Daily Archives: April 4, 2022

Travelling is different right now, declares easyJet in a pre-departure e-mail the airline currently sends its passengers. The message goes on to provide a list of preparations for, and limitations on, foreign journeys caused not only by coronavirus but by Brexit as well.

Managing business travel is also different right now, and looks set to stay that way. Travel managers need to be aware their job is not just about buying commodities like air and hotel any more, says Tobias Schnborn, managing director of mobility service provider visumPOINT. They now need to be much more involved in risk management and compliance topics.

Mobility compliance complexities abound, such as the need for Posted Worker notification and A1 social security certificates when working in an EU country (including for European Union citizens). In late 2021 German travel managers association VDR helped influence the European Commission to draft an exemption for short business trips that would effectively confirm A1 certificates as unnecessary for white-collar travel.

However, approval of the exemption has been held up by changing presidencies of the Council of the EU (now held by France, one of the biggest champions of the A1 requirement) and, said VDR president Christoph Carnier, lack of clarification of how long a short business trip can be.

Coronavirus-related hoop-jumping also remains necessary when entering many countries. Covid obligations are here to stay, a panel on mobility compliance agreed at last months Global Business Travel Association/VDR conference. The only question is to what extent, said BCD Travel director of global account management Oliver Meinicke.Brexit begins to biteBut arguably the biggest mobility compliance issue currently dogging business travel is the UKs departure from the EU. Immigration-related changes took effect once the agreed transition period ended on 31 December 2020 but are largely only being felt now.

We see more and more clients face the reality of Brexit over the past couple of months where actually it causes friction for a UK national needing to work in the EU and vice versa, said Frank Jura, CIBTvisas and Newland Chase managing director for Germany and Austria, at the same GBTA/VDR session.

Schnborn agrees, highlighting as a particular problem the rule allowing UK passport holders only to visit the EU (or vice versa) visa-free for 90 days in any 180-day period see 'Counting the days' guest column for more.

Last year no one really travelled but now that people are starting to travel again, 90 days is proving very tough for frequent travellers like salespeople, especially as personal vacation time is also deducted from the 90-day allowance, he says. They are starting to find they are exceeding their limits.

That is exactly what is happening to Robin Balme, a specialist automation electrical contractor based in the UK. Balme spent the best part of three months working in France at the end of 2021 and is currently fitting a cruise ship in Finland. He has already run up against the 90-day limit once and is about to do so again.

I booked a holiday to Sicily, which was a mistake; I should have gone to Wales, says Balme. I cant go on summer holiday to Europe any more. From 9 June I will have to wait six weeks before I can return to the EU for another two weeks. There is more work available for me after the summer holidays but I dont know if its worth going through with because of the red tape.

Its certainly affecting my ability to work, Balme continues. A large majority of the work I do is in the EU. I also know many people who work in the music industry and they have lost all their European tours. Why use someone from Britain if you can use a European?

Balme now resorts constantly to a special Brexit calculator that allows him to plan when he can and cant work in the EU, and how long he has to wait before returning.

Brexit has given Balme other travel headaches too. He had to forfeit his original non-refundable air ticket to Finland because the essential specialist equipment for his work that had been sent ahead was delayed in customs and unavailable to him.

Among sectors hit especially hard by the 90-day rules are construction, engineering, automotive and energy, according to Schnborn. Our clients are seeing the issues coming up and are looking for solutions like work permits for countries their travellers visit frequently, he says, adding that the process can cost more than 2,000.

That has other implications, like taxation liabilities, and you need an address in the country where you can receive the permit and an entity in the country to be the local sponsor, says Schnborn.

Many of our clients are saying they will be more careful. We have German clients who are saying they wont tender for projects in the UK any more, and others saying they will not send Brits to the EU but will use people from elsewhere in Europe.

One company having to rethink deployments is Siemens. Easy travel between the EU and UK is not possible any more even though people are not realising that [yet], its head of global framework, Meike Geiken, told the GBTA/VDR session. You have to have a view of how much your population in the UK has to travel around Europe, and the other way around. Do we need a work permit or a visa that we didnt need before?

That leads to lead times, costs and impact on flexible business travel. As a company you need to look at your business in the UK: do you need to ramp up resources or ramp down resources? Geiken said.

One individual who has discovered how painful the need to acquire a work visa can be is Mark Webber, Professor of International Politics at the University of Birmingham, who heads to Rome later this year for a six-month secondment. Webber has found Italian bureaucracys Kafkaesque reputation only too well deserved, where even the people he was trying to deal with seemed unsure of the rules.

It was all certainly made more complicated by no longer being in the EU, says Webber. Brexit means Ive had to apply for a visa I wouldnt previously have had to apply for. It was easier to get a visa to enter Russia a few years ago than to go to Italy.

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Brexit's impact on travel beginning to hit home - Business Travel News Europe

French President warned of the risk of a Brexit-style election upset in his only campaign rally before the first round of the presidential election, in a bid to convince dispirited voters and re-energise a lacklustre campaign. Less than a week before the April 10 vote, Macron found himself on the defensive, with far-right leader Marine Le Pen staging a comeback in the polls and the race tightening between the two frontrunners for the crucial April 24 runoff.

"Look at what happened with Brexit, and so many other elections: what looked improbable actually happened," Macron told a crowd of flag-waving supporters.

"Nothing is impossible."

And appearing to link Brexit to Le Pen's campaign Macron added: "The danger of extremism has reached new heights because, in recent months and years, hatred, alternative truths have been normalised.

"We have got used to see on TV shows antisemitic and racist authors."

Although he is still projected to win a second mandate, Macron has lost ground in the polls, a dip that some aides attribute to a manifesto that includes tough, conservative measures such as raising the state pension age to 65.

Others have also criticised a campaign that started late and lacked "magic".

After a rockstar-like entry on to the stage of a 35,000-seat stadium outside Paris, Macron started his two-hour speech with a long list of accomplishments and promises to create jobs in hospitals and nursing homes, in a clear attempt to convince centre-left voters that pollsters say could abstain.

"Our lives, their lives, are worth more than profits," he told the crowd, stealing a well-known anti-capitalist slogan.

READ MORE:French urged to turn off dishwashers as energy crisis deepens

"That's not true," he added.

The rally of about 30,000 supporters - almost reaching the venue's full capacity - was attended by former left-wing and right-wing prime ministers and other party grandees.

Insiders claim the incumbent president is "very concerned" about the possibility of Marine Le Pen winning the election, presuming she will be the candidate facing Macron at the second round.

Europe Director of the Eurasia Group, Mujtaba Rahman, wrote: "Lots of concern I the Emmanuel Macron camp about Le Pen winning the French Presidential elections."

A latest poll by The Economist, however, still gives Macron an 84 percent probability of winning the elections on April 24.

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'Brexit is proof' Macron in sensational attack on UK vote as he begs voters to back him - Express

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Impact of Brexit on Retail - Thematic Research" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the retail, consumer and regulatory trends post-Brexit along with a discussion on changes in the retail industry. The report goes on to discuss trade agreements made in response to Brexit as well as the impact on the retail value chain and players.

Brexit has significantly impacted consumers and retailers operating in the UK and the EU in a myriad of ways, including trade tariffs, movement of goods, changes in the labor market, and general repercussions relating to consumer attitudes and buying behavior across the region.

Companies Mentioned

Scope

Reasons to Buy

Key Topics Covered:

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/gxqyfy

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2021 Thematic Research into the Impact of Brexit on Retail - ResearchAndMarkets.com - Business Wire

At the 600-year-old Guildhall in the city of London, key players in a two-decade-old industry looking to remake finance are gathering.

Innovate Finances summit part of U.K. Fintech Week aims to showcase Britains financial technology sector and its global ambitions. Its profile has never been higher, with soaring demand from both customers and investors even if the latter are proving a little harder to find than in the U.S.

Investments in U.K. fintech companies more than tripled to $11.6 billion last year, according to figures published by Innovate Finance, a trade body for the industry. Thats not including the billions that more traditional banks and tech giants are splashing out to upgrade everything from current account apps to emerging uses for blockchain.

This weeks conference will discuss what the U.K. needs to do to remain the worlds preeminent financial services and innovation hub in the coming years, said Janine Hirt, chief executive officer of Innovate Finance.

The clock is ticking on this goal. Britain, where the wider finance sector makes up just under 10% of the economy, has some fintech success stories including Revolut Ltd., Monzo Bank Ltd. and OakNorth Bank that command multibillion-dollar valuations. However, few fintechs opt for London when it comes to selling shares on the stock market something the government is trying to change as it hunts for post-Brexit growth.

We take a dive into whos shaking up the U.K. fintech landscape, the unicorns to look out for, and the gender funding gap.

There are about 2,500 fintech companies in Britain, according to research by Deloitte. Most of these are based in London, which according to the accountancy firm is the third-biggest fintech hub in the world.

The term can apply to a wide range of businesses including online banks, technology to help apply regulations, price comparison websites and crypto exchanges.

British startups have attracted several blockbuster funding rounds in the past year.

Revolut, valued at $33 billion in its last funding in July, has more than 18 million customers worldwide on its app that offers services including money transfers, savings and investments. In December, digital bank Monzo completed its biggest funding round of $600 million, valuing it at $4.5 billion.

Copper.co., which helps financial institutions trade cryptocurrencies, has been in talks with investors to raise funds that would value it at around $3 billion.

Checkout.com, which processes payments for retailers, in January announced new funding that valued the business at $40 billion. In 2021, the company tripled the volume of transactions processed for the third year in a row.

Finance unicorn Starling Bank Ltd., whose backers include Goldman Sachs Group Inc., is looking for fresh funding a year after its last round, Bloomberg News has reported.

Almost all of the investment is flowing into London and the south east of England, though $696 million went to firms outside this region during last year, according to Innovate Finance. In turn, the U.K. dominates fintech funding across Europe, which itself pales in comparison to the U.S.

The British government thinks it can go further. One untapped source of funding for fast-growing companies is pension funds, which account for about 12% of the venture capital funding in Britain, compared with 65% in the U.S., according to a 2019 report from the British Business Bank.

Chris Philp, Britains minister for technology and the digital economy, said in a February interview that investors are missing out on the returns opportunity provided by pre-IPO tech. Theres also a challenge matching small, unknown companies to large investors whod rather put cash into more established firms.

Late-stage funding also risks falling behind in Britain, which missed out on the craze for special purpose acquisition companies that brought a wave of firms to U.S. markets in the past few years. Money transfer platform Wise PLC achieved a direct listing in London, only to see its share price struggle since.

More than a third of privately funded U.K. fintechs expect to list within five years, according to figures from consultancy EY cited in last years Kalifa review. That review for the government recommended softening rules on areas such as founders stakes to entice fintechs to list here.

Another avenue for growth is collaboration with the so-called legacy banks. Consultancy EY and trade body Tech Nation launched a fintech pledge to increase the use of startups in the finance supply chain. All five major U.K. lenders have signed up.

Theres also still a long way to go for diversity. Kalifas report highlighted the importance of skills, access to global talent and strengthening the domestic pipeline to increase diversity and inclusion in the sector.

Seed stage companies across the U.K. technology industry have approximately 15% representation in the workforce of ethnic minority and other underrepresented communities, falling to 9% at more established firms, according to a report last year by trade body Tech Nation.

Women fintech founders in the U.K. receive 9% of all capital, and just 3% of venture capital funding goes to all-female teams, the report said. Entrepreneurs from Black, South Asian, East Asian and Middle Eastern backgrounds receive in total 1.7% of VC investment.

Its a sign that the upheaval promised by the industry is yet to come to pass. For Marieke Flament, change isnt coming fast enough.

While fintech was instrumental in improving financial services for consumers, it didnt really disrupt things in a revolutionary way and the space has become very crowded and mainstream, said Flament, the chief executive officer of the NEAR Foundation, a nonprofit that oversees the development of a blockchain.

Some are disillusioned by this and feel as though their work life is in mid-life crisis mode and they need to reboot, she said.

The solution is for fintech itself to be disrupted, she says, arguing that web3 the catchall term for new online concepts including decentralized finance will be the opportunity for developers to inject adrenaline and true disruption into the industry.

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Post-Brexit London races to keep its head start in fintech - The Japan Times

When Doug Bannister told his family he would be joining the Port of Dover as its chief executive, weeks before the original March 2019 Brexit date, his father-in-law voiced what many might have thought: Are you mad?

The softly spoken American clearly isnt one to shy away from a daunting task, including taking over at Britains busiest port during what he calls the once in a generation change in the countrys trading relationship with its closest neighbours.

As negotiations dragged on, Brexit was delayed for another year, but when it came, the change was seismic. It was such a significant transformation that the nation was going through, and Dover is the epicentre of that activity. And I did sign up for that, Bannister says.

Even if, on arrival, he was pleasantly surprised at the ports preparations for Brexit, he never could have forecast the other storm clouds gathering on the horizon. Covid repeatedly disrupted traffic on Britains busiest trade route, halted most leisure travel for two years, and even saw France close its border in December 2020 to all travellers, including truck drivers, from England.

The drop-off in traffic put pressure on the finances of the port, run by the Dover Harbour Board, which was granted a royal charter in 1606. It does not have any external shareholders, and its trust port status prevented it from tapping investors or going to the capital markets to raise cash during the pandemic.

Freight traffic has largely returned to pre-Brexit, pre-pandemic levels at the UKs most important ro-ro port (so named because vehicles roll on and roll off the ships), Bannister says, although leisure travel has been recovering more slowly. A third of all the UKs trade in goods with the EU is handled by Dover, according to the latest figures from consultancy Oxera, which translates to a value of about 144bn. About 10,000 lorries travel through it each day 31% of all the HGVs that visit UK seaports.

Age 57

Family Married with four children, three of whom live with him in Kent, while his eldest daughter lives in the US.

Education BA in economics at St Lawrence University in New York state; MBA at Seton Hall University in New Jersey.

Pay Basic salary of 300,000. In 2020 he was paid an additional 122,000 in bonuses, pension contributions and benefits.

Last holiday Devon, last summer: It was glorious.

Best advice hes been given Go into any change positively. He believes an early positive attitude about change, combined with early engagement, generally leads to a better outcome.

Biggest career mistake I think I was not a good father to my first daughter. I was spending so much time working and travelling around the world for work that I missed her childhood. I have a very good relationship with her now.

Word he overuses I probably use the word wicked a lot.

How he relaxes Spending time with his children and in the garden.

Bannister says he fell into his long maritime career after taking a job with small shipping group Trans Freight Lines in the US, following a degree in economics. The 57-year-old would go on to work at P&Os container shipping division before it merged with Dutch line Royal Nedlloyd and was subsequently bought by the Danish giant Maersk.

His latest challenge has arrived out of a clear blue sky: as we pulled up outside the passenger cruise terminal, an enormous symbol of it hove into view. P&O Ferries hulking Spirit of Britain hasnt travelled anywhere since the company sacked 800 workers on 17 March. The 213-metre-long ferry, one of the largest operating in Europe, would usually only dock briefly at Dover during its five daily round trips between Kent and northern France.

We were looking forward to increasing passenger trade as Covid travel restrictions eased off, and so it is going to be difficult to handle that having the P&O ferries off the route. We hope they get them back sailing again in time for Easter, if not in time for the summer, Bannister says.

While P&O Ferries ships remain tied up, rival operators have scrambled to take extra passengers, with the port helping coordinate. Despite this, Bannister appears reluctant to pass judgment on the firm whose chief executive effectively admitted breaching employment law by dismissing his staff without notice or on the wider issue of rates of pay for international seafarers.

Assessing wages for crew is not always straightforward as frequently international seafarers dont pay any income taxes, because they are not a part of any particular nation, Bannister says. Some routes are different, like domestic routes like the Isle of Wight or maybe up in the Scottish islands. Its not necessarily a straight apples for apples comparison, but I do think it is right that people should get paid for the work that they do in the best way that they can be.

Even before the P&O scandal, port traffic had been repeatedly disrupted during the first weeks of the year, including by the introduction of new EU import controls, increased freight traffic, roadworks and a reduction in ferry services as vessels were refitted.

Traffic was flowing freely on the day the Observer visited, and there was no sign of the queue of lorries frequently seen snaking up the A20 road, which winds down to the coast. Bannister believes this is partly due to traders and hauliers getting used to new requirements, which include time-consuming passport and paperwork checks.

He concedes a consequence of Brexit is longer processing times at the border. There will be improvements which are made. People will get slicker at reading passports, get slicker at lodging paperwork and checking paperwork. But we are in a different trading regime.

An impending change, which could again lead to queues at the port, is also weighing on Bannisters mind. In September, the EU intends to introduce airport-style biometric checks at its external borders. This would affect Dover because of juxtaposed controls, where travellers clear French entry requirements before leaving the UK, and he has called on the British government to work with the EU on a solution.

To date, no process has been identified for a carload of people transiting a busy ferry terminal on a dark stormy night, he says. It would force people to exit their vehicles in busy moving traffic, which would be dangerous. We couldnt allow that to happen.

Over the centuries, Dover has capitalised on its geographic advantage of being located just 22 miles across the Channel from France. Bannister is convinced the recent bounceback in trade highlights the success of the short straits: the shortest distance between the UK and the continent. The market has chosen, he says. We have three different ferry operators operating from the port, two ports in France to go to, and then the Eurotunnel running alongside us.

Bannisters career has taken him on a circumnavigation of the globe from his home state of New Jersey to the island of Jersey where he ran the airport and harbours via Rotterdam, Australia (his favourite place to live and work) and New Zealand. Now, he clearly gets a kick out of working for an organisation as rich in history as this one, despite the varied challenges since he took up the role in Dover.

Itd be nice if there were a few less disruptions, he says. This business has been around for 400 years; its got incredible heritage. Itll be here for another 400 years.

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Doug Bannister, head of the Port of Dover: Were at the centre of Brexit. I signed up for that - The Guardian

Nigel Farage says 'Brexit means Brexit' as he sips a pint

Since the UK left the EU in January 2021, Remainers have noted numerous areas where Brexit Britain is worse off. Now, a Leave voter has praised Brexit for strengthening the UKs trade deals and soft power, while also helping its response to Ukraine.

Twitter user Gully Foyle,@TerraOrBust, posted a fiery rebuttal to the now cliche give me one tangible benefit to leaving the EU line from Remain voters.

His first point was to note that from a trade deal perspective, the UK previously had access to around 40 trade deals, as part of EU membership - which it paid billions a year for.

He noted: We have replicated all but 3 of those deals (Bosnia, Montenegro, Algeria) so no longer have to pay s each year for them.

According to the Governments website as of March 31, the UK has struck trade deals worth a combined 188.753 billion.

Trade agreements with Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greenland and Montenegro are still in discussion.

Mr Foyle also noted since leaving the EU we have improved the rolled over deals with Japan and Singapore as well as striking completely new deals with Australia and New Zealand.

He added: We would not have these deals right now, if we had stayed inside the EU.

Since Brexit, the UKs trade deal with Japan is valued at 24.444 billion, while Singapores is at 16.118 billion.

The UK signed a free trade agreement with New Zealand on February 28 2022, but it is not yet in force

Australia and Britain signed a free trade agreement in December 2021, for the first new UK trade deal signed since Brexit.

READ MORE:Brexit LIVE: Macron plot proves 'Brexiteer movement right all along'

In his Twitter thread, Mr Foyle also said that since leaving the EU, the UK soft power rating has increased, and is now second only to the US.

According to the Global Soft Power Index 2022 from Brand Finance, Britain is the second placed soft power nation, up from third and above Germany to lead Europe, while still behind Europe.

David Haigh, Chairman and CEO of Brand Finance, said of the report: Whilst the long-term impact of the UKs withdrawal from the European Union is still to be seen, the immediate result has been that of finally introducing some clarity and stability to the political and economic situation following years of conflict and uncertainty.

Consequently, contributing greatly to its overall result in the Index, the UK has seen an improvement in the Governance pillar, from 9th to 4th, driven by the positive change in the politically stable and well-governed metric.

The Global Soft Power Index by Brand Finance is an entirely survey-based annual research study on perceptions of nation brands, capturing opinions of over 100,000 respondents worldwide on 120 nation brands.

Mr Foyle also said of Britains improved soft power ranking: This is seen to be due to being able to speak openly to our allies with our own voice, and leverage our own diplomatic heft instead of as a slower and more flaky collective.

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Mr Foyle also touted Brexit in the UKs response to the Ukraine invasion, saying: Our independence from the EU has allowed the UK to take a leading role in the support of Ukraine.

Though ultimately the EU member states have mostly followed suit, they have done so weeks later, which couldve been the difference between winning and losing for Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Boris Johnson is helping more than other leaders in the resistance against Russia.

The president said Britain is definitely on our side and is not performing a balancing act, but he declined to say whether the UK wants to end the war quickly at any cost.

When told the Prime Minister has been keener than Frances President Emmanuel Macron in sending weapons, Mr Zelensky responded: Yes. To be honest, Johnson is a leader who is helping more.

The leaders of countries react according to how their constituents act. In this case, Johnson is an example.

It comes after Mr Johnson suggested that the Czech Republic taking the EU presidency later in 2022 from France could lead to more pragmatic discussions of Brexit issues.

Petr Fiala, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, is believed to be sympathetic to the UKs vote to leave the EU, and said in 2016 during the Brexit referendum: If I were British, I would consider Brexit.

There is no doubt that the EU needs fundamental change.

EU diplomats downplayed any ideas that the Czech presidency would lead to a change of stance, with one saying to the FT: There is no Czech policy on Brexit, just an EU policy.

Separately, the Czech government said it would continue with the current policy on Northern Ireland.

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Trade, power, Ukraine: Leave voter lists his top three Brexit benefits 'We have a voice' - Express