The draft bill’s main provisions include measures to scrap costs and paperwork for businesses trading within the UK, while ensuring that full customs checks are done for goods entering the EU.

Businesses will also be given the choice of placing goods on the market in Northern Ireland according to either UK or EU goods rules. It also changes the governance arrangements so that disputes are resolved by independent arbitration and not by the European Court of Justice. The UK government hopes to have it adopted by parliament before the summer recess.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that while the UK wanted to reach an accord with Brussels on the protocol, the “only make progress through negotiations if the EU are willing to change the protocol itself”.

“At the moment, they aren’t,” she added.

The protocol was negotiated and agreed by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson as part of the Brexit deal that took the UK out of the bloc in 2020 but its status has always been controversial. Last year, talks between UK and EU officials reopened in a bid to ease the implementation of the protocol but have made little progress.

European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič said that the bill was “damaging to mutual trust and a formula for uncertainty” and warned that the EU would now consider whether to continue the infringement procedure launched against the UK government in March 2021. That decision, expected to be made this week, could lead to sanctions against the UK including the suspension of the post-Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Irish Taoiseach, Micheal Martin, said that it was “very regrettable for a country like the UK to renege on an international treaty”.

“I think it represents a new low point because the natural expectation of democratic countries like ourselves, the UK and all across Europe is that we honour international agreements that we enter into,” he added.

Meanwhile, 52 of the 90 members of the Northern Ireland assembly, representing the Irish nationalist parties Sinn Fein and the SDLP, and the non-sectarian Alliance party, on Monday signed a letter to Johnson described the protocol as “a product of the hard Brexit you personally championed and a withdrawal deal you personally signed.”

“Whilst not ideal, the protocol currently represents the only available protections for Northern Ireland from the worst impacts of that hard Brexit. The protocol also offers clear economic advantages to our region, and the opportunity for unique access to two major markets,” they added.

However, no assembly members from the three unionist parties in the Northern Ireland assembly, all of whom want the protocol to be scrapped or significantly revised, signed the letter.

Sinn Féin’s leader in the assembly, Michelle O’Neill, who is set to become the First Minister of the next devolved government in Northern Ireland, accused the prime minister of breaking the terms of the Brexit agreement.

“Boris Johnson’s action is illegal, he is in clear breach of international law, regardless of the detail,” she said.

There are concerns from some Conservative lawmakers in Johnson’s party that overriding the protocol amounts to a lack of good faith and could undermine the UK’s reputation for upholding the rule of law. That is of particular concern to Johnson following last week’s vote of confidence, in which 148 of his 359 MPs stated that they had no confidence in his leadership, with many hinting that they would vote against laws brought forward by his government.

However, in legal advice related to the bill UK government lawyers insist that “this is a genuinely exceptional situation and it is only in the challenging, complex and unique circumstances of Northern Ireland that the government has, reluctantly, decided to introduce legislative measures which, on entry into force, envisage the non-performance of certain obligations.”

The legal advice also cites Article 16 – a clause in the Protocol that allows either side to take measures if applying the protocol leads to serious economic, societal or environmental difficulties that restrict trade. The unionist community, and the UK government, argue that, by undermining Northern Ireland’s status in the UK, the protocol is harming trade, and also damaging political stability in Northern Ireland.

Since last month’s Assembly elections, where Sinn Fein topped the poll, the second placed party, the Democratic Unionist party, has refused to agree to the formation of a new power sharing executive until its concerns about the protocol are resolved.

DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson defended the new UK bill as “a solution – and we need solutions”, adding that his party would “continue to work with government to ensure that this legislation progresses.”

Source: https://www.euractiv.com/section/uk-europe/news/uk-could-face-eu-sanctions-over-new-ni-protocol-bill/

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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen – Photo credit: AFP

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The European Union has concluded that the UK owes it €47.5 billion as part of the Brexit settlement, a higher figure than the UK had originally estimated.

The EU assessment, which was published in a budget document, is aimed at reflecting the UK’s ongoing commitments to EU programmes it’s still benefiting from, as well as other obligations to the bloc. The bulk of funds are due to the EU in the coming years.

The accounting could trigger new discussions with the UK, which estimated in 2018 that the total bill would amount to €41.4 billion.

The EU said that for 2021, the UK payment should total €6.8 billion, with the rest to be paid later. Some payments to the EU could continue for liabilities such as the pensions of officials for several decades, the UK government has acknowledged.

The two sides continue to bicker over a number of issues related to the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. Late last month, officials postponed for three months a clash over British companies selling chilled meats to Northern Ireland as they continue to negotiate new trade rules for the region.

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Source: https://www.luxtimes.lu/en/european-union/brexit-eu-says-uk-owes-it-47-5-billion-for-post-brexit-payment-60e7dc57de135b92360cb6d9

[Disclaimer]

The post EU says UK owes it €47.5 billion for post-Brexit payment first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Boris Johnson speaks during a news conference on the final day of the G7 summit in the UK. Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA/Bloomberg

British prime minister Boris Johnson has said he will do “whatever it takes” to protect the territorial integrity of the UK after his dispute with the EU about implementing the Northern Ireland protocol overshadowed a summit of world leaders in Cornwall.

Mr. Johnson and British foreign secretary Dominic Raab claimed that European leaders at the G7 summit questioned the North’s position as part of the UK.

The prime minister said he would not hesitate to suspend the protocol by triggering article 16 if the EU does not agree to implement the agreement in a way that is less intrusive in terms of checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea from Britain to the North.

“Of course we make the point continuously we are part of one great, indivisible United Kingdom, ” he told a press conference at the end of the G7 summit.

“What I am saying is that we will do whatever it takes to protect the territorial integrity of the UK.”

In a series of meetings on Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Angela Merkel, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Charles Michel confronted Mr Johnson over his failure to implement the protocol, a part of the EU-UK Brexit withdrawal agreement that gives the North a special post-Brexit trading status.

They warned him that further unilateral action by Britain on the protocol could trigger retaliatory action and urged him to dial down the rhetoric about the dispute.

Downing Street briefed journalists that when Mr Johnson asked Mr Macron how he would feel if sausages from Toulouse could not move freely to Paris, the French president said it was not comparable with the Northern Ireland situation because both cities were in the same country.

“We have serially seen senior EU figures talk about Northern Ireland as if it was some kind of different country to the UK. It is not only offensive, it has real-world effects on the communities in Northern Ireland, creates great concern, great consternation,” Mr. Raab told Sky News.

Fulfil obligations

Mr. Macron said after the summit that Britain should fulfil the obligations it signed up to 18 months ago when it agreed to the protocol as part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement.

“My wish, my will is that we succeed – we succeed collectively – to put into operation what we decided upon a few months ago,” he said.

“I’m doing things very calmly. I believe that as far as this subject matter is concerned everybody has got to come back to reason.”

Ministers and officials in Dublin are worried that the diplomatic clash over the protocol could inflame tensions in the North and threaten the power-sharing institutions at Stormont, where Sinn Féin and the DUP are already at loggerheads amid a need to nominate a new first and deputy first minister when Arlene Foster steps down imminently.

Speaking to Sky News, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said a breakthrough between the EU and UK was still possible “if there’s a will there on both sides”. While calling for compromise on both sides, Mr. Martin also expressed the EU’s frustration with the British approach to the protocol.

“If there’s consistent, unilateral deviation from that agreement, that clearly undermines the broader relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom, which is in nobody’s interest and therefore that’s why the UK with the EU have to work very hard now in the coming weeks,” he said.

Source: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/european-leaders-confront-boris-johnson-over-failure-to-implement-ni-protocol-1.4592402

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Travellers walk with their luggage at Fiumicino Airport after Italy lifted quarantine restrictions for people arriving from the EU, Schengen zone countries (Photo: Reuters)

The EU has backed plans to allow fully vaccinated holidaymakers in but has not yet decided if Britain will make its ‘safe list’ of countries.

At a meeting held today, ambassadors signed off plans to allow people who have received both Covid jabs to enter EU countries for non-essential trips such as holidays.

The policy was confirmed by a spokeswoman for the Portugese presidency of the EU council this afternoon.

It still needs to be signed off by ministers of member statements.

The jabs tourists from non-EU countries have had must be EU approved.

It comes as EU officials are reportedly wobbling over whether to include Britain in its safe list of approved countries despite high vaccination rates and low case numbers.

The EU has not yet decided if Britain will be added to the list following a surge in cases linked to the highly contagious Indian variant and fears it could spread into Europe, The Telegraph reports.

Travellers from locations on this list are permitted to enter the bloc even if they are not vaccinated, but are generally required to show evidence of a recent negative test.

The India strain which is a ‘variant of concern’ was found in 127 areas in the UK in the week ending 8 May, compared with 71 the week before.

A decision on which countries will be added to the EU’s ‘white list’ of countries – the equivalent of the UK’s travel green list – is expected later.

There are currently only eight countries on the list, including Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Israel.

“Now we see the Indian variant spreading and we hear the warning messages from Downing Street and that has given member states pause for thought over whether now is the right time to lift the ban,” an EU diplomat told The Telegraph.

Any decision on travel regulations from the EU is a recommendation with EU countries free to make their own decisions on border and health policy.

People in England are able to use an NHS app to display proof of their vaccination status abroad.

Regardless of the white list, UK travellers will still struggle to visit Europe even if they are fully vaccinated unless the Government expands its travel green list to include them.

At present, the majority of Europe is on the amber list, meaning Brits are required to conduct PCR tests and quarantine at home for 10 days upon return.

Portugal and Greece are among the EU countries that have broken ranks by already welcoming UK tourists, but the addition of the UK to the “safe list” would boost the chances of a major summer getaway.

UK holidaymakers are currently prohibited from visiting several EU countries, including Spain, due to its ban on inbound leisure visits from outside the EU and Schengen Area.

Source: https://inews.co.uk/news/europe-travel-holidays-both-covid-jabs-uk-not-safe-list-countries-rules-1008922?ITO=newsnow

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European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said she hoped the EU would not have to use the measures contained within the agreement.

But she noted the concerns in the EU that the UK had not yet fully complied with the terms of the earlier Brexit divorce deal and stressed that “vigilance” would be required in the future.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the European Parliament in Brussels (Olivier Hoslet/AP)

Von der Leyen was addressing the European Parliament as MEPs prepared to vote on the Trade and Cooperation Agreement reached with  Johnson on Christmas Eve, which governs the way the UK and EU deal with each other.

The deal has been applied provisionally since January 1 but requires the approval of MEPs – who are not expected to oppose it – before it can be ratified.

Von der Leyen said: “We know it will not always be easy and there is a lot of vigilance, diligence, and hard work ahead.

“But, while today’s vote is obviously an end, it is also the beginning of a new chapter.

“The choice is now whether today’s vote will be the high-water mark of the EU-UK relations for the next decades, or whether we see this as the foundation of a strong and close partnership based on our shared values and interests.

“Only history will tell what road is taken – although I hope for the latter.”

Relations between the UK and EU have been strained over the application of the Northern Ireland Protocol, which governs the post-Brexit arrangements aimed at preventing a hard border with Ireland and was part of the divorce deal signed in January 2020.

Much of the disruption and controversy created by the protocol relates to the fact that Great Britain has left the Single Market for goods, while Northern Ireland remains in the EU regulatory zone.

That necessitates a significant number of documentary checks and physical inspections on agri-food goods arriving into Northern Ireland from Great Britain.

The UK has unilaterally extended grace periods covering areas of the economy including supermarket supplies and parcel deliveries to the north of Ireland from Great Britain, meaning post-Brexit checks are not yet fully applied – which has triggered a legal dispute with Brussels.

Von der Leyen said there was a need for “joint solutions” as “unilateral decisions will get us nowhere”.

She said there had been “some progress” in talks between commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic and the UK’s Brexit Minister Lord Frost.

“In recent days and weeks, we have seen a new, constructive dynamic and we will continue to work closely with the UK to find constructive solutions that respect what was agreed,” she told MEPs

“The next step is to mutually agree on compliance paths, with concrete deadlines and milestones.”

She added: “We need solutions, not soundbites if we are to make the protocol work for the benefit of everyone in Northern Ireland.”

The post Warning to UK that EU will not hesitate to act if Brexit deal is breached first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Leading MEPs on Tuesday once again refused to set a date to ratify the EU-U.K. post-Brexit trade deal, saying they would wait until London gives reassurances it will apply the deal.

European Parliament leaders had been expected on Tuesday to announce that the deal would finally be ratified during a late April plenary session — the last step needed for the deal after EU national governments and the British parliament gave their assent.

Yet at a “Conference of Presidents” meeting, Parliament President David Sassoli and political party leaders decided to refrain from setting any vote. Instead, they agreed that MEPs would approve the deal only in Parliament’s foreign affairs and trade committees, where a vote is scheduled for Thursday.

The decision will be “deferred due to the need for progress on roadmap for pragmatic yet full implementation of the #WithdrawalAgreement,” tweeted Christophe Hansen, the lead Brexit MEP on the European Parliament’s trade committee. “Cool heads must prevail,” Hansen added.

The situation could still change in the coming weeks, depending on the ongoing conversations between the Parliament and British officials.

The parliament’s ratification of the deal has been held up amid ongoing tensions between the EU and U.K.

In March, political group leaders in the Parliament decided to postpone their ratification vote after the U.K. unveiled plans to unilaterally extend grace periods on post-Brexit customs checks at Northern Ireland’s ports for at least six months. The European Commission said in a statement at the time that such a move marked the “second time” the U.K. government had been “set to breach international law” after a heated row over the border erupted in 2020.

Technically, the trade deal has provisionally been in effect since January 1, a step taken to avoid the economic uncertainty of a no-deal scenario. U.K. and EU negotiators pushed their talks close to the December 31 deadline before reaching a deal, despite the European Parliament’s warnings that at least three months would be needed for proper scrutiny and ratification.

Sassoli told POLITICO last month the April 26 plenary would be “the last date” for ratification, adding that “there will be no extension” past that session.

Source: https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-uk-trade-post-brexit-deal-ratification-delayed-again/

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“That of course is the day one thing. It doesn’t tell us what it might be eventually. It’s substantially less, I should say, than the sorts of numbers that were being talked about after the referendum,” he told the British parliament’s Treasury Committee.

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Senior EU figures are contemplating a major reset in relations with the UK that would coincide with the formal ratification of the free trade agreement at the end of April, RTÉ News has learned.

The idea would be for both sides to work towards a package of solutions around the outstanding issues of the Northern Ireland Protocol, as well as other areas of tension, such as the status of the EU’s delegation to the UK.

Senior figures have confirmed to RTÉ News that a formal, set-piece event marking the ratification of the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA), which was concluded by both sides on Christmas Eve, could inaugurate a more harmonious relationship.

It is understood very tentative discussions have been under way at a senior level between officials in Brussels and London.

There has been a fractious start to the new post-Brexit relationship from the beginning of January, with simmering tension over the Northern Ireland Protocol, vaccine procurement, the diplomatic rights of the EU ambassador to the UK, and the alleged discrimination against citizens from a number of eastern European member states over UK work visas.

The fear among senior EU officials is that unless there is a clear reset then the relationship could become one of perpetual tension.

Some observers have seen the appointment of David Frost, the former UK Brexit negotiator, to the role of overseeing the future relationship as reflective of a dynamic that could be more about confrontation than co-operation.

The European Parliament is expected to formally ratify the TCA on 24 March, meaning national capitals would give their final and formal consent to the treaty early to mid-April.

Senior figures envisage a possible “handshake” moment involving British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and EU leaders that would symbolically mark a new, more harmonious era in relations.

This would ideally coincide with both sides signing off on a package of solutions to the most contentious outstanding issues, especially the Northern Ireland Protocol and the London embassy issue.

However, it is understood that there would have to be hard negotiations in the coming weeks in order to provide the political space for a genuine reset.

The Northern Ireland Protocol remains the most difficult issue, following the European Commission’s move to invoke Article 16 at the end of January.

Demands by unionists for the protocol to be scrapped have thus far fallen on deaf ears, but London and Brussels remain some distance apart on how to resolve the deepening antagonism over trade barriers on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

In December, both sides reached agreement on how to implement the protocol, which came into effect on 1 January.

A grace period, during which Northern Ireland supermarkets importing huge volumes of food from Great Britain would be absolved from needing expensive and cumbersome documentation, expires on 1 April.

A meeting on Wednesday of the EU-UK Joint Committee, co-chaired by commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič and his UK counterpart Michael Gove, concluded with no real breakthrough on the outstanding issues.

It is understood Mr. Šefčovič has requested another joint committee meeting before the end of March, ahead of the deadline for the grace period to end.

The UK has asked for two grace periods, related to food safety rules, to be extended until 1 January 2023.

Source: https://www.rte.ie/news/brexit/2021/0225/1199472-eu-uk-relationship/

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The speculation has probably already begun.  Merry holiday greetings arrived in the form of a giant car-bomb in downtown Nashville, and the police say it was exploded intentionally.  Eyewitness reports are flying.  Even though the blast went off at 6:30 am, it was reportedly preceded by the sound of gunshots which had first responders already on their way to the scene when the blast detonated.

Amazingly, no one was killed.  Only a few were hospitalized, apparently with minor injuries.  A security video is circulating which hears a loudspeaker announcement telling people within earshot to evacuate immediately.  A local woman is saying the announcement saved her life.  Who is responsible?  And what are the chances we’ll ever know for sure?

Somebody is bound to report what all the “experts” are saying on the news networks.  They’re not known to be particularly reliable, to put it mildly.  But hold on to your hat, the FIB is springing into action.  This could turn out to be bigger than the noose in Bubba’s garage!  Experience tells us that information will be kept to a minimum until they charge a culprit, and then it’ll be the wrong guy.  Remember the mass shooting in Las Vegas?  We still have no idea.  But it may be different this time.

The arbiters of all truth will have it figured out pretty quickly, if they don’t already, and then ban all opinion to the contrary.  But the speculation has already begun, and it will accelerate.  Was it terrorism?  If so, it’s the first time terrorists have gone out of their way to make sure nobody got killed.  Was it a “false flag” incident, perhaps perpetrated by the outfits responsible for investigating?  That one is already going around.  Was it disgruntled Trump supporters?  The news purveyors surely hope so.  After what we’ve lived through, we know for a fact that there will never be unilateral agreement on responsibility for this, no matter what they report.  We hope we’re wrong.

We knew months ago that we’d be in this fix.  So far, the Supreme Court has declined to hear any evidence relating to “election irregularities,” but that may not be the end of it.  There may yet be cards that have not been played, and the principals seem to have remained calm.  The President may not be making plans to leave the White House after all.  Don’t tell anybody in the mainstream media.  They’ve already popped the Champagne corks and shot off fireworks.  Their pretense that Americans are predominantly “woke” has become a self-fulfilling prophecy, and they have yet to sense that anything can change their minds.  It’s going to get interesting.  It’s already gotten ugly.

Finally, after years of posturing and threats, Britain’s exit out of the European Union is complete.  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made the announcement, and said the agreement is a five hundred page document which now has only to be approved by the House of Commons.  Both the EU and the British say it is a good deal for both.  It was hard-fought, and about five years in the making, and we’re glad it’s over with no hard feelings.

It was a brave stand by the British people, throwing off the yoke of EU demands, quotas for immigrants and the like.  It might have had something to do with sparking Americans to take a stand against our own authoritarian agencies, and the bumpy ride toward global rules and mandates.  The mainstream media assures us we’re headed toward a bright future of punishment for prosperity.  They’ll defend the environment by “making sure” we’re properly “green,” with persuasion if necessary.

Won’t it be great when we can all admit what racists we’ve been?  It’ll be swell when we’re killing time waiting for our vehicle to re-charge, and have rediscovered the wonders of composting.  We’ll have the laundry blowing on the balcony (like every other 3rd world paradise), and the windmill whirring.  We’ll be cooking over an open fire– no wait– that’ll probably be banned, as it already is in every “woke” city.

With any luck at all, none of that will come to pass.  God is on His throne, and it’s hard to imagine that all the liars, all the evil-doers, to include those who’ve defrauded all Americans’ most basic rights to choose our leaders and to live in freedom, are going to be ruling over this nation.  May they rue the day they dreamed this up.

Mark

Source: http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/fridayupdates.php

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