Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, said it was vital Mr Frost continues to champion UK sovereignty in the talks, as the issue was fundamental to many Brexit voters.

The Brexiteer highlights this in a recent Express.co.uk comment piece, where he points out most people who voted to leave the EU did so to return sovereignty to the UK.

The Tory MP said a poll conducted by Lord Ashcroft on the day of the 2016 EU referendum found nearly half of leave voters said the biggest single reason for wanting to leave the EU was the principle that decisions about the UK should be taken in the UK.

The survey found only a third said the main reason was to regain control over immigration and its own borders.

When discussing the current trade talks, Sir Iain wrote: Importantly, David Frost, Boriss chief negotiator made it clear he agreed when he wrote that in the negotiations, the UK places sovereignty above all else.

It is in that context that the issue of how these outstanding payments to the EU impinge on the UKs sovereignty which matter now.

The Brexiteer urges Mr Frost to walk away from the talks if the UKs sovereignty risks being impinged.

He said: The WA was always work in progress as at the end of this year, the UK has a right to a comprehensive agreement, one which treats the UK as a sovereign partner.

A failure to observe this must lead to a rejection of the WA.

FOLLOW EXPRESS.CO.UK FOR LIVE UPDATES:

9.33am update:Brexit Britain could form NEW superpower alliance with Australia, Canada and New Zealand

Brexit Britain could form a federation with Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to create a superpower" after fully cutting ties with the EU, a historian has claimed.

Historian Andrew Roberts described the federation of nations whose majority of people speak English could be a free trade zone with the free movement of people.

The idea is based on the concept of the "CANZUK Union", this being the acronym for Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

The union could have a mutual defence organisation and combined military capabilities, the historian claimed.

According to Mr Roberts, the "CANZUK" union would be the fourth-largest economy in the world.

9am update:FTSE-100 shares rose on hopes of Brexit deal

London-listed shares rose on Monday, due in part to renewed hopes of a Brexit trade deal with the EU.

The FTSE-100 was up 0.8 percent, with the mid-cap FTSE-250 also up 0.7 percent - a seven-week high.

Traders are hopeful of a Brexit trade deal after Britain's top minister overseeing negotiations said on Friday he was confident of an agreement with the EU.

Stocks also rose in response to optimism around a post-pandemic economic rebound in China.

8.07am update:Ireland must take a long hard look at Brussels membership

Ireland has been tipped to follow the UK's lead and quit the European Union by a former Irish diplomat who called for "a long hard look" at whether the country's membership of the bloc was worth it.

Ray Bassett pulls no punches in his new book, 'Ireland and the EU Post Brexit', suggesting the benefits bestowed on Dublin by Brussels are drying up, with "difficult choices" on the horizon.

In his book, he writes: "We need a long hard look at our EU membership and pose the question, is it worth the price?"

"The billionaire businessman, George Soros, an ardent europhile, has accepted the inevitable and predicted that unless the EU reforms it will perish.

"The pipe dreams of Emmanuel Macron and his proposals for even a more centralised EU are vanishing against the cold reality of the desire for the citizenry of EU Member States for national sovereignty.

"The disastrous showing of the establishment centre-right and centre-left parties in the 2019 European Parliament elections demonstrated this in a very direct way."

Read the original here:

Brexit LIVE: David Frost urged to WITHHOLD UK repayments 'Sovereignty above all else!' - Daily Express

Mr Barnier indicated this week the EU may drop its demands over state aid which, professor Alex De Ruyter from Birmingham Universitys Centre for Brexit Studies, stated is a major boost for the UK. The EU has called for the UK to agree to a level playing field on state aid but this week Mr Barnier indicated the demand could be dropped for an independent dispute settling mechanism. Speaking toExpress.co.uk, Mr De Ruyter stated an independent dispute settling mechanism would be the obvious way to settle state aid rules.

He said: This is what the UK has been pushing for all along and it would represent a major move.

To be honest, an independent dispute resolution mechanism is the obvious way to resolve disputes relating to any trade agreement.

This is widely done internationally.

The issue of state aid has remained one of the areas of divergence between the two sides during Brexit talks.

State aid determines the level of support from public authorities for organisations.

The EU wants the UK to agree to a certain set of regulations and rules in order stop Britain undercutting Brussels and becoming a more attractive destination for companies.

This week, Mr Barnier told EU diplomats an independent mechanism could be created in order to settle the issue.

Such is the importance of the issue, some diplomats stated if the UK agreed to the proposition, a deal could soon be agreed.

JUST IN:Brexit LIVE: Gove to unveil groundbreaking 355million trade system

The diplomat said: There must be a solid framework with independent oversight.

If they agree to settle on broad rules for granting state aid and to have this independent institution, then we have a deal.

The rules surrounding fisheries and the role of the European Court of Justice in British judicial matters also remain undecided.

Similar to the issue of state aid, UK officials have declared any ECJ role in UK judicial matters would keep Britain tied into regulations and rules set by Brussels post-Brexit.

DON'T MISSEU 'to collapse in 10 years' as three countries tipped to leave[Update]Chinas fearsome threat picked apart by Cummings[Latest]SNP ultimatum: MP demands MORE funding from Sunak over furlough scheme[Insight]

In terms of fisheries, the UK is adamant Britain must no longer be under the Common Fisheries Policy.

Under the policy, all coastal areas are placed within the EUs exclusive economic zone.

However, due to the UKs large and rich coastal waters, some have stated the policy allows Europe fishermen to exploit Britains waters.

UK officials want to move away from the policy and set up an agreement similar to Norways fisheries deal with the EU.

Under the agreement, the EU and Norway hold annual negotiations on fishing quotas and access.

Despite the concession from the EU on state aid, Mr Barnier has called for preparations to be made for a no deal Brexit.

Prof De Ruyter concluded: There is scope for both sides to come to a reasonable agreement, but that doesnt mean they will!

At the moment, it is still very unclear what the eventual outcome will be, although I would stress that a no deal scenario would be more costly for the UK than the EU."

Follow this link:

Michel Barnier's 'major' concession on state aid a big win for UK - EU backing down - Daily Express

Democratic candidate Joe Biden is climbing up the polls to take the lead over the incumbent President, Donald Trump, who is running again this year for the Republican Party. The Government under both Theresa May and Boris Johnson has attempted to strengthen the special relationship between the UK and the US during Mr Trumps time in office. Talks of a trade deal with the US after Brexit have been mentioned regularly, as Britain looks to build up its global commerce.

However, Mr Biden has been vocal in his opposition to Brexit in the past so his potential election is reportedly leaving Westminster unsettled.

London correspondent Mark Landler explained at the end of July that Mr Trumps full-throated endorsement of Brexit has made the US a safe harbour.

He continued: His promise of a lucrative trade deal gave Mr Johnson a selling point with his voters.

However, his rival Mr Biden would look out for the interests of Ireland in a post-Brexit Europe, and would have little motive to prioritise an Anglo-American trade deal, according to the commentator.

The senator is a keen Irish-American and has allies in the Democratic Partys Irish lobby.

While the Democratic candidate does have English heritage too, he is more likely to focus on maintaining the Good Friday Agreement.

Mr Trumps predecessor Barack Obama once said that the UK would be at the back of the queue in any trade talks with the US, if it voted to leave the EU.

As the former vice president to President Barack Obama, Mr Biden is likely to follow a similar line.

A former British ambassador to the US, Peter Westmacott, also told the New York Times: It will not be lost on Biden that the last two British prime ministers [Theresa May and Boris Johnson] went out of their way to be nice to and about Trump.

READ MORE:How fisheries have more than just monetary value to Britons

He is instinctively comfortable with Brits, but London will have to work on the relationship.

He added: If the UK ends up with a no deal or other Brexit outcome which is bad news for Ireland he will not be impressed.

Ireland has been an area of concern for many during the Brexit negotiations.

DON'T MISSHow surprise nation has moved to back Ireland after UK departure[INSIGHT]Former Taoiseach revived Project Fear with Northern Ireland warning[EXPLAINED]EU hand laid bare: Ex-Irish PM admitted bloc is lobbying for no deal[REVEALED]

Any hard border between Northern Ireland, which is set to officially leave the EU, and the Republic of Ireland, set to remain in the bloc, caused concern violence could return to the area.

Yet, Mr Johnson addressed the problems head on last year with the then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, and came up with the Northern Ireland Protocol, where a border would be placed down the Irish Sea instead.

Others suggest that Mr Biden could be a better partner for the UK post-Brexit than Trump, because he is a believer in alliances.

Indeed, according to Tim Shipman in The Sunday Times last month, a Government minister admitted that a Trump defeat would make things much easier for Westminster.

The New York Times also suggested that it is not a sudden rupture but a gradual slide into irrelevance that could pose a problem for the UK if relations with the US deteriorate.

The danger would come if Mr Bidens focus fell on the rest of Europe rather than the special relationship with the UK.

Mr Biden said during a visit to the UK in 2018: Had I been a Member of Parliament, had I been a British citizen, I would have voted against leaving.

US interests are diminished with Great Britain not an integral part of Europe.

Mr Johnson has not commented on the US presidential race so far even though Mr Trump gave his vocal support to the Conservatives when he called into a radio show during the general election in December.

Read the original here:

Brexit row: Joe Biden poised to favour Ireland over UK after election - Express

Nick Von Westenholz of the National Farmers' Union arguedBrexit could be very beneficial for farmers in the UK. While speaking to Stephen Cole on CGTN, Mr Westenholz highlighted the changes Boris Johnson's Government would need to implement to ensure British farmers could thrive. He added the benefits of Brexit for farmers are there but there are important steps the Government needs to take after leaving the European Union.

Mr Cole said: "Farmers are also notorious for being pessimists.

"You are a farm owner, are you looking forward to anything good coming out of Brexit?"

Mr Westernholz detailed what benefits UK farmers could expect if the correct policies are introduced by Boris Johnson's Government.

He said: "I have always said that if this is handled correctly, Brexit can work.

DON'T MISS:Brexit breakthrough: Leaver predicts Macron backdown in trade talks

"It is probably a narrow pathway, however.

"But you need to have a good deal with the EU that maintains tariff-free trade and maintains that hugely important market for UK farmers.

"You need to make sure you have got an immigration system that continues to provide the labour that farmers need.

"Often that has been supplied from overseas rather than the domestic market.

"We need a future agricultural support system that supports farmers and helps them become more productive."

Mr Westenholtz also warned of the potential dangers of not making the correct decisions soon after cutting ties with the European Union.

He said: "We need to be really careful not to be rushing into trade deals with other countries that throw farming under the bus.

READ MORE:

House of Lords revolution: Gisela Stuart sets blueprint for shake-up[EXCLUSIVE]Brexit fishing bonanza: Why Britain should not fear WTO[INSIGHT]Jeremy Corbyn admitted NOT including state pension in tax return[REVEALED]

"Instead, over a period of time, we need to be making deals that begin to open up some of the export markets for us.

"All of that is possible and within the gift of Government policy.

"Whether we get it or not is a different question."

Both the EU and UK have admitted current trade deal talks have been inconclusive but both sides remain determined to agree a trade deal by the end of the year.

Originally posted here:

'Pessimistic' Remainer farmers SILENCED as benefits of Brexit on their industry outlined - Daily Express

Theres been a surge in young professionals looking to work remotely for UK companies from abroad before Brexit is completed.

Some young professionals are looking to move before the transition period of Brexit potentially makes it harder to sort out things like healthcare and visas.

Many have enjoyed the freedom of working from home, and have demonstrated to their bosses that their location is irrelevant to the continuing success of the business.

Simon Conn, an expert in overseas property, said: I have been getting enquiries each day from people looking for a mortgage to buy their dream home in sunnier climes.

There is an increasing number of people planning to continue working for their existing UK employer, but basing themselves in their dream destination.

Some 66% of Brits living abroad in the EU are of working age (16-64 years old) and there are currently over five million Britons living overseas.

Conn added: Property costs are often much lower, the standard of living is good, and the stress levels of the daily commute are banished forever.

Meyrick Green, account manager for strategic partnerships for Moneycorp, a foreign exchange company, said: One thing that does need to be considered is the question of healthcare, visas (if needed), right to work and so on.

For Europe this was always relatively easy, but with the transition period of Brexit looming, this might change hence why we are seeing a surge in people wanting to do things now.

Alistair Lockhart, director at French Entre Property, said: We dont ask the age of our prospective buyers as unless they are applying for a mortgage it isnt relevant.

However, it certainly feels like a lot of the enquiries are coming from a slightly younger demographic than the usual band of 30-40-year-old buyers with families.

The appeal of being able to potentially work remotely from a country they have been dreaming about, whilst maintaining their UK salaries, must be hugely appealing.

Read more from the original source:

Young professionals looking to exit before Brexit - Property Wire

The huge divorce bill has been accepted by the UK despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson's resistance and Brexiteer fury. Mr Johnson warned last August that in the event of a no deal, the hefty fee would "not strictly" be owed to Brussels. He said: If we come out without an agreement it is certainly true that the 39billion is no longer, strictly speaking, owed. However, given the UK has now accepted that it will pay per the financial settlement refusal to now could provoke the EU to take the case to the International Court of Justice. Much to the dismay of leavers in the UK, the divorce bill could still be being paid off by 2060, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility. The OBR estimated in January that the bill stood at just under 30billion most of this to be paid by 2022, with some relatively small payments still being made until the 2060s. However, clauses in the UK's withdrawal agreement with the EU threatens to pile on further costs.

The OBR figure of 33billion for the divorce bill is not an absolute number more of an estimate.

But on top of this, there are future liabilities in the small print of the withdrawal agreement which could lead to yet more disputes between Brussels and London.

The UK's future liabilities covers 50 pages of the agreement, and outlines that different parts of the EU have made long-dated loans or financial commitments during the UK's time in the bloc.

The agreement, which was passed by Parliament and settled on by both the UK and the EU, saddles Britain with a responsibility to pay for a portion of any future losses on those loans and financial commitments, regardless of whether any benefit was reaped from them.

One caveat is that this only applies to loans and commitments made when the UK was still a member state.

The withdrawal agreement states that the UK will pay a portion through the EU budget around 12 percent because that is the average contribution the UK made between 2014-2018.

The document states that including 2019 and 2020 in the calculation would make this figure smaller because the pound weakened against the euro following the EU referendum result and has remained at a lower level since".

It adds: This makes the UK economy appear relatively smaller and means the UK will make relatively smaller contributions to the EU budget.

However, this figure is changeable. For example, if a country in southern Europe finds itself in economic turmoil, the UK may have to up its contribution to compensate.

This total liability now amounts to 166billion through the EU Budget and 33billion in subscribed-but-not-called capital in the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Central Bank (ECB).

Additionally, in a crisis, the UK would hope to see its paid-in capital of 3.25billion in the EIB and ECB written off.

The amount at risk of 166billion through the EU Budget could rise by to 344billion during 2021 thanks to the headroom in and carry-over provision for the 2014-2020 EU budget period.

READ MORE:Westminster at war: Lords diversity row laid bare amid abolition calls

Should losses materialise, the UK's payments would be debited to the UK's budget, the Telegraph reported in July.

Whether the labyrinth of financial obligations would still be owed to the EU in the event on no deal is still debated amongst legal experts.

A House of Lords European Union Committee report published last October highlighted this.

It said: "Legal experts continue to disagree over the extent to which the UK would have outstanding financial obligations to the EU, or vice versa, in the event of a no deal Brexit.

"The difficulties in enforcing any possible financial obligations do not mean that there might not be a breach of international law if the UK were to withhold payments."

Brexit trade talks have seen the risk of no deal become ever more apparent as government sources said last month that the EU's approach has resulted in "paralysis".

DON'T MISS

UK fishermen's fury at EU demands revealed 'Helping nobody!'[INSIGHT]

Angela Merkel warned UK 'won't get what it wants' from Brexit[ANALYSIS]

How 'no one believes' Nicola Sturgeon on independence[INSIGHT]

Brexit negotiations have stalled in recent months over two key issues fisheries and regulatory alignment.

Mr Johnson wants to fulfil a Leave campaign promise that the UK will take back control of its waters post-Brexit.

Previously, EU vessels had free access to British fishing grounds, leaving many fishermen in the UK aggrieved.

However, the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier has warned Mr Johnson he cannot secure access to European markets without allowing EU vessels into UK waters.

The UK is also looking to avoid EU regulations giving the country more freedom to set its own laws on trading standards.

View original post here:

Brexit outrage: UK could have to pay BILLIONS more to EU after withdrawal - Express

Brexit has sparked an exodus of economically productive people from the UK to European Union nations on a scale that would normally be expected only as a result of a major economic or political crisis, according to a detailed new study.

Using a combination of official statistics across the EU and in-depth interviews with people living in Germany, the study found huge changes in migration patterns of UK citizens since the 2016 referendum, which contrast with largely stable ones among nationals from the 27 EU states remaining in the bloc.

The report, a collaboration between the Oxford in BerlinResearch Partnership a project made up of Oxford university and four Berlin institutions and the WZB Berlin Social Science Center, also found a seismic shift in the number of UK citizens already living abroad who had decided to go a step further by obtaining EU member state passports since 2016, showing how Britains vote to leave the EU pushed many individuals into long-term decisions.

The study says that migration from the UK to EU countries has increased by about 30% compared to pre-Brexit numbers. Britons living in other EU countries who decided to obtain EU member state passports as well as their UK ones had increased by more than 500% overall, and by 2,000% in Germany.

Dr Daniel Auer, a co-author of the report, said: These increases in numbers are of a magnitude that you would expect when a country is hit by a major economic or political crisis.

Moreover, the study found that UK migrants are among the most educated and skilled of those from any nation, with one of the highest net average income rates, suggesting that Brexit has begun a steady drain of the most talented and productive people to the continent.

In Germany, UK migrants were among the highest earners, bringing in on average 2,812 a month in 2019, just behind those from Austria and the US.

There are now about 1.2 million British citizens living in the EU, between 120,000 and 150,000 of which are in Germany. In the four years since the Brexit referendum, 31,600 Brits have been granted dual British/German citizenship: 2019 saw 14,600 naturalisations compared to 622 in 2015.

About half of all British citizens living in Germany will have dual UK/German nationality by the end of 2020, the report says.

Interviews with UK citizens living and working in Germany showed Brexit had made people prepared to take on levels of risk that they previously would not have considered.

A British academic in his 40s, who is married with a young family and who migrated in July 2016 told researchers: The referendum happened and we immediately changed our minds about buying a house in Bristol. Our whole emigration decision hung on the referendum result.

The majority of interviewees who left agreed to either a pay cut or a pay freeze as part of their decision. Some struggled to find a job. I have still not found work, which is not what I expected [] The cost of the move in personal and financial terms is always difficult to foresee, and Im starting to wonder if I underestimated the risk involved, said a British IT worker who migrated in October 2019 with his wife and three children.

Co-author Daniel Tetlow added: Were observing a new social migration phenomenon and a redefining of what it means to be British-European. In 2019, Brits came in just behind Turks in numbers receiving German citizenship way ahead of Poles, Romanians, Iraqis or Syrians, whom you might otherwise expect to be more eagerly applying for German/EU citizenship.

Read more:

Brexit fuels brain drain as skilled Britons head to the EU - The Guardian

Ill listen Kev but it must be a tax free six figure sum. Frank Walker tells readers not to get upset and stressed about me. Neither letter makes any attempt to explain how Brexit will benefit us facts please, countries who will buy something from us that they arent buying at the moment.

Countries that will give us orders as profitable as those we receive from the EU. Both letters mock my intelligence but neither letter writer explains what great achievements they have obtained that entitle them to believe that they know better than me.

I didnt stay on in sixth form so dont have educational qualifications beyond GCE O levels.

However, if I am going to seek an opinion on important subjects like Brexit I prefer to get it from those who have worked and studied for years to enhance their careers. Let me give Kev and Frank a couple of statistics. 90 per cent of academics voted to remain in the EU. In 2017 researchers at Leicester University found that levels of intelligence were more significant than age, gender, income or local immigrant levels when it came to voting to remain or leave.

Personally I prefer to listen to those who have sat down and done their sums rather than those who think Nigel Farage would be a great bloke to have a drink with. Not that I want to make a meal of it but I did write earlier in the year saying that his Brexit Party would go the same way as UKIP.

Roger Watts, Walsall

Read the original:

Letter: Facts, please, on how Brexit will help our country - expressandstar.com

Britain and the EU have agreed to continue discussing a free trade deal until October 2. The UK's chief Brexit negotiator David Frost announced: Negotiating rounds will take place in August and in September, unless agreed otherwise between the parties." Despite the new timetable, neither side is expecting a breakthrough.

A fifth round of talks broke out in London at the end of last month, with Mr Frost's counterpart Michel Barnier saying a trade deal with the UK by the end of the year appears unlikely.

Downing Street is said to be working on the assumption Britain will have no trade deal in place when the transition period ends on December 31.

As tensions are set to rise in the incoming weeks, a paper by the Foundation for Independence sheds light on what role the UK could play in the Indo-Pacific region instead.

The pro-Brexit think tank argues that as the UK reclaims its sovereignty from Brussels, it must ensure that it does not allow itself to become overly dependent on any other nations, including, and perhaps especially, China.

On the other hand, the study suggests, Britain should be working extremely hard to strengthen its ties with India, a Commonwealth country, as well as other growing economies such as Vietnam, Taiwan, and South Korea.

The latter three countries should be at the forefront of trade talks with the UK, the paper adds.

Moreover, the report said the Pacific region and Pacific Trade Partnership also has developed democracies in the shape of Japan, Malaysia, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the latter being Commonwealth countries, with whom Britain can re-establish trade links and develop still deeper political and cultural ties.

The paper read: "The adoption of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) strategy should be the metaphorical constitution of UK activity in the region.

JUST IN:Belgium and Spain tipped to destroy Scotland's EU dream

"It should be the set of guiding principles that prescribe the necessary action for any given situation. It would help to ensure a consistency of British action which has hitherto been lacking.

"This would provide greater confidence in the UK from its allies, and a greater understanding by adversaries of what motivates specific UK responses.

"It would also align the UK with the regions other democratic states. India, Japan,the United States, Australia, South Korea, and even Taiwan all have strategies that could be recognised as akin to the FOIP proposal."

The key themes across these nations FOIP strategies, the report noted, are: support for multilateral bodies such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), an unwavering respect for the sovereignty of all states, the importance of free trade for global prosperity, the peaceful resolution of disputes through intentional forums, and the importance of open investment in Southeast Asia.

Given the current supremacy of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) particular credence should apparently be given to this last point.

The study explained: "For too long the BRI has been the only infrastructure game in town for Southeast Asian states. The primary intention of this policy is to multiply Chinese hegemony and influence through the creation of 'debt colonies.

"A multilateral FOIP strategy must offer governments a viable alternative to over-reliance on this geopolitical weapon."

DON'T MISS:SNP leaders secret Nazi plot laid bare by bombshell MI5 dossier[INSIGHT]Iceland's Brexit calls exposed: 'Life outside bloc is lovely!'[ANALYSIS]Nigel Farage's radical calls for NEW electoral system exposed[REVEALED]

Moreover, according to the report, the UK's FOIP strategy should go beyond simply signing Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with surging economies.

It will have to lay the foundations for a more comprehensive engagement with the region; diplomatically, culturally, and economically.

The authors wrote: "This would be a form of 'critical geopolitics, which stipulates that the UKs position in the world is not pre-determined by geography as much as it is by internal aspirations, and the successful enactment of these aspirations.

"It moves beyond the outdated territorial paradigm of geopolitics, and reconceives of it as the nexus between a states interests and its strategic ability to self-reliantly defend them."

This could for example be achieved through high profile visits (both military and political) with India, South Korea, and Japan in a more "synergised manner".

The study concluded: "Dialling up the intensity with which London approaches the governments of India, Japan and South Korea will enable the UK to craft a major role for itself in future global debates.

"Whilst the region may currently be seen as slightly esoteric and irrelevant, it is the theatre within which the values most important to British prosperity will face the greatest threat.

"Upgrading Britains awareness of the region is more than just a fanciful overindulgence.

"It is a foreign policy necessity."

Read more:

Brexit and beyond! UKs exciting new role in Indo-Pacific region explained - Express

Luke Harding and Mark Townsend report that from Moscow, Brexit is seen as a wild success, diminishing the UK and estranging London from its European partners And MI6 failed to ask its secret agents what exactly the Kremlin was up to (Timid, incompetent how our spies missed Russias bid to sway Brexit, News). You do not require a degree in geopolitics to understand why a weakened Russia, believing itself threatened by Nato and the west generally, needs, and works for, a weakened west.

Carole Cadwalladr (The Russia report shows we have a national security problem. He lives in No 10, Comment) observes: The Russians stand accused of exploiting with disinformation and lies the same platform that Johnsons chief aide, Dominic Cummings, exploited with disinformation and lies. Is anyone asking what Cummings was up to in his three years in Russia? Given that your opinion poll (News) indicates that almost half of the people interviewed believe the Russian government interfered with the referendum, is it out of the question to challenge, even at this late date, the validity of the 2016 result? This is not to challenge democracy. It could be to challenge possible treason.John AirsLiverpool

MI5s failure to investigate Russian interference in the EU referendum was either because the government ordered it or MI5 itself chose not to do so for fear of becoming involved in politics. Also, its report was completed in March 2019 but did not reach Boris Johnson until the following October, plenty of time for government to tamper with the report. This as published contains nothing to justify withholding it before the general election. The entire episode reeks to high heaven, just like our politics in general.James RobertsonPembury, Tunbridge WellsKent

Shane Hickey discusses the issues facing employees and employers as home working seems likely to continue (As home working becomes the new normal, know your rights, Cash). A major advantage for the individual is avoidance of the time and cost of commuting.

But, while some relish the daytime involvement of other members of the household, this can also be distracting. Conversely, solitary workers may feel isolated and lonely. The lack of structured hours, while sometimes providing valuable flexibility (for example for the school run), may erode what otherwise would be free time.

There is another possibility. Local office hubs might develop, perhaps replacing vacant shops. Individuals from various firms could rent a workplace with suitable desk and chair and internet access. The journey to work might be only a 10-minute walk, there would be chats around the water cooler and scope for meeting over lunch. The whole package would replace the missing social features of the office and might best suit some workers.David WatkinLeicester

In her excellent article, Jemma Kennedy writes movingly about her symptoms following coronavirus and makes connections with the experience of our first cousins whose lives have been devastated by the much misunderstood illness ME/CFS (Im a Covid-19 long hauler. For us, there is no end in sight, Comment). Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome profoundly affects the health and lives of sufferers for many months, years or decades.

Kennedy identifies the profound challenges of people living with ME/CFS, for example, in gaining a diagnosis, the lack of an evidence-based treatment and, most significantly, the disbelief even within families and sometimes the medical profession. This latter can lead to isolation and despair.

Covid-19 has been an unrelenting nightmare for too many people but if we emerge from the experience with a greater openness, compassion and understanding for people living with related hidden illnesses such as ME/CFS, that would be a silver lining, a glimmer of hope for the 250,000 people who live with the condition in the UK.David Oddie, Hilary DoeStoke Climsland, CallingtonCornwall

Andrew Rawnsleys interim report on Keir Starmers leadership shows an encouraging start (The Tories are struggling to find a way to make Keir Starmer look bad, Comment). Many people I spoke to last December saw the general election as a Mortons fork: Boris Johnson was simply less undesirable than Jeremy Corbyn, both in personality and manifesto.

What seems surprising is that so many of the electorate still fail to recognise Johnson as a self-centred and shallow bully. Starmer may be accused of being dull and wooden but that seems misplaced were looking to a potential prime minister. The irony is that Johnson could become a leading Labour sponsor in the popularity stakes as the flip-flops that Rawnsley refers to are increasingly perceived as flop-flops.John TrounceHove, East Sussex

The problem that needs to be solved by car manufacturers is not so much the 1,800 deaths that occur on our roads each year, but the 64,000 premature deaths that occur annually from air pollution (Driving may never be the same again. But what a ride its been!, Focus).

This has been given renewed urgency by the realisation that Covid-19 mortality is closely linked to levels of air pollution. Thus city dwellers are between 40% and 80% more likely to die from Covid-19 than their rural counterparts, an observation that would go a long way to explain the higher mortality among members of the BAME community.Robin Russell-Jones, scientific adviser, all-party parliamentary group on air pollutionMarlow, Buckinghamshire

View original post here:

Letters: Russian meddling is at the heart of Brexit - The Guardian

Michael Gove is standing in a public waste disposal site in west London, objective reality dissolving around him, surrounded by a semicircle of imaginary attendants he has made himself from discarded rubbish; mop-handle spines, coathanger arms, sofa cushion bodies, and rotting rubber football heads. These are my attendants, Leapy Lee, he cried up at me, his eyes Bolivian bright, they are immensely dignified and they are real. But there were scarcely 10 false attendants, and they had taken Gove a week to make. I could have made that many in a day. I suddenly had my first inkling of the gulf between reality and the Brexit governments acceptance of it. Why was I here?

Some years prior to the peak of Michael Goves Colombian period, and before he was an MP, I was assigned to be the young satirical journalists additional material-writer on the boldly experimental 1992 Channel 4 comedy show, A Stab in the Arras. In each of the 36 episodes, the restaurant critic Tracey MacLeod flamboyantly operated a giant fairground waltzer, intermittently carrying the shows other stars, Michael Gove, and David Baddiel (in a succession of culturally insensitive hats), past the lens of a fixed-position camera. Its microphone caught muffled snatches of context-free satirical opinion that faded into incoherence as the ride revolved, largely drowned out by the sound of the Wurlitzer organ.

Audiences were baffled and many viewers subsequently became hermaphrodites, though the show has a bizarre half-life in a remote Patagonian commune. There, a devoted cult still believe that the 25-year-old Gove, a nagapie-faced avatar of cosmic justice whom they call the Night Monkey, was mouthing hidden revelations of the End Times.

A disorienting incident that left me scooping a babbling future chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster up off a patch of Wormwood Scrubs waste ground, and then burning the soiled lemming costume I found him wearing, led to my diplomatic dismissal. But I know Gove, a fellow orphan, has taken a fatherly, if unwelcome, interest in me since, and I often fancy I see him lurking out of view, furtively watching me, at motorway service stations, mountaintop cairns, agricultural shows, or kiosks.

Though we have never met, I was therefore not surprised when Goves partner, the Daily Mail thought-sluice Sarah Vine, contacted me through a third party to solicit aid. Gove, who had just been filmed recommending that the public scavenge rubbish dumps for their needs, and saying that a dozen massive Brexit lorry parks which were actually being built werent actually being built, was missing. Maybe someone from the days before the coca vine entangled Gove, who was now rumoured to dwell in one of the very rubbish tips he had recommended that the electorate scour, could help? Was this the spiritual toll of denying objective truths on a daily basis?

It is, for example, expecting a lot of the Brexit government to act on the evidence of the Russia report. The current Conservative machine re-edited news footage to discredit Keir Starmer, faked Brexit Facebook posts to respond to dubiously harvested data, and, during the last election, temporarily renamed its own website Factcheckuk, when 88% of its own online electoral communications were proven to be factually inaccurate. Lies are the lubricant of the Brexit governments daily assaults on the orifices of the body politic. How can the prime minister, in good conscience, take action against the same methods that have secured his own white-fisted grip on the bruised and wilting organ of battered Brexit Britain?

The Covid Government continues to ignore its own documented misdemeanours, like a smoking assassin calmly walking away from an exploding building in a video game, having calmly paused to light a match on the stubble of a slaughtered opponent. As long ago as May 2016, when the fact-checking charity Full Fact pointed out that Michael Gove had lied about the EU wanting to ban kettles, he insisted his lies were not lies and doesnt even seem to believe the basic idea of truth has any value.

I found Gove at the rubbish dump easily enough, following the sound of his voice through canyons of discarded white goods. We hold all the cards and we can choose the path we want! he shouted, lost in a maze of broken toilets. But he held only dirty bus tickets, and he wore just a Happy Shopper bag, with holes cut for his two legs. Ah Leapy Lee! he cried. Do you like my facemask? It is deluxe. Gove had an old Bazooka Joe bubblegum wrapper stuck to his cheek with saliva, flapping uselessly in the breeze. I wont wear them anyway. I agree with Donald Trump. I went in his lift, you know? An immensely dignified African American attendant was kitted out in frock-coat and white cotton gloves. It was as though the Great Glass Elevator from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory had been restyled by Donatella Versace, then staffed by the casting director for Gone With the Wind.

I found it hard to concentrate. One of Goves testicles was poking out of the Happy Shopper bag, the sick egg of a Chernobyl pigeon. Ah Leapy! he exclaimed. I see you admire my briefs. They are Calvin Kleins. Its like Boris was made to say. I have more Calvin Kleins than Keir Starmer. No. That isnt right. Its the other way round, Leapy. Calvin Starmer has more briefs than Keir Cline. That is the sort of thing we must say. Ha! Id make you a cup of tea, Leapy, but kettles have been banned by the EU. I decide what is true, Leapy. And I am absolutely right to do this! Have you met my attendants?

Living in a world of perpetual lies cant be good for the Conservatives souls. Unless they already sold them to devils years ago, in the form of rich Russian oligarchs spouses, taking tea on the lawn. Again. Anyone for tennis? New balls please!

Originally posted here:

The Brexit government is lost in a fog of lies - The Guardian

European affairs minister Michael Roth accused Boris Johnsons negotiating team rowing back on previous agreements with the bloc. Berlin is disappointed that London is shifting further and further away from the Political Declaration agreed between us as a reliable basis for the negotiations, he fumed. I would like those responsible in London to be more realistic and pragmatic.

The wrangling over a free-trade agreement has broken up for a short summer break without any significant breakthroughs.

The UK and EU are still yet to find agreements on key issues such as the regulatory level-playing field and future access to Britains fishing grounds.

Michel Barnier, the blocs chief Brexit negotiator, will host his UK counterpart David Frost on August 17 in Brussels for the next round of trade talks.

The bureaucrat is said to be exploring possible compromises in order to unlock the negotiations after months of deadlock.

But European sources have suggested it could still be too early to unveil the concessions with the trade talks expected to run until Halloween.

UK and EU officials have arranged two further negotiating weeks between September and October in the hope of brokering an agreement after missing the Prime Ministers summer target for a trade deal.

Both sides have agreed to pursue a barebones agreement because of the lack of time available before the end of the transition period in December.

The lack of ambition has upset ministers in Germany, who wanted to see a much more comprehensive future relationship pact agreed between London and Brussels.

Mr Roth said he was concerned with the lack of foreign affairs and security cooperation being discussed as part of the talks.

MUST READ:Cummings and Farage inspire Frexit group to drag France out of the EU

The German minister insisted it was more important than ever to have close ties between the EU and UK.

In the geopolitically uncomfortable post-corona world, good and trustworthy partners are all the more important, he said.

Close cooperation in this areas is in both sides interest. But it is clear that we need two to tango at the moment, were dancing while standing still.

DON'T MISSChampagne-guzzling eurocrats to splurge 677k on EU cocktail parties[EXCLUSIVE]EU snub: How fisheries have more than just monetary value to Britons[INSIGHT]Macron's 'tough-guy' stance on Brexit exposed[REPORT]

Britain wants to maintain security and defence ties with Brussels but has rejected a institutionalised relationship.

Downing Street instead wants to utilise other international pacts, such as the transatlantic Nato alliance.

Germany has listed the post-Brexit trade deal as one of the main priorities for its EU presidency, which it holds until the end of the year.

Here is the original post:

Brexit rant unleashed on UK by Germany as Britain attacked for lack of 'realism' - Daily Express

The European Fund and Asset Management Association has urged the European Commission to relax its controversial performance forecast regulations or risk their sector being left behind by the UK after Brexit. The leading trade group wants Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products Regulation, which requires firms to publish key documents to would-be investors, should be renounced until a full policy review can be carried out. Priips was introduced in 2018 with the hope of making investment products easier to understand.

But critics claim the regulation is cumbersome and unreliable with firms ordered to make public performance projections in different market conditions.

In a letter to the Commission, Efama has urged eurocrats to fix the flaws to avoid further confusion among investors and preserve the worldwide eruption of the Ucits framework.

EU retail funds Ucits do not have to comply with Priips until 2020.

Efama fears this doesnt give enough time to fix the flaws regulation and wants the exemption to be extended.

Brussels attempt to broker a fresh solution is deadlocked after months of fighting between politicians and regulators.

While the EU talks stall, the Government last week issued detailed plans to change the Priips rules from next year.

Under the blueprint, UK investment will be permitted to ignore the rules for up to five years while the Treasury reviews its investment product disclosure framework.

Andreas Stepnitzka, a senior policy adviser at Efama, claimed the UKs move would give it a competitive advantage over the EUs fund industry.

Its concerning to note that the first areas of divergence between the EU and UK will be the Priips, he told the FT.

Does the UK believe that a more investor-friendly framework will be a main selling point for the UKs post-Ucits regime?

MUST READ:Brexit fishing bonanza: Why Britain should not fear WTO

In any case, the EU should not be complacent.

The Investment Association, a lobby group for UK asset managers, welcomed the Governments plans to overhaul Priips, which it branded not fit for purpose.

Chris Cummings, its chief executive, said: Clear and meaningful disclosure is the foundation for effective communication and building customer trust.

DON'T MISSBrexit: Boris warned conceding to EU would be 'catastrophic weakness'[ANALYSIS]Boris urged to force no deal Brexit - This farce has gone on too long[POLL]EU rejects IDS' call to rip up Brexit deal amid fears of 160bn bill[INSIGHT]

Mikkel Bates, a regulations manager at FE fundinfo, claimed the Treasurys announcement provided little help to asset managers with funds based in the EU.

He said: The Treasury no longer has any influence over EU regulators or legislators, so cannot get involved over disagreements concerning what to include in the Priips disclosures in Europe.

Until this is resolved, any sensible changes from the Treasury will only drive the UK further away from the standards set beyond our shores.

More:

EU panic: European firms make plea for help over fears Boris Johnson will rip up red tape - Daily Express

CEO of campaign group The Freedom Association, Simon Richards, argued a Brexit trade deal between the UK and EU was likely to be agreed. While speaking to Jonathan Saxty with Brexit Watch, Mr Richards claimed the French President Emmanuel Macron would eventually concede in the Brexit trade talks. The Brexiteer added President Macron and other EU member state leaders would complain but eventually agree to an equally beneficial trade deal with the UK.

Mr Richards admitted Boris Johnson and his negotiating team may also complain about the agreement of a trade deal but would have ultimately succeeded in their Brexit trade deal goals.

Mr Richards said: "If I were a betting man which I am not despite making money in 2016 on Brexit.

"If I were a betting man I would still say the likelihood is that there will be a deal, a deal that works for both sides."

The Brexiteer outlined how this would likely happen and how the EU would attempt to save face.

DON'T MISS:Boris must make TWO crucial changes to make UK a Brexit powerhouse

He said: "What usually happens is that you would likely get Emmanuel Macron saying 'That David Frost and those Brits were so tough.

"'The Brits got a completely outrageous deal but we did the best for the EU.'"

Mr Richards hinted the UK may apply a similar attitude after trade talks have concluded.

He said: "Equally I think you will get David Frost and Boris Johnson saying those French people drove a hard bargain.

"But at this point, everybody is happy then."

Mr Richard also argued in favour of a no deal Brexit and insisted the UK would be perfectly fine trading off World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules.

He continued: "That said, I would have no problem whatsoever with having a no deal, WTO terms.

"Personally I would quite like that, I think that would be my preference.

READ MORE:

Boris must make TWO crucial changes to make UK a Brexit powerhouse[EXCLUSIVE]EU snub: How fisheries have more than just monetary value to Britons[INSIGHT]Macron's 'tough-guy' stance on Brexit exposed[REPORT]

"In that scenario, you are just not beholden to anybody and then you can build on that from day one.

"I think there is a mistake in thinking that everything has to be absolutely just-so from midnight at the end of the year.

"These things can be done in bits, in my view."

Both the UK and EU have admitted little progress has been made in the Brexit trade deal talks but insisted they will continue to press on in hopes of securing a trade deal.

Read the rest here:

Brexit breakthrough: Leaver predicts Macron will back down as UK heads for win-win deal - Express

Even with the Eurosceptic Lega party out of harm's way and a massive 209bn sweetener from the EU to help Rome's coronavirus woes it still looks like clever money especially when the Italians twig that as net EU contributors it was their cash all along. But I've always favoured the longer shots, the higher stakes / higher reward gamble, and if pushed I'd say don't dismiss an each way flutter on France.

This morning you could get 10/1.

Which is prescient because this morning too on the other side of the Channel a little anti-EU pressure group was started by a fellow called Charles-Henri Gallois with the slogan take back control.

In polite liberal circles of course Mr Gallois (could he be more French with that name) is being mocked as a no-hoper fringe populist.

On this side of the Channel we have a touch more respect for no-hoper fringe populists these days.

Funny piece of political nomenclature that sneering word 'populist' isn't it? As if being popular with the rank and file public is something far too grubby for the great and the good to sully themselves with.

It's actually the root cause of the EU's massive popularity problems the simple inability to see life from the point of view of the voting rank and file.

It's too early to tell what kind of a man Charles-Henri is.

On the face of it he is just the latest among a growing clamour of political activists who've simply had enough.

Had enough of being dictated to by the above-mentioned arrogant, undemocratic burghers of Brussels.

Had enough of being told how they can and can't spend their money.

Had enough of a supranational state being built on the quiet, as very well-paid politicians with their own agendas milk the system use bait and switch tactics to keep us looking the other way.

DON'T MISS:Brexit breakthrough: How Britain could strike 'Ukraine Plus' deal[ANALYSIS]UK closer to FTA as Barnier drops TWO major objections[REVEALED]EU to 'copy Roman Empire with great expansion'[INSIGHT]

And perhaps even more frighteningly have had enough of how this inability to connect with the rank and file gives succour to the real political lunatics the architects of the EU desperately hoped the project would snuff out forever.

But decades of mismanagement and political disconnect has created the exact opposite.

It is entirely understandable that many people, for entirely right and laudable reasons, wish to leave the EU there's 17.2million of us over here for starters.

But the EU has created an environment which fosters real evil too.

There is a gaping chasm between parties and pressure groups who have simply lost patience with Brussels and their more deeply sinister counterparts who use anti-EU rhetoric as a respectable cover to hide their racist, homophobic and politically hideous agendas.

Strangely this gaping chasm does not seem that obvious to all.

But it needs to be. While both the EU (and national governments) continue to fail to properly address the needs of the people and gain their respect they open doors for the viler end of the political spectrum.

Having a flutter on the next country to leave the EU is a bit of harmless fun but unless Brussels starts to properly address the needs and concerns of the man and woman in the streets there will be no winners.

See the rest here:

Brexit, Frexit, Grexit, Italexit - the whole EU house of cards is about to collapse - Express

LONDON (Reuters) - Sterling, which was approaching a five-month high on Wednesday, is expected to lose some of those gains this year amid Brexit and coronavirus fears before recovering in 2021, a Reuters poll found.

FILE PHOTO: Pound coins are seen in this photo illustration taken in Manchester, Britain September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo

The pound registered its biggest monthly rise in more than a decade in July, although its ascent was mainly due to a weaker dollar after a surge in U.S. coronavirus cases and unease about the upcoming presidential election.

But fears of a second wave of infections in Britain, already the hardest-hit European country, have capped the pounds advance and according to a new study published on Tuesday a resurgence of the pandemic could be twice as bad as the initial outbreak.

Also containing sterling strength is a weak economy and growing pressure to strike a Brexit trade deal before a transition period ends in December, prompting traders and investors to be wary of the pounds prospects.

The July 31-Aug. 5 poll of around 60 foreign exchange strategists said the pound would dip to $1.29 in a month and to $1.28 in three months before returning to current levels in a years time. It was trading around $1.31 on Wednesday.

The dip is because it seems like the uncertainty over Brexit will continue until we get to around September or October, so until we know what is going on it cant trade as well, said Jordan Rochester at Nomura.

I lean towards a deal, but it doesnt mean the same euphoria for sterling as it used to. The deal will be bare bones - it might be that in Q1 we are still adjusting to a new trading agreement and you do see all of the foretold Brexit border chaos.

Illustrating the murky outlook, the 12-month forecast horizon was wide - from $1.18 to $1.44.

Reuters polls since the June 2016 referendum to quit the EU have consistently said the two sides would eventually agree a free-trade deal, but talks have been troubled.

Without an agreement, trade and financial ties between the worlds fifth-largest economy and its biggest trading partner would collapse overnight, spreading havoc among markets and businesses.

Against the euro, little movement was expected. One euro was worth around 90.3 pence On Wednesday, and the poll suggested it would be worth 90.0p in a month and 89.0p in a year.

Reporting by Jonathan Cable; polling by Sarmista Sen and Khushboo Mittal; editing by Larry King

Read the original here:

Sterling to dip this year as Brexit uncertainty swirls - Reuters poll - Reuters

PUBLISHED: 11:50 03 August 2020

Adrian Zorzut

A Stena Line ferry in Belfast Port; Niall Carson

PA Wire/PA Images

The governments plan to build free trade zones - known as freeports - across Britain after Brexit will have minimal material effect on the UK economy, a report has claimed.

Email this article to a friend

To send a link to this page you must be logged in.

Become a Supporter

Almost four years after its creation The New European goes from strength to strength across print and online, offering a pro-European perspective on Brexit and reporting on the political response to the coronavirus outbreak, climate change and international politics. But we can only continue to grow with your support.

Researchers from the University of Sussexs UK Trade Policy Observatory (UKTPO) found that the economic upside of building 10 freeports across the country was so small that it would be almost non-existent.

Under the initiative, which is being championed by chancellor Rishi Sunak, firms can import components and other pre-manufactured goods to be built in the UK and only pay a lower tariff on the finished product. The cost-saving of wavering duty on raw goods, known as tariff inversion, is expected to boost trade through British ports.

But in research commissioned by UKGT the scheme is found to support less than one percent of British importers.

The fundamental thing is that the trade benefits of a freeport are almost non-existent, mentioned Peter Holmes, a UKTPO fellow who co-authored the report.

The only benefit might be in some sort of enterprise or urban regeneration zone but that has nothing to do with the port aspect.

The Treasury has long touted duty diversion as a catalyst for boosting trade after Brexit but the initiative, introduced in May, will have a minimal effect compared to economic benefits of remaining in the EU single market.

Researchers said that of the 20 most imported goods - accounting for roughly 40% of the UKs import market - a whopping 12 were already duty-free while none had a levy greater than four percent.

They said pet food and dairy producers were one of the few industry sectors set to capitalise on the programme. Combined, those businesses make up 0.6% of UKs overall imports.

Up to 21 ports across the UK are vying to become a free trade zone.

Last month, cabinet minister Michael Gove announced a 700 million funding package to prepare British ports for Brexit.

In July, the government also launched its latest media blitz to prepare businesses for the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31, costing taxpayers 93 million.

Almost four years after its creation The New European goes from strength to strength across print and online, offering a pro-European perspective on Brexit and reporting on the political response to the coronavirus outbreak, climate change and international politics. But we can only rebalance the right wing extremes of much of the UK national press with your support. If you value what we are doing, you can help us by making a contribution to the cost of our journalism.

Read more:

Government's post-Brexit 'freeport' scheme tipped to make 'no material effect' on UK economy - The New European

Brexit impact: Health and brain research

Over the last decades, collaboration between the EU27 countries and the UK has been an important factor driving research and innovation in a wide range of therapeutic areas and ensuring the availability of innovative treatments, including in the brain research space. The UK has been a major contributor to health research and clinical trials in Europe and UK partners are often closely involved in research projects funded by the EU. The UK has supported and participated in a wide range of EU health-related programmes, platforms and networks, with many UK-based institutions leading research consortia.

Moreover, the EU27 and UK currently closely cooperate as regards the authorisation, testing and mutual recognition of medicines and medical devices, which is crucial for ensuring patient access to potentially life-saving treatments. These issues have become even more important in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which makes it paramount that health collaboration, to the greatest possible extent, is maintained after the transition period ends on 31st December 2020.

If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, its that, as a Union, we are not fully prepared nor capable of individually tackling the majority of health epidemics we are currently facing or will potentially face in the coming future. Understanding even the basic mechanisms of cancer took researchers decades and still today, an EU cancer plan and mission is a basic necessity for the continued research behind the disease. What can be said for diseases of the brain, which continue to both confound and fascinate researchers all over the world? COVID-19 shook European health systems to their cores and continues to do so until some form of normal can be found through the discovery of a vaccine. In times of lockdown and the unknown, we forget that many other diseases exist albeit non-communicable that continue to affect people without proper treatment or cures in sight.

The work of organisations like the European Brain Council, calling on the European Institutions to acknowledge the full burden of brain disorders, stems from a disproportionate response from most health and research-related frameworks in addressing the burden. In outlining its recent plans for the EU4Health programme, the European Commission speaks of non- communicable diseases (NCDs) and mentions mental health in areas where action is required, but neurology has been omitted, as previously, from the Commissions health priorities.

Brain disorders neurological and mental alike join musculoskeletal disorders, cardiovascular disorders and tumours to make up the largest burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in Europe and worldwide. In fact, due to a rapidly ageing society, brain disorders, when combined, look set to become the leading burden on society. Strikingly, brain disorders account for roughly a third of total years lost to death and disability from all diseases globally1 and neurological disorders alone are the leading cause of death worldwide second only to heart disease.2 Despite progress by researchers, this burden continues to grow as the population ages and science cannot keep up with the pace. The brain community can, for the most part, identify the largest needs: sustained funding and support play a key role, but strengthened and improved frameworks for collaboration in research play the largest role if any progress can be made to address this NCDs epidemic.

The UK and the EU27 countries are currently in the process of negotiating the agreement on the future relationship between the two blocs. Given the many health-related issues that are at stake, it is crucial that health does not get overlooked in the current negotiations. Amongst other issues, this would entail that customs cooperation on medicines and medical devices as well as reciprocal healthcare arrangements are maintained and preserved as part of the future relationship.

Furthermore, the UK has contributed greatly to health research funded under EU research schemes. As part of the ongoing negotiations, the UK and the EU have been discussing the possible participation of the UK in EU programmes, including in the Horizon Europe programme that is set to start in 2021. In order for this important collaboration in health and research to prosper, it is key that decision-makers commit to full association of the UK to the Horizon Europe programme as well as UK inclusion in Europe-wide research projects and partnerships.

No further barriers should be put in place that hinder EU and UK scientists in their efforts to work, travel and conduct research in both blocs and UK and EU regulations across research and clinical trials should remain aligned. This would not only enable the extended Europe to remain a hub for research and innovation, but it would ultimately also strengthen the work of both the UK and EU governments to address the impact of brain disorders, which are widespread and highly disabling conditions.

We must learn from the COVID-19 experience that we are stronger and more capable when working in collaboration. Though the UK breaks away from the Union, it is crucial that our partnership and collaboration remains, for the sake of cross-border science, education and for the future of brain research and those it impacts.

Editor's Recommended Articles

Follow Open Access Government

Follow this link:

Brexit impact: Health and brain research - Open Access Government

Wednesday, August 05, 2020 10:18 p.m. EDT by Thomson Reuters

By Jonathan Cable

LONDON (Reuters) - Sterling, which was approaching a five-month high on Wednesday, is expected to lose some of those gains this year amid Brexit and coronavirus fears before recovering in 2021, a Reuters poll found.

The pound registered its biggest monthly rise in more than a decade in July, although its ascent was mainly due to a weaker dollar after a surge in U.S. coronavirus cases and unease about the upcoming presidential election.=>

But fears of a second wave of infections in Britain, already the hardest-hit European country, have capped the pound's advance and according to a new study published on Tuesday a resurgence of the pandemic could be twice as bad as the initial outbreak.

Also containing sterling strength is a weak economy and growing pressure to strike a Brexit trade deal before a transition period ends in December, prompting traders and investors to be wary of the pound's prospects.

The July 31-Aug. 5 poll of around 60 foreign exchange strategists said the pound would dip to $1.29 in a month and to $1.28 in three months before returning to current levels in a year's time. It was trading around $1.31 on Wednesday.

"The dip is because it seems like the uncertainty over Brexit will continue until we get to around September or October, so until we know what is going on it can't trade as well," said Jordan Rochester at Nomura.

"I lean towards a deal, but it doesn't mean the same euphoria for sterling as it used to. The deal will be bare bones - it might be that in Q1 we are still adjusting to a new trading agreement and you do see all of the foretold Brexit border chaos."

Illustrating the murky outlook, the 12-month forecast horizon was wide - from $1.18 to $1.44.

Reuters polls since the June 2016 referendum to quit the EU have consistently said the two sides would eventually agree a free-trade deal, but talks have been troubled.

Without an agreement, trade and financial ties between the world's fifth-largest economy and its biggest trading partner would collapse overnight, spreading havoc among markets and businesses.

Against the euro , little movement was expected. One euro was worth around 90.3 pence On Wednesday, and the poll suggested it would be worth 90.0p in a month and 89.0p in a year.=>

(Reporting by Jonathan Cable; polling by Sarmista Sen and Khushboo Mittal; editing by Larry King)

See the original post:

Sterling to dip this year as Brexit uncertainty swirls: Reuters poll - WHTC News

The terms of the UKs withdrawal from Europe are still being negotiated.

Therefore it is not yet known exactly how rules on driving in the EU will change in the future.

After January 1, 2021, the current rules surrounding driving abroad may change, but in the meantime the current Government guidance on the subject is available via its website.

READ MORE:New driving laws supported by road users

As part of this, you need to take your driving licence with you.

If you are taking your own vehicle, you also need to take your log book (V5C) and your insurance certificate.

According to the Government website, you do not need an International Driving Permit (IDP) to drive in any EU and EEA country or Switzerland, for visits of up to 12 months.

To drive in some non-EU countries you may however need an International Driving Permit, which you can get from the Post Office.

While abroad, you must follow the local driving rules of where you are visiting, including abiding by local speed limits and drink driving laws.

The Government note you may also be required to have additional equipment with you, such as reflective jackets, warning triangles, emission stickers, headlight converter stickers or a GB sticker.

You also should check your insurance if you are taking your own vehicle.

For more information on driving abroad, you can visit the Governments dedicated webpage on the topic HERE.

Read more here:

Brexit and driving: What you should know about driving in Europe after Brexit - Express