Monthly Archives: January 2021

Tens of thousands of Edinburgh residents have come from different EU countries to make an outstanding contribution to the city, its economy, society and national life. It voted by one of the biggest margins in the country to remain in the European Union.

As the Brexit disaster unfolds with the fishing industry facing multi-million-pound losses and transportation and border problems beginning to bite for other sectors, UK opposition leaders have sadly walked away from defending links with European Union.

Sir Keir Starmer, who was elected as Labour leader with a key commitment to retain freedom of movement has now ditched his promise. Less than 10 months after making this one of his top ten pledges, Sir Keir told the Andrew Marr programme on BBC television that he would not campaign to restore free movement as it would require extensive renegotiation of the Brexit treaty.

He was followed on the political programme by Sir Ed Davey, of the Liberal Democrats, who has announced that his party will not be campaigning to rejoin the European Union.

This is in direct contradiction to the promises made by the Scottish Liberal Democrats that they would. Edinburgh Western Lib Dem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton previously pledged: We have a party policy on this, both at a Scottish level and at a federal level. If we leave the European Union then this party will automatically pivot from the party of remain to the party of re-entry. I think we have to say that loud and clear and not be afraid of saying that. We will be the party of re-entry. Just as the Lib Dems betrayed their commitment on university tuition fees, they are now walking away from their promises on the European Union.

For thousands of Labour and Liberal Democrat voters, the shocking Brexit conversion of their parties will make them question their continuing support. This helps explain the soaring support for the Scottish National Party and Scottish independence.

In recent days, the 18th poll in a row showed a majority for independence and the SNP was polling at 53 per cent support. In Edinburgh, the pro-Brexit Conservatives face losing Edinburgh Central, the Brexit U-turning Labour Party would lose Edinburgh South and Brexit sell-out Liberal Democrats would lose Edinburgh Western.

None of this is, of course, automatic. If Edinburghs pro-European electorate wants to elect pro-European candidates in the Scottish Parliament elections they will have to turnout and vote for them.

Opinion polls are no guarantee of success. Residents should make sure they are registered and given coronavirus restrictions should apply for a postal vote too. Not only should domestic voters who have been deprived of their EU citizenship against their will cast their ballots. So too should European and international residents who are entitled to vote and have been denied continuing residency in a European Union country.

Now that Labour and the Liberal Democrats have given up on the European Union there is only one major mainstream European option for Scotland: electing an SNP government, holding an independence referendum and rejoining the EU. Edinburgh is a European city and could soon become the capital of an EU member state.

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Brexit: Scotland only has one way to rejoin the EU and that's independence Angus Robertson - Edinburgh News

Feet up, mug of tea in hand and breathe. Time to tick Brexit off your worries list? Dont you believe it, because among the devilish details (most of which present more difficulties than impossibilities, thereby still eating time and expense) lurks a ticking time bomb that threatens to destabilise the UK car industry unless urgent action is taken.

It relates to a requirement for the UK or EU content of cars to ramp up between now and 2027, with a particular emphasis on the entire battery in any EV being sourced from either of the regions by that date. Failure to meet these rules of origin will result in 10% tariffs being added that would threaten the value of assembling cars in the UK.

If you judge on EVs UK market share of 6.6% last year, you might well see it as an issue gladly kicked down the road, but the trajectory of uptake is heading only one way to 2030 and beyond.

Some 200,000 today work in vehicle manufacturing and its supply chain, many in jobs, most notably engine-related, that are on a path to no longer existing.

The choice is between encouraging battery makers to invest here (gigafactories cost billions, take around two years to build and need very complex supply chains) or giving away the skills and employment opportunities and importing from the EU, as Mini does on a relatively small scale for the Electric (proving that the objections over complexity and cost are surmountable, at least).

At present, the latter looks more likely than the former. Today we have one battery facility in Sunderland, built by Nissan to support Leaf EV production, now sold but still supplying the factory and a second at the late planning stage, being set up by Britishvolt, a start-up thats set to launch in 2024 to supply a currently unknown customer base.

Sunderland makes about 2GW of batteries per year, and Britishvolt will take that figure to 15GW, or enough to make around 250,000 EVs. In normal times, the UK makes around 1.3 million cars annually, so the need to scale up again if we want homegrown production beyond 2030 is clear.

Yet for now, theres no visible queue of willing investors or government encouragement to make the UK look more enticing to investors. Meanwhile, EU nations are fast-tracking their plans and getting a headstart on developing the infrastructure that will be at the heart of the industry in the future.

Our place in the car-making hierarchy right now drives huge amounts of employment, revenue and investment. But without long-term planning, a large slice of its competitiveness is going to come back into the spotlight in just a few years.

READ MORE

Nissan satisfied with Brexit deal outcome, says UK boss

Inside the industry: How long will Brexit blight the car world?

Analysis: 'British' cars matter more than ever for the UK post-Brexit

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Inside the industry: Why rule of origin is a Brexit time bomb - Autocar

Scam artists are exploiting a surge in messages from delivery companies seeking Brexit-related taxes and charges by sending out bogus alerts looking for financial details from unsuspecting consumers.

Gardai have warned that with online shopping and parcel deliveries increasing due to the Covid -19 pandemic the potential risk to peoples personal and payment data has increased.

In a statement the Garda said was aware of a scam operating that sees emails and texts circulated under the branding of various courier companies.

In such messages recipients are asked to pay additional costs for customs clearance prior to delivery of parcels. In some instances these emails texts have been circulated in Irish.

Det Supt Michael Cryan of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau said anyone who gets messages like this should not provide any payment details and instead take a screenshot of the text or email and delete it. Anyone who believes they have been the victim of fraud is asked to report the matter to their local Garda station.

Det Supt Cryan said scammers were taking advantage of the confusion around Brexit and criminals would be using uncertainty to defraud people.

Anyone who receives unsolicited correspondence and is awaiting a package should first independently verify the status of the package with the relevant postal service or courier.

People are being warned not to click links in unsolicited texts or emails and to never provide payment details or give away personal data like PIN, card numbers or passwords.

People should also not open attachments in unsolicited emails and make sure computerhave the most up-to-date anti-virus software installed. Similarly people are being told to be wary of unsolicited phone calls.

Be careful, do your research, dont rush in, ask yourself why me? Why am I getting this great offer, and if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is, Det Sup Cryan said.

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Scammers exploit Brexit taxes and charges for packages - The Irish Times

(Bloomberg) -- The new rules for the bankers who made London financial capital of Europe are still uncertain after Brexit, but one outcome is already clear: a stream of dealmakers across the English Channel.

While thousands of traders and salespeople have already made the move, the next wave is likely to include the high-flyers who advise on strategy, mergers and capital raising, say more than a dozen officials at global institutions. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., for one, is moving senior investment bankers out of London to the continent.

I would expect that 3,000 to 4,000 more investment bankers, especially industry-focused specialists and debt and equity issuance advisers, will have to leave London and come back to Europe, said Andreas Halin, founder of Global Mind Executive Search Consultants GmbH, a Frankfurt-based firm that specializes in the sector.

The prospect of losing a highly paid cadre of taxpayers is particularly bad news for the U.K., since it relies so much on financial services for revenue. The industry employs more than one million people, makes up about 7% of the economy, and accounts for more than a 10th of all tax revenue.

While a U.K.-EU trade deal was sealed in late December, talks on financial services are only just beginning -- with no deadline for completion. EU officials must rule separately that British financial regulations and oversight are strong enough to create a level playing field. Thousands of jobs and more than $1 trillion of assets are already moving to Europe.

Chaperones

For the dealmakers who will be on the move, the issue is one of access. Bankers in London can no longer directly pitch transactions or capital-raising operations to corporate clients on the continent. They require the involvement of a so-called chaperone -- a colleague within the EU to make the first move to contact the client with a business idea.

To manage in the new world, Goldman Sachs is expanding its investment-banking footprint in Europe, moving bankers from London to outposts such as Frankfurt and Madrid.

Story continues

Macario Prieto, head of technology, media and telecom in the region, is relocating to Germanys finance hub, according to spokesman Sebastian Howell. Hell be followed by three other bankers including Konrad Krallmann, who advises financial institutions on deals. At the same time, its doubling its presence in the Spanish capital to 60 bankers by the end of this year, say people familiar with the matter.

Differing Policies

To be sure, rules are far from straightforward and policies hardly uniform. At UBS Group AG, London-based bankers can still initiate business with clients in Germany thanks to a bilateral Swiss-German accord, but cant do so in Spain, said people familiar with the situation.

At Credit Suisse Group AG, all investment bankers in London now have to go through EU-based middlemen when proposing business to a client, according to a person familiar with the matter. That includes even bankers who advise on mergers and acquisitions, though officials at other lenders said they arent applying the chaperone system for their merger advisers.

Spokespeople at UBS and Credit Suisse declined to comment.

Others may also just be trying to finesse the system. Less than two weeks after Brexit fully kicked in, European regulators raised a red flag. U.K. financiers are resorting to questionable practices to improperly preserve the status quo, the Paris-based European Securities and Markets Authority said in a statement Wednesday.

Some firms are trying to circumvent regulations by using online pop-up I agree boxes that claim transactions are made at a clients exclusive initiative, known as reverse soliciation, ESMA said.

We explicitly warn clients against making wide use of reverse solicitation, said Manuel Lorenz, who heads the German financial-services regulatory practice at law firm Baker McKenzie. That does not rule out the involvement of British investment bankers on a deal, if properly structured and as long as the business is not booked in the U.K.

The European Central Bank has signaled its determination to keep an eye on the situation. Activities and services involving EU clients are to be carried out predominantly within the EU, an ECB spokesperson said. Where national regimes allow the provision of cross-border services from a third country, the ECB expects banks not to use such set-ups as a usual means to carry out large volumes of activities in the EU. The ECB is closely monitoring developments to avoid fragmentation or regulatory arbitrage.

Tough Talk

National regulators are also talking tough. Germanys watchdog Bafin in late December reminded financial institutions that U.K. entities and their European branches would no longer have the freedom to provide financial services to clients in Germany and that it will enforce the new rules.

The warning may have surprised some banks because its tone implies Bafin is serious about it and will be strict, said Christian Schmies, an expert on regulation at the law firm Hengeler Mueller in Frankfurt.

Senior investment bankers said in interviews that the first few days of the year were marked by compliance classes, getting drilled on the changes faced by a sovereign Britain that could further erode Londons significance.

(Adds ECB comment in 15th paragraph.)

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Brexit Driving Top Dealmakers Out of London and Into the EU - Yahoo Finance

Manufacturing production has likely fallen

The ONS Business Impact survey from mid-December indicated that half of manufacturers were only somewhat prepared, or not at all. And across the economy, a high proportion of firms reported the changes werent relevant to their business - which in some cases may have been because they weren't fully aware of the forthcoming changes.The chart above showed this tended to be more common among smaller businesses.

One thing that looks inevitable is a fall in manufacturing production in January - perhaps in the region of 3-4%, and things may become worse in the short-term

That said, its a mistake to assume this is only hitting smaller firms.While in general larger firms are likely to have been better prepared, many rely on SMEs as part of their supply chain. That was demonstrated in December when some of the major carmakers had to pause production amid a lack of supplies coming across the Channel.

In short, the situation is fairly bleak, but working out the magnitude of the impact on the wider economy is less straight forward.

One thing that looks inevitable is a fall in manufacturing production in January - perhaps in the region of 3-4%. Thats partly because the situation is unlikely to resolve itself quickly - and in fact may become worse in the short-term as border traffic builds up once again. Net trade is also likely to weigh on GDP through this year, assuming imports recover as lockdowns are unwound but exports take much longer to recover.

Of course it goes without saying that theCovid-19 crisis will dominate the GDP figures for the next few months. But assuming the economy starts to get back on its feet through the middle of 2021, the more interesting question is how Brexit will affect the recovery - and here are threefactors to bear in mind.

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Brexit and the impact of new trade ties on the UK outlook - ING Think

Feet up, mug of tea in hand and breathe. Time to tick Brexit off your worries list? Dont you believe it, because among the devilish details (most of which present more difficulties than impossibilities, thereby still eating time and expense) lurks a ticking time bomb that threatens to destabilisethe UK car industryunless urgent action is taken.

It relates to a requirement for the UK or EU content of cars to ramp up between now and 2027, with aparticular emphasis on the entire battery in any EV being sourcedfrom either of the regions by that date. Failure to meet these rules of origin will result in 10% tariffs being added that would threaten the value of assembling cars in the UK.

If you judge on EVs UK market share of 6.6% last year, you might well see it as an issue gladly kicked down the road, but the trajectory of uptake is heading only one way to 2030 and beyond.

Some 200,000 today work in vehicle manufacturing and its supply chain, many in jobs, most notably engine-related, that are on a path to no longer existing.

The choice is between encouraging battery makers to invest in the UK (gigafactories cost billions, take around two years to build and need very complex supply chains) or giving away the skills and employment opportunities and importing from the EU, asMinidoes on a relatively small scale forthe Electric(proving that the objections over complexity and cost are surmountable, at least).

At present, the latter looks more likely than the former. Today we have one battery facility in Sunderland, built byNissanto supportLeaf EV production, now sold but still supplying the factory and a second at the late planning stage, being set up by Britishvolt, a start-up thats set to launch in 2024 to supply a currently unknown customer base.

Sunderland makes about 2GW of batteries per year, andBritishvoltwill take that figure to 15GW, or enough to make around 250,000 EVs. In normal times, the UK makes around 1.3 million cars annually, so the need to scale up again if we want homegrown production beyond 2030 is clear.

Yet for now, theres no visible queue of willing investors or government encouragement to make the UK look more enticing to investors. Meanwhile, EU nations are fast-tracking their plans and getting a headstart on developing the infrastructure that will be at the heart of the industry in the future.

Our place in the car-making hierarchy right now drives huge amounts of employment, revenue and investment. But without long-term planning, a large slice of its competitiveness is going to come back into the spotlight in just a few years.

/news-international/why-rule-of-origin-is-a-brexit-time-bomb-78279 Why rule of origin is a Brexit time bomb Failure to meet these rules of origin will result in 10% tariffs being added that would threaten the value of assembling cars in the UK. https://www.autocarpro.in/Utils/ImageResizer.ashx?n=http://img.haymarketsac.in/autocarpro/6329563f-d6dc-4d13-8a5d-571b28141915.jpg

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Why rule of origin is a Brexit time bomb - Autocar Professional

There are several sources of help if you are struggling to complete the online formalities for a new Brexit deal card.

All Britons who were living in France in 2020 and want to stay must now apply for one of the new Withdrawal Agreement (WA) residency cards via a dedicated websiteand many readers have found the process straightforward.

However if you are unsure about aspects of your application, are not confident with using computers or have any other difficulties, a number of bodies can advise and in some cases meet you personally.

Some of these are approved and funded by the British government under the UK Nationals Support Scheme, however there are geographical restrictions as to who these can help.

This is a UN partner agency helping migrants and refugees.

Its section helping Britons with Brexit is based in Saint-Brieuc, Brittany with two full-time staff there and will focus on Normandy, Brittany and Paris and Ile-de-France, Hauts-de-France and Pays-de-la-Loire.

It intends to hold outreach meetings to raise awareness; share information on residency requirements and provide direct help for those in difficult situations. The latter could include people with chronic illnesses, or language, literacy or IT difficulties.

The focus is the new cards but they are also able to advise on issues such as driving licences, healthcare or pensions.

Contact details: By email at UKnationalsFR@iom.int or by telephone on 08 09 54 98 32, Monday to Tuesday 14:00-16:00 and Wednesday to Thursday 10:30-12:30.

Meetings at the office are possible by appointment.It has a website at france.iom.int/en/uk-nationals-support-fund-uknsf.

This charity for British military veterans and their families helps military veterans in France. The British Embassy said they expected those applying to the charity to include disabled and pensioner veterans, and veterans living in remote areas or needing help with translating paperwork.

Contact details:08 05 11 96 17 Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 17:30, or by email atukvie.support@ssafa.org.uk.It was a website at ssafa.org.uk/get-help/veterans-in-europe.It also has a UK-based number on 0044 (0)800 193 0474.

A non-profit body that helps Britons move to France and set up businesses. It is focused on the Dordogne, Aubergne-Rhne-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Cte dAzur.

Its team consists of three bilingual professionals from the area who were already part of the network, plus two new paid part-time workers.

Contact details:Questions may be sent viatinyurl.com/y29bfxbk.It also has a telephone helpline on 05 19 88 01 09 (Monday to Wednesday 9:00-13:00 and Thursday and Friday 13:00-17:00) and a Facebook page: facebook.com/francobritishnetwork.Its website is: francobritishnetwork.fr.

The diocese is offering assistance to those in Nouvelle-Aquitaine apart from Dordogne, as well as Occitanie, Bourgogne-Franche-Comt, Centre-Val de Loire, Corsica and Grand Est.

Contact details:It has a website relating to its Brexit help atfrenchresidencysupport.org. Its hotline is on 05 32 80 00 05, Monday to Friday 09:30 to 12:00 and 13:30 to 16:00; Tuesday 17.30-20.00 and Saturday 09:30-12:00.

Two English-speaking bodies that are not part of the official funded network have told The Connexion they are able to help: English-speaking charity Cancer Support France(email brexit@cancersupportfrance.org, telephone 0800 240 200) and The Old School, Dordogne.

The Old School (oldschoolfrance.com), which has received some funding from the British Community Committee of France for this work, has a helpline on 05 53 40 60 54 from 09:00 to 16:00 on Thursdays and can also arrange one-to-one meetings.

All local prefectures should be able to assist to some extent with making the application online, using free public computer terminals.

Paper applications are not possible.

Another option would be to visit one of the Maisons de Services au Public at: maisondeservicesaupublic.fr. These are local centres that can help people with administrative tasks.

No Brexit cards denied so far to Britons in Dordogne

Britons French Brexit residency cards: How to apply

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Who to contact in France for help with Brexit residency card - The Connexion

Irish customers of Currys/PC World have been asking where in the world their products are and why they have to pay import taxes and charges on things bought from a retailer with a significant Irish footpri nt.

The shop has become the latest to be snared in a web of Brexit-related delays and confusion as people who shopped on its Irish-hosted website have been told more taxes and charges are now owed because the goods have come from the UK.

Others said they have yet to receive products bought weeks ago while still more have expressed frustration at the absence of communication from the retailer as to what is going on.

With homeschooling back on the table Kevin Prendergast bought his daughter a laptop from the Currys/PC World website on January 9th.

We got an email to say to expect it on January 15th, he said but on that day a message arrived to say the laptop was leaving the UK. Then he received another message apologising for the delay and promising delivery on January 22nd.

Adam Greaney bought a MacBook from the the website on January 5th. It was dispatched on January 7th but then caught up in Brexit-related delivery delays and he has yet to receive it.

Liam Preston bought a laptop from Currys.ie on New Years Day and was not aware it was coming from a warehouse in the UK.

Not only did that delay the delivery he also had to pay 200.31 in custom duties to DPD before they would deliver the laptop. He complained that the website did not inform consumers they may be liable for customs and import duties on products sourced from the UK.

Paul McGaley ordered a vacuum cleaner for delivery from Currys on on January 2nd and paid Irish VAT and said at no point was he told the product was being shipped from the UK. His delivery was being held by DPD pending customs charges including more VAT.

I couldnt get through to a person on Currys phone support, tried twitter, got a please send us more details reply and then nothing further.

A spokeswoman for the retailer said that as a result of a technical error, a small number of our customers in the Republic of Ireland have mistakenly been asked to pay import duty on their orders. We are contacting all affected customers to refund them any costs they may have incurred. We apologise wholeheartedly for the inconvenience.

Addressing the delays she said that its delivery partner, DPD, had paused all deliveries from the UK to ROI due to disruptions caused by Brexit. Unfortunately, this means our deliveries to ROI will be delayed. We have contacted all affected customers, and DPD has assured us they will receive their orders by 22nd January. We are grateful for our customers patience as we continue to work closely with DPD.

Last week Brexit-related teething problems were blamed for dozens of Arnotts shoppers being hit with additional taxes and charges after buying shoes on the Dublin-based department stores website since the start of the year. The company apologised and said impacted customers would be re-imbursed.

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Brexit: Currys/PC World Irish customers asked to pay import taxes in error - The Irish Times

As a European resident born in France to British parents, I never used to consider my nationality a disadvantage.

Besides its association with poor food and worse weather (at least as far as my French friends were concerned), my status as a Briton had its benefits. For years I was able to enjoy the climate and cuisine of the south of France while also being able to appreciate the British sense of humour, crackers at Christmas and the occasional baked bean.

I really must take my hat off to Brexit. It has had the revolutionary effect of transforming our best of both worlds into the best of no worlds. Brexit has stripped us of the right to vote.

Voting is a fundamental right which allows us to shape and influence the laws which govern our livelihood. If I want to enjoy free healthcare, I vote for a party which promises a national health service. If I want to create a more sustainable planet for future generations, I vote for a party in favour of strict environmental reforms. In modern European democracies we are lucky enough to enjoy this right. Or so I thought

Shortly after Britain joined the then-EEC in 1972 my grandparents wanted to embrace opportunities open to them. Just as many more would go on to do after them, they decided to permanently relocate to continental Europe.

My father and his brother still live in France and my three aunts have lived in Italy for more than 50 years. I have cousins in Spain and Germany, but no relatives in the UK.My sister and I were both born in France and attended local schools. We were members of various local associations such as dance, swimming and tennis clubs. We were versed in Jean de La Fontaine, never phased by regular strikes and considered no good meal complete without a cheese course.

When I was 13, my parents sent me to school in the UK. There I discovered that it was not unusual to play sport in the rain, that there was more to modern history than the French Revolution, and that British food was not nearly as bad as I had been led to believe.

At this time I started to struggle when asked where I came from. When I was younger it had been easy: I would tell French people I was British and British people I was French. At least that made me sound interesting.

Soon the novelty wore off and I started to reflect when I was asked this question. Where did I come from? My home was in France. And yet my passport told me I was British.

I was able to come up with a solution to this existential dilemma. When people asked me where I came from I would (and still do) respond: I am European.

In line with this European spirit, I decided to continue my studies at the University of Amsterdam, where I was delighted to discover that identifying as European as opposed to any single nationality was the norm.

You can imagine my dismay in discovering that I was to be denied this identity.I had always been proud of my burgundy British passport, but the day that I received my renewed passport was as dark as its new blue colour.

Every bone of my body feels European and yet international law now tells me I am not, and that I have no claim to be.The worst part? I never had any say in this decision in the first place.

This is the truth of the matter: many of those who were to be most affected by the outcome of the 2016 referendum had no possibility to influence it.Although this is true of those under 18 who could not vote, I am referring in particular to British citizens resident in Europe.

British law dictates that only citizens who have been resident in the UK in the last 15 years are eligible to register to vote. This meant thousands of Britons resident in the EU were silenced at a time when they would have liked to shout the loudest and must now live out the consequences of decisions made by others.

Since then, these same Britons have been dealt a further blow: they no longer have the right to influence the future of the European countries they call home.

While only nationals may claim the right to vote in the national elections of most European countries, all citizens of EU member states have the right to vote in European Parliament elections, as well as in local elections in the country in which they reside. For example, Germans living in France can vote in local municipal elections, and French living in Germany can vote in local communal elections.

More important than the right to vote in local elections, however, is the right to vote in European Parliament elections. The future of Europe is determined at European Parliament elections. For many individuals embracing the European ideal of professional, educational or cultural mobility across European member states, their right to vote in EU elections is one of the most important rights which they can claim.

There is a solution: apply for nationality from an EU member state. This, however, is not nearly as easy as it sounds. Citizenship of an EU member state is a prerequisite for being considered an EU citizen. However, embracing the principles and objectives promoted by the European Union is not always compatible with gaining citizenship to a member state.

The mission of the European Union is to ensure the free mobility of people, goods, services and capital within the Union, with its key objectives being a common European area without borders which respects all languages and cultures.

But it was because I followed these European ideals that I am currently finding it hard to get French nationality.

For the purposes of obtaining nationality, the French define a childs country of residence as the country in which they are schooled. Britain, on the other hand, defines a childs country of residence as the country in which their parents pay tax.

I was born in France, educated in France, and my parents have paid tax in France for more than 20 years. I now work and pay tax in France. And yet, my five years of schooling in the UK preclude my right to French nationality by birth.

I have chosen to live my life in a way which would be most favourable to entering a career in EU law, politics or business. I believed that studying in France, the UK, the Netherlands and potentially Spain, would be more conducive to this career path than a purely French education.

It would appear that these decisions now prevent me from entering such a career at all. When I explained to the lady in charge of my French nationality application (now submitted over four years ago) that I hoped to pursue a career in politics, and that this would be impossible in France or the EU without a French nationality, she smugly replied that the UK needs some good politicians.

Despite the truth in her words, I was essentially being told by the French administration to go back to where I came from. The irony is that as far as the UK administration is concerned, I never came from there in the first place.

Britons in Europe, like me, have been doubly disenfranchised by the process of Britains withdrawal from the European Union. We have been twice failed by the democratic ideals to which both the UK and the EU pledge themselves.

Despite our British nationality, we were excluded from its democratic voting process. Despite our commitment to the values and principles embodied by the European Union, we have now been excluded from it too. What amazes me the most? Nobody seems to care or be doing anything about it.

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Brexit and the curse of having a British passport - The Connexion

Speaking in an online debate on the Brexit deal, Lidington said, The EU will be satisfied that the solidarity of Member States held together and in demonstrating that there are some costs of leaving the EU.

There had been talk of other countries also leaving the EU but this has dissipated. On the UK side, it can point to the fact that it is no longer subject to ECJ jurisdiction and the fact that there no tariffs on goods between the UK and EU.

He said, All this has removed one element of possible future friction between the two sides but not all.

When you look at what the deal does, it looks to me very much like the association agreement the EU has with other countries but without the title.

The agreement permits it [the deal] to be developed and to evolve over the coming years if that is what the EU and UK wish to do although I dont expect any big changes to it any time soon.

His comments come with parliamentary procedure for approving the deal now under way.

Last Thursday, members of Parliaments Foreign Affairs and International Trade Committees debated the deal at a joint meeting, further intensifying the parliamentary scrutiny process for the new EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

The Brexit agreement also has the ability to crumble away and it can be terminated at 12 months notice. Whether it grows into something more comprehensive or is whittled away will be subject to much debate in the coming years Sam Lowe, Centre for European Reform

The two committees will, later this month, vote on the consent proposal prepared by the two standing rapporteurs, Christophe Hansen (EPP, Luxembourg) and Kati Piri (S&D, the Netherlands).

That will pave the way for a plenary vote, probably in February, before the end of the provisional application of the agreement.

In the virtual debate organised by Brussels-based think tank the Centre for European Reform, Lidington, a former unofficial deputy Prime Minister to Theresa May, added, For most Conservative voters and Tory MPs the prime feeling will be of utter relief that this issue is not there to dominate and divide it has done for so long.

But it would be wrong to think everyone got up in the morning thinking of Article 50. Most voters want to know, for example, what our policies are on housing, education and health care. These are the things that bother people.

Asked if he thinks the issue of the UKs relationship with the EU will now fade, he said, Will it go away as an issue? Well, Boris Johnson has been conciliatory so far but he has a difficult balancing act.

I can see him saying at the next election in 2024 that people dont want to discuss the EU so much, but one fifth of people who voted Tory at the last election voted Remain so these have to be kept on board.

It will not be in the Conservative partys interest to take a hostile approach to the EU, but, at the same time, I dont think there is an appetite among the British or Member States for any campaign for the UK to rejoin, said Lidington, a Tory MP from 1992 to 2019.

The agreement permits it [the deal] to be developed and to evolve over the coming years if that is what the EU and UK wish to do although I dont expect any big changes to it any time soon

David Lidington, former UK Europe Minister

No one can now say that Brexit has not happened, but we still share a lot in common with Europe in, for example, tackling carbon emissions, combating terrorism and serious crime and managing the impact of migration.

The US, under Joe Biden, will expect its EU allies to exercise more [global] leadership and not to leave it all to the US, so that implies that the UK and EU will still have to work closely together, added Lidington, who also served under David Cameron.

Also taking part in the debate was Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow and trade expert with the Centre for European Reform, who warned, The Brexit agreement also has the ability to crumble away and it can be terminated at 12 months notice. Whether it grows into something more comprehensive or is whittled away will be subject to much debate in the coming years.

He said the UK had been fairly successful in excluding ECJ jurisdiction and not being bound by EU state aid rules, but added, the UK did not do quite so well as it had hoped in other areas, such as the mutual recognition of professional qualifications, temporary movement of people and rules of origin.

On all of these issues the UK did not get what it wanted and had to accept what the EU offered.

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Brexit deal has 'ability to evolve' in coming years, says former UK government minister - The Parliament Magazine