman at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, declined to comment until the petition had been formally filed, but sources said that the plan had gathered sudden momentum after Englands stunning 3-2 friendly win over Germany in Berlin in April 2016.

The proposals sparked a furious reaction from pro-Leave campaign groups.

A group said: This is yet another shameless attempt to rig this referendum.

"It is now clear that voting to Leave' Europe on June 23 is the only way to ensure England wins back the World Cup in 2018.

A spokesman for Britain Bigger and Better in Europe, the pro-Remain group, said the UEFA plan was a foretaste of the chaos Britain faced if it left the EU, adding that voters had been given yet another reason to think very carefully before stepping through the exit door.

A spokesman added: Anyone who thinks UEFA referees will treat any of the home nations kindly after a vote to leave on June 23 is deluding themselves.

"Well be shown the red card the first chance they get, guaranteeing German dominance for years to come.

The petition never saw the light of day.

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England told they risked punishment for pro-Brexit chants ahead of Euro final - Daily Express

Scotland is heading towards independence from the UK. That's the inevitable conclusion to be drawn from the latest opinion polls that show a surge in support for Scottish nationalism.

The polls, which now show a consistent lead for independence, have followed a bleak year for the United Kingdom in which it has suffered one of the highest coronavirus death tolls and worst recessions of any country.

It has also coincided with Britain's exit from the European Union, which a clear majority of Scots voted against.

The combination of anger at Brexit, distrust of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson (who has a long record of offending Scots), and the British government's shambolic handling of the coronavirus pandemic have all conspired to create the perfect environment for the independence movement.

With Scottish fishermen reporting severe problems caused by Brexit and wider trade with the EU under serious strain because of new restrictions created by Brexit, the fate of the union has perhaps never looked so poor.

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is Scottish, warned on Monday that the situation risked pushing the UK into becoming a "failed state" because of the growing dissatisfaction with the Westminster government in both Scotland and Northern Ireland.

On Sunday, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon moved to capitalise on the rising public dissatisfaction among Scots by publishing an 11-point plan for independence.

Crucially Sturgeon pledged to push ahead with a referendum after the coronavirus pandemic, regardless of whether permission is granted by Johnson.

whatscotlandthinks.org Johnson has so far refused to consider any such vote, pointing instead to the decisive victory for the union in 2014, when the most recent independence referendum took place.

Yet in the intervening years Brexit and the election of Johnson, who is deeply unpopular in Scotland, have massively boosted the prospects for independence.

And with the coming Scottish Parliament elections capable of delivering Sturgeon with an absolute majority on a pro-independence ticket, it will become increasingly difficult for Johnson to resist another vote.

Sturgeon on Sunday accused Johnson of being "frightened of democracy."

In a language that appeared to use Johnson's own campaign messages in the Brexit campaign against him, Sturgeon told the BBC that the prime minister "fears the verdict and the will of the Scottish people."

She pledged to push ahead with a "legal referendum" once the pandemic had passed and said the Scottish government would fight any attempt to stop it in court.

Johnson would most likely win such a legal fight, given that powers to call referendums are legally reserved by the UK government.

Any attempt by Johnson to defy "the will of the people," however, would only serve to put a fire under the campaign for independence and make Johnson's resistance to another referendum even more difficult to maintain long term.

And even if Johnson's legal fight were successful, Sturgeon could push ahead with a Catalan-style wildcat referendum, which she would most likely win, making Johnson's position even more untenable.

Acceptance of this reality appears to be creeping in inside Downing Street with the journalist James Forsyth, who is the husband of Johnson's press secretary and a close insider of Johnson's administration, writing last week that Johnson would most likely be able only to delay rather than completely prevent another referendum.

"There's a growing realisation that Johnson can't just say no," Forsyth wrote in The Times.

Instead Forsyth writes that Downing Street is warming to the idea of resisting an immediate referendum, while promising a reform of the relationship between England and Scotland. Details of the offer could be unveiled by the prime minister as early this week when he is reportedly set to visit Scotland.

Such promises will be familiar to anyone who has followed recent British political history.

In 2013, Prime Minister David Cameron sought to squash the desire for Brexit within his own party by promising to reform the relationship between the EU and the UK before holding a referendum.

Back then, Cameron believed his reforms would put an end to the desire for independence from the EU and help him win a majority for staying inside Europe.

The reality was quite the opposite. Cameron's reforms were dismissed as meaningless by both sides, and the anti-EU movement went on to take Britain out of Europe for good.

Johnson is likely to find his own attempts to prevent Scottish independence have a very similar ending.

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Scotland is heading towards independence from the UK thanks to Boris Johnson and Brexit - Business Insider - Business Insider

UK driving licences and number plates have been given a makeover to signify the beginning of a new chapter for the UK.

To mark the UKs exit from the EU, the EU flag has been removed from all UK driving licences and number plate designs, with the first batches issued from 1 January 2021.

While existing licences and number plates will still be valid, the new versions will be issued to everyone renewing a licence or getting one for the first time.

The new designs coincide with the beginning of a number of agreements recently made between the UK and member states for British drivers, making it easier for Britons to drive in the EU when existing restrictions end.

Thanks to these agreements, UK drivers who hold photocard licences will not need an international driving permit to drive in any of the 27 EU member states, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland or Liechtenstein. UK drivers wont need to display a GB sticker in most EU countries if their number plate has GB or GB with a Union Flag on it.

Although national restrictions are still in place, and people should not be travelling internationally unless for work or other legally permitted reasons, these new arrangements mean that Britons can easily drive in the EU for years to come

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said:

Changing the designs of our driving licences and number plates is a historic moment for British motorists, and a reassertion of our independence from the EU one year on from our departure.

Looking to the future, whether its for work or for holidays abroad, these changes mean that those who want to drive in the EU can continue to do so with ease.

Driving licences and number plates can be renewed online.

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New-style driving licences and number plates mark one-year anniversary of Brexit as EU flag is removed - GOV.UK

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there were lots of teething problems with the countrys adjustment to life outside the European Unions single market and business groups warned things might get worse soon.

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson leads a virtual news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic inside 10 Downing Street in London, Britain January 27, 2021. Geoff Pugh/Pool via REUTERS

Of course there are there are teething problems in lots of areas and thats inevitable because this is a big change, Johnson said when asked about the problems faced by the fishing sector on a visit to Scotland on Thursday.

But be in no doubt, over the medium term and much more over the long term, the changes are very, very beneficial for Scottish fishing, he said, adding that eventually Britain would be able to fish all the stocks in its territorial waters.

Scotlands fishing industry has been hit hard by delays in getting shellfish and other fresh produce to markets in the EU since the introduction of post-Brexit checks on Jan. 1.

Britains government has promised an extra 23 million pounds ($31.6 million) of funding to compensate the sector.

Other industries have also felt the impact of longer delivery times and tax changes.

The government said businesses overall had adapted well to the new trading relationship with border traffic increasing daily and no longer any disruption at British ports.

Compliance was very high with vehicles turned back at the border - for failing to meet customs requirements or lack of a negative coronavirus test - accounting for less than 5% of traffic.

Michael Gove, a senior minister in Johnsons cabinet, pledged to work hand in hand with businesses.

But after a meeting with Gove, the heads of five big employers groups issued a joint statement highlighting the range and scale of the challenges for business caused by Brexit and they said the disruption might intensify soon.

It was recognised by all parties that the level of activity remained low post-Christmas and that further problems might appear as volumes begin to increase once stockpiled supplies were exhausted, the statement said.

Concerns were also raised on further disruption to trade flows when grace periods fall away in the coming months.

Last month, Britain and the EU struck a deal which avoided the imposition of tariffs and quotas, but Londons decision to leave the blocs customs union and single market has led to more paperwork and other hindrances to exports and imports.

Brexit supporters say the new barriers to business with the EU will be offset by trade deals that London wants to strike with other countries around the world.

But the governments economics forecasters have estimated that Britains economy will be 4% smaller in 15 years time than it would have been had it stayed in the EU.

Reporting by William Schomberg in London; Additional reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Grant McCool

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Johnson: lots of Brexit teething problems, but fishing will gain - Reuters

The United Kingdom became the first country to legally and constitutionally leave the European Union at the end of January 2021, commencing an 11-month transition period to negotiate a deal before December 2020. Days before the end of this period, a deal was struck with a new agreement that came to force beginning this year.

Beginning January 1, the UK left the EU Single Market and Customs Union, all bloc policies and multilateral agreements stopping the free movement of goods, people, services and making them two separate market entities.

As the UK continues to remain a popular destination for overseas education among Indian students, The Indian Express talked to Dattatraya Kadikar, an immigration expert and founder of HSMP Services UK, on how Brexit will affect education and work opportunities for Indians aspiring to go to the country.

Experts from the interview:

How has the likelihood of getting student visas / work visas changed after Brexit?

This is a very important question for students and skilled workers from India. However, Brexit and the UKs new Immigration Rules will present more opportunities for UK students and work visas for Indians.

The new post Brexit Immigration Rules include important changes. The Graduate Route (similar to the old post-study work visa) will now allow two years unsponsored stay in the UK after completing a bachelors or three years after completing a Phd. This time will allow students to gain international experience and career prospects and ensure a smooth transition to skilled worker visas in the UK.

Read |Indian students continue to fly abroad despite COVID; smaller, less-impacted countries get a boost

The work visa route, which replaced Tier 2 General Visa, will also offer better opportunities to IT, Healthcare, Legal and R&D professionals from India. There will be better opportunities as the salary thresholds are lowered and the annual cap is removed.

Will Brexit impact the student fees for international students?

As of now, we do not think there will be any increases in fees for international students. The UK has opted out of the Erasmus Programme with the EU for student exchange but has announced a new 100 million fund to help UK students study overseas.

Has Brexit impacted the popularity of the UK as a study destination for Indian students? Consequently, has it increased the demand to study in other popular destinations like Canada or the United States?

Students from India will have better opportunities for studies in the UK and the country continues to be a very attractive destination for international students too. If you look at the statistics, around 250,000 to 300,000 students come to the UK every year, from all over the world, for higher education. As per the Government statistics, during the year ending March 2020, a total of 257,000 international students arrived in the UK for formal study. This compares well to 2018, when a total of 2.9 million visas were granted, out of which 8% i.e. 232,000 were for long-term studies.

Read |Fee-waivers, IELTS relaxation: What are foreign universities offering to enroll international students

I am not sure if Brexit has impacted the students choice to go to other countries instead of the UK. However, announcing the Graduate Route will definitely have a positive impact on increasing the footfall of international students in 2021.

Has Brexit created more job opportunities for Indians going to the UK, and in what sectors?

The free movement with the EU has ended so the workers from the EU cannot walk in to work in the UK, they will need to have the same sponsorship and visas as required by skilled workers from India.

Till the UK was part of the EU, anyone could come to the UK and start working as they did not need to meet the minimum salary levels of knowledge of the English language.

After Brexit, all the EU, EEA, and Swiss nationals are now in the same position as other non-EEA nationals. This means they do not have the right to free movement and they will need to get the visa, pay the visa fees and other immigration surcharges in the same way as applicants from India.This puts Indian workers on the same level of UK immigration with EU citizens.

How is Brexit likely to impact Indians already working in the UK?

Brexit will not have any adverse impact on Indians already working in the UK. However, there is one change in the UK immigration rules that will offer the exciting possibility of settling permanently in the UK.

Read | Engineering, diverse cultural experience attract foreign students to India

Thousands of Indian workers, who are in the UK under Tier 2 Intra-company transfer could not switch to Tier 2 General or apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain i.e. Permanent Settlement, can now switch to skilled worker visa and settle permanently.

Many British employers do not offer jobs to international students, despite them having a work permit. Any particular reasons behind this?

In the pre-Brexit era, British employers were reluctant to be on the Sponsor Register which meant added duties of immigration compliance. Having said that most UK employers have set recruitment processes involving 5-6 steps for skilled jobs and so long as students work hard to pass this process, they get good employment opportunities.

I would like to clarify the legal requirements here. The British employers must sponsor the skilled workers and monitor them so if the employee does not report for work, the employer is responsible to inform the Home Office and cancel the Certificate of Sponsorship. The civil penalties are very high in case of default.

In video | Study Abroad: How and when to plan

On the other hand, International students can work a fixed number of hours during term time and full-time work is allowed during the off-term time and they do not need any separate work permit from the employers. If one wants to gain entry and work in the UK, one must understand the recruitment system, work ethics and different steps involved to succeed.

Will Brexit in any way impact economic opportunities for Indian job seekers in the rest of Europe?

Brexit has opened up opportunities not only for Indian students and skilled workforce but also for Indian businesses. In the same way, there will be better opportunities for Indian students and workers in EU and EEA countries.

Do you think it will take more time to fully understand the impact of this transition on Indian students/ professionals in the UK?

On the contrary, the UK Government has demonstrated an urgency to implement the changes by launching a new student route in October 2020 and a skilled worker route from 1 December 2020 , ahead of the announced date of January 1, 2021, to ensure that the Home Office, employers, and education providers hit the ground running.

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Brexit and its impact on studying or working in the UK: An expert answers all your questions - The Indian Express

European stocks pushed higher on Monday, with Germany's main stock index striking a record high, buoyed by a pandemic recovery package agreed in the US and Britain's Brexit deal with the EU.

Having been closed since December 23, the blue-chip DAX index bounced 1.7%, reaching 13 819 points at the open, topping the previous high set in February before the coronavirus pandemic forced Europe into lockdown.

The index later pared some of its gains, but still showed a gain of 1.5% in afternoon trading. In Paris, the CAC 40 was up 1.1%.

The stock market in London was closed for a holiday.

The jump came after US President Donald Trump signed a $900 billion (735 billion) stimulus bill late Sunday, averting a government shutdown and removing considerable uncertainty for the world's largest economy.

The US leader had previously refused to sign the relief package, arguing that it included wasteful spending.

On December 24, Britain and the European Union agreed a post-Brexit deal that ended the potentially destructive possibility of its disorderly exit from the bloc.

The Brexit deal and the US aid package were pushing the DAX to "a new high", said Jochen Stanzl, an analyst at CMC Markets.

The market is "breathing a sigh of relief" after the Brexit deal, independent analyst Timo Emden added.

Several EU nations including France, Germany, Italy and Spain began rolling out their first Covid-19 vaccinations on Sunday, although the supply is limited.

"For the markets, it remains crucial to get Covid-19 under control as soon as possible," Emden said.

The DAX's previous high was 13 795 points in February, but it plunged to 8 255 points in March as the pandemic shutdowns battered Europe's economy.

Markets recovered as restrictions on the economy were lifted in the summer and after central banks pumped billions in monetary stimulus into the economy, including 1.85 trillion by the European Central Bank.

US shutdown avoided

The emergency US package is part of a larger spending bill that, with Trump's signature, will avoid a government shutdown on Tuesday.

The president's turnaround came after a day marked by calls from across the political spectrum for action to avert a financial and social disaster in the world's largest economy, especially among the most vulnerable.

"For Americans that have been endlessly checking their mailboxes for a stimulus check, this is the best holiday present anyone could ask for," said Axi strategist Stephen Innes.

"The stimulus balloon will allow the markets to navigate better the number of new air pockets... due to the virus's latest variant," he added.

Markets have recently been shaken by the news of the emergence of a new variant of the coronavirus that authorities believe may spread more easily.

Asian markets traded mixed on Monday. Tokyo closed 0.7% higher on Monday, with Jakarta, Mumbai and Bangkok also in positive territory.

Shanghai, Seoul and Singapore were flat, while Hong Kong closed down 0.3% and Manila slid 1.1%.

Sydney and Wellington were closed for a holiday.

Oil prices rose as the US stimulus measures should help boost demand for energy.

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CHERBOURG, France/DUBLIN (Reuters) - From his office overlooking Cherbourg docks, general manager Yannick Millet points to trailers destined for Ireland that belong to Amazon and FedEx, new customers and a signal of a potential big shift in post-Brexit trade.

Confronted by red tape and delays after Britains messy exit from the European Union, Irish traders are shipping goods directly to and from European ports, shunning the once-speedier route through Britain.

You see the shift in supply chains right here, he said.

All five operators connecting Ireland to mainland Europe have increased ferry services in the past nine months, with some bringing forward planned sailings and others moving larger ships away from quieter British routes to meet new demand.

Millet forecast Cherbourg would handle 9,000 trucks in January, equivalent to almost a quarter of what passed through the French port annually before the COVID-19 crisis.

For decades, the land bridge offered Irish traders the swiftest, most reliable route to continental Europe. It involves a short sea crossing between Dublin and Holyhead in Wales and then a hop between Dover and Calais. Every year 150,000 lorries would use the route.

But post-Brexit paperwork and delays in customs clearance are snarling up the process, adding hours or days to journeys and ratcheting up costs. Many companies are switching routes.

This is a game-changer, said Chris Smyth, commercial director at Irelands Perennial Freight. Demand was huge for freight space to ship to Cherbourg, Dunkirk, Rotterdam and Zeebrugge, he added.

Cherbourgs business before Brexit had been evenly split between Ireland and Britain. Now, the port would orient itself towards Ireland, Millet said.

I thought traffic would double but it has tripled, he said. The question now is whether the traffic volumes we see today will hold in the months to come.

Stena Line, the largest Irish Sea operator, has doubled its services on the booming Rosslare-Cherbourg route, temporarily cancelling some sailings to Britain after freight volumes fell 60% in the first half of January.

Irish Ferries has deployed a larger vessel out of Dublin and planned to add more weekly rotations next month, the Port of Cherbourg said. Brittany Ferries also brought forward a planned sailing linking France and Ireland.

Danish operator DFDS said the freight ferries plying its new 23-hour crossing from Rosslare to Dunkirk six days a week were pretty much full. Route director Aidan Coffey said capturing 30% of land bridge traffic would make the route viable and DFDS might soon add up to two more sailings per week.

Were blown away by the demand, Coffey said.

No one knows if the shift is permanent.

The Irish Maritime Development Office, a government shipping promotion body, said a return to pre-Brexit logistic chains would depend on the speed of customs formalities along the land bridge and that ferries linking Ireland and mainland Europe could not replicate its volumes.

Eddie Burke, a senior official at Irelands transport department, said the route through Britain would undoubtedly come back into play again.

Ferry operators were taking decisions on capacity week by week, said Ole Bockmann, Stenas operations chief in Cherbourg. Reverting to land bridge routes was simple, he said. We just take the ships off and go back to the old system.

It gives ports like Cherbourg and Irelands Rosslare a narrow window to persuade traders that the longer sea crossing between Ireland and mainland Europe is commercially viable for just-in-time logistics.

Eighteen months ago, Rosslare on the southeastern tip of Ireland was struggling. Its traffic volumes were stagnant while rivals were enjoying a 10-year run of growth.

Now its general manager, Glenn Carr, is fending off complaints about the number trucks passing through after freight traffic increased 500% in the first half of January.

Carr said the old perception that direct crossings from Ireland were too long for fresh food and just-in-time supply chains was changing. Many of the companies that had switched from the land bridge would remain, he forecast.

I was talking to some multinationals only this week and the question they asked me was, Glenn, are you putting on more services?

An 18-hour ferry ride away, Cherbourg ports Millet said his immediate priority was responding to shipping companies demands for better restaurants and washrooms for truckers and ironing out quayside glitches in the loading of extra vessels.

Brexit has for us been an opportunity to rethink our port, he said.

Reporting by Richard Lough in Cherbourg and Padraic Halpin in Dublin; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Giles Elgood

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After Brexit, Ireland and France cut out the middleman - Britain - Reuters