Brexit Weekly

27 September 2018

Chequers Brexit plan, second in-out EU referendum, contingency plans for no-deal Brexit, post-Brexit access to EU financial markets for UK firms, May's immigration plan and more.

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  Articles from 20 September 2018 - 27 September 2018

  Brexit & UK
 
 
Financial Times: Donald Tusk warns October is Brexit ‘moment of truth’
Donald Tusk has called October the “moment of truth” for the EU and UK to agree a Brexit withdrawal agreement, while warning that parts of Theresa May’s Chequers agreement “would not work” for the EU.  View Article
POLITICO: Le Maire: Accepting Chequers Brexit plan ‘would be suicidal’
France’s finance minister has said allowing the U.K. to leave the European Union but hold on to the bloc’s advantages “would be suicidal,” and claimed Europe is more concerned with its own future than Britain’s.  View Article
Financial Times: Labour may support second in-out EU referendum, says Starmer
Keir Starmer, shadow Brexit secretary, won a standing ovation at the Labour conference when he said the party had not ruled out the possibility of another referendum on EU membership that includes the possibility of remaining in the bloc.   View Article
Financial Times: Poll shows 86% of Labour members want new Brexit vote
Jeremy Corbyn is facing further pressure over his stance on Brexit after a new poll of Labour members found that 86 per cent want a second referendum on the eve of the party’s annual conference in Liverpool.   View Article
The Guardian: Jeremy Corbyn calls for election if MPs vote down May's Brexit deal
Jeremy Corbyn has told Theresa May that Labour MPs will vote against her Chequers plan unless she is willing to accept his proposal to keep Britain in a customs union and protect consumer standards and workers’ rights after Brexit.  View Article
EurActiv: Malta PM claims EU leaders ‘almost unanimous’ for second Brexit vote
Malta’s prime minister signalled unexpected support from EU leaders for a second referendum on Brexit in Britain, boosting a growing campaign for a new poll despite the British government’s trenchant opposition.  View Article
Financial Times: EU makes contingency plans for no-deal Brexit
Brussels is making plans to pass emergency rule changes to cope with a no-deal Brexit in as little as five days, a fast-track process that allows the EU to leave big decisions on contingency measures until a late stage.   View Article
CER: After Salzburg: How to salvage the Brexit negotiations
Sam Lowe and John Springford concede that, although EU leaders delivered the coup de grace to Theresa May’s Chequers plan in Salzburg avoiding no deal is still possible - but it will require some tough choices on the Irish backstop.   View Article
The Telegraph: Cabinet backs Canada-style Brexit deal as Hunt urges PM to drop Chequers
A majority of the Cabinet now supports moving towards a Canada-style trade deal with the EU following the outright rejection of Theresa May’s Chequers plan, the Prime Minister was told.  View Article
The Sunday Times: Theresa May’s team plot snap election to save Brexit
Theresa May’s aides have secretly begun contingency planning for a snap election in November to save the Brexit talks and her job after EU leaders rebuffed the prime minister’s Chequers plan.  View Article
The Telegraph: Leaked Tory dossier reveals secret plan to replace Theresa May in April and ranks her possible successors
An explosive internal memo suggesting Theresa May will be forced to “stand down soon after March 2019” and detailing the pros and cons of her potential successors has been leaked to The Telegraph.  View Article
Financial Times: Eurosceptics back plan to take Brexit legal action
Tory Eurosceptics David Davis and Jacob Rees-Mogg have backed a Brexit plan that calls for the UK to begin legal action against the EU in the World Trade Organization unless Brussels cedes in the negotiations.  View Article
The Guardian: Legal action to revoke article 50 referred to European court of justice
A legal action to establish whether the UK can unilaterally stop Brexit has been referred to the European Court of Justice by the Court of Session in Edinburgh.  View Article
VoxEU: The heterogeneous impact of Brexit: Early indications from the FTSE
The column uses stock return data following the Brexit referendum to show a persistent negative shift in sentiment towards multinationals with at-risk global value chains. In particular, even compared to others in the same industry, firms with a UK or EU focus underperform.  View Article
Bloomberg: UK finance dealt another Brexit blow by Brussels lawmakers
UK-based firms would probably need to open a unit in the EU to continue underwriting stocks and bonds and doing market-making business for clients in the bloc under draft legislation endorsed by a European Parliament committee.   View Article
Bloomberg: UK banks face renewed French push to stiffen MiFID access rule
France stepped up its push for a tightening of the MiFID II rules on how firms outside the bloc can gain access to EU financial markets.  View Article
Bloomberg: Brexit prompts JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank to use Paris for trades
LSE’s French clearinghouse is winning business from London as finance firms switch to clearing trades within the European Union to avoid being disrupted by Britain’s departure from the bloc next year.  View Article
Bloomberg: The drip, drip, drip of funds fleeing Brexit Britain
The biggest danger to London as a financial center is erosion, not a flash outpour, writes Mark Gilbert.  View Article
Financial Times: Frankfurt is leading city for banks moving ahead of Brexit
Frankfurt is leading the pack among European financial hubs in wooing London-based banks on the eve of Brexit, extending its headway over Paris according to data published by state-owned Frankfurt-based lender Helaba.  View Article
The Guardian: Theresa May backs immigration plan that favours skilled workers
Theresa May’s cabinet has agreed a post-Brexit immigration system that will offer visas to immigrants in a tiered system based on skills and wealth, a flagship policy that will include no preferential access to UK labour market for EU citizens.  View Article
House of Lords' EU External Affairs Sub-Committee: Brexit: the customs challenge report published
The report on the Government's Chequers proposal for a Facilitated Customs Arrangement and the customs challenges under 'no deal' finds that UK importers would face an administration cost of £700 million per year – a fraction of the annual £18 billion 'no deal' cost to UK traders.   View Article
The Telegraph: Brexit border delays could bankrupt 10pc of firms, survey claims
As many as 10pc of UK businesses would face bankruptcy if goods were delayed by under 30 minutes as a result of Brexit trade friction, new research has claimed.  View Article
New EEF/ComRes research shows one in six manufacturers say business will become untenable with a no-deal Brexit
New research published by EEF, The Manufacturers’ Organisation, shows that one is six manufacturers business decision makers say business would become untenable for them if the UK reverted to WTO tariffs, increased border checks on people and increased checks on goods at the border.  View Article
Investment & Pensions Europe: Some UK products will not be allowed in EU post-Brexit: Verhofstadt
The EU must continue to set rules for UK products distributed in the bloc post-Brexit, according to the European Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator. Speaking at a press conference in Vienna this week, Guy Verhofstadt said that “rules have to be defined” to ensure smooth transactions between the UK and EU.  View Article
Commercial Risk Europe: UK SMEs prioritise GDPR and cyber over Brexit: Zurich
Smaller UK businesses have pushed Brexit planning to the backburner as they struggle to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and cyber threats, according to a Zurich survey.  View Article
BBC: Brexit will have 'worse economic impact on UK than EU'
Brexit will have a bigger economic impact on the UK than the European Union, the former head of the European Central Bank told the BBC.  View Article
LSE: What if Britain rejoined the EU? Breaking up may be less hard than making up
If Britain ever sought to rejoin the EU, it could not be on the terms of membership the country previously enjoyed, warns Iain Begg. The UK’s budget rebate, exemption from Schengen and opt-outs from the euro and judicial cooperation will not be on the table again.   View Article
 

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