Brexit Weekly

14 December 2017

European Commission recommends sufficient progress to the European Council on Brexit talks, Brexit bill, UK border, 'Canada plus plus plus' trade deal and more.

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  Articles from 07 December 2017 - 14 December 2017

  Brexit & UK
 
 
Brexit: European Commission recommends sufficient progress to the European Council (Article 50)
The European Commission recommended to the European Council (Article 50) to conclude that sufficient progress has been made in the first phase of the Article 50 negotiations with the United Kingdom.  View Article
PM statement on EU negotiations
Prime Minister Theresa May updated the House of Commons on negotiations for the UK's departure from the European Union.  View Article
Main results of the General Affairs Council (Art. 50)
Ministers were informed of the state of play of the negotiatios with the UK over the withdrawal process and finalised the preparations for the European Council (Article 50) on 15 December 2017 with a discussion on the draft guidelines for further negotiations with the UK.  View Article
Statement by Michel Barnier at the plenary session of the Parliament on the state of play of the Article 50 negotiations with the UK
Top EU negotiator spoke to MEPs before they took a vote on the deal reached between the UK and the European Commission. Members of the Parliament recommended 'sufficient progress' and demanded the deal to be legally binding.  View Article
Paul N. Goldschmidt: Brexit: Sufficient progress? An agreement full of contradictions!
The agreement reached under maximum pressure by the EU and the UK is a paroxysm of ambiguity and hypocrisy, whose main merit is to avoid the premature interruption of the Brexit negotiations as well as to offer the main protagonists peaceful year end celebrations, writes Paul Goldschmidt.  View Article
BBC: David Davis wants 'Canada plus plus plus' trade deal
Brexit Secretary said the UK wants to secure a post-Brexit free-trade deal with no tariffs and if negotiators fail to secure it, then the UK would not pay its divorce bill. Davis stressed that the deal to move to the next phase of talks was a "statement of intent" and not "legally enforceable".  View Article
Financial Times: Brussels rules out early Brexit trade talks
EU countries have toughened their stance on Brexit, making clear that talks on a future EU-UK relationship will not begin until March and insisting Britain will stay fully covered by EU rules during a transition — while losing its voice within regulatory agencies — after it leaves the bloc in 2019.  View Article
Financial Times: Italy’s Paolo Gentiloni calls for ‘tailor-made’ UK-EU trade deal
Italy has called on the EU to offer a “tailor-made” Brexit trade deal to the UK, in an accommodating move towards London, even as the bloc toughens its stance on trade and transition talks.  View Article
Financial Times: Theresa May faces Europhile revolt on EU withdrawal bill
Theresa May is fighting to avoid her first significant legislative defeat since becoming prime minister as pro-European Conservatives press her to agree to a full parliamentary vote on the terms of Brexit, even if there were no deal.  View Article
Left Foot Forward: MPs should have vote on Brexit ‘divorce bill’ and final deal, say public
New polling conducted by BMG Research and Left Foot Forward reveals today that 61% of the public believe MPs should have the final say on the overall Brexit deal.   View Article
BCC forecast: Uncertainty constraining UK economic growth
The British Chambers of Commerce has slightly downgraded its three-year outlook for the UK economy, cutting growth expectations from 1.6% to 1.5% in 2017, from 1.2% to 1.1% in 2018, and from 1.4% to 1.3% in 2019.  View Article
BCC: Currency volatility compounding cost pressures for many businesses
The British Chambers of Commerce released the results of its survey, in partnership with American Express, which finds the majority of businesses expect the fall in sterling to increase their costs.  View Article
UK Lords' EU Committee publishes report on Brexit: deal or no deal
The European Union Committee published its report Brexit: deal or no deal, outlining the potential impact on the UK of leaving the EU without a deal, and examining the feasibility of a transition period immediately post-Brexit.  View Article
House of Commons: UK border could be exposed from first day of Brexit
The Public Accounts Committee report says Government assumptions about behaviour are risky and planning is too reliant on transitional period.  View Article
VoxEU: A granular analysis of the exposure of UK exports to EU tariffs, quotas and antidumping under ‘no deal’
In a scenario where trade reverts to WTO rules, the good news is that one-third of UK exports to the EU will remain tariff-free. The bad news is that one-quarter of exports will face high tariffs and/or the risk of restrictive quotas or anti-dumping duties.  View Article
UK Trade Policy Observatory: Hard Brexit, soft Border. Some trade implications of the intra-Irish border options.
Dr Emily Lydgate outlines some options to respond to the dilemma of how can the UK uphold its commitment to leaving the EU Single Market and Customs Union while also preserving the invisible intra-Irish border?  View Article
TheCityUK: Brexit forces review of UK regulatory structures
A new report by the International Regulatory Strategy Group (IRSG) in collaboration with Linklaters, urges a review of the UK’s rule making system for financial services post-Brexit.  View Article
The Guardian: Brexit: City of London will lose 10,500 jobs on day one, says EY
City firms plan to move 10,500 jobs out of the UK on “day one” of Brexit, with Dublin and Frankfurt the financial centres most likely to benefit from the UK’s departure from the EU.  View Article
Financial Times: Banks set to move fewer than 4,600 City jobs over Brexit
FT research shows 6 per cent of staff might move, despite claims of tens of thousands.  View Article
Commercial Risk Europe: Liberty Specialty Markets moves UK insurer to Luxembourg
Liberty Specialty Markets (LSM) will redomicile its European headquarters to Luxembourg, to ensure its business can continue unaffected by Brexit and any potential loss of passporting rights.  View Article
Agreement on standstill transitional arrangements between UK and EU27 is now urgent
Treasury Committee report says transition must be simple enough to negotiate within a matter of weeks.  View Article
 

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