Daily Archives: July 13, 2020

An injection of momentum is needed in the Brexit talks between the UK & EU, taoiseach Michel Martin has said.

Speaking on the Andrew Marr Show, the Irish prime minister said the talks were "getting into an urgent timeframe and so far progress has been too slow".

On Friday, Michel Barnier said "significant divergences" remained between the EU and the UK on a post-Brexit trade agreement.

Mr Martin said a deal would be done, but it could not be "at any price".

Both sides agreed to "intensify" negotiations last month and held the first face-to-face talks since the coronavirus pandemic at the beginning of July.

If they are unable to reach a deal by the end of the transition period at the end of the year, the UK will leave the EU's single market and the customs union without any agreement on future access.

However, Northern Ireland will stay in the EU single market for goods.

Mr Martin said there was "no sense in a no-deal Brexit or a sub-optimal deal" between the EU and UK.

He said "ordinary people would suffer" if that happened.

"We must do everything to protect workers, protect livelihoods and protect the essence of our economy."

Mr Martin also said Northern Ireland could get the "best of both worlds" when it came to Brexit.

"Northern Ireland needs development, it needs economic momentum and let's turn this into an opportunity for Northern Ireland and through that the island of Ireland," he said.

In a separate interview with BBC NI's Sunday Politics programme, Mr Martin said said that "out of Brexit came a demand for a border poll", but believes it "would currently be unnecessarily divisive".

The Fianna Fil leader said "it's easy to call for a border poll" but that the "nuts and bolts of how does one share an island" need to be understood.

Mr Martin said that the most effective way forward is to "build on relationships" and to "do research" into the practicalities of these issues.

"More substance around these issues is needed and a greater understanding of the implications of what some people are calling for," he said.

The draft deal that was agreed to establish a government in the Republic of Ireland sought the establishment of a new shared-island unit within the Department of the Taoiseach.

The paper for government said this unit will be set up to work "towards a consensus on a shared island".

Mr Martin said that there is a commitment to "build relationships" with the Stormont Executive and the UK government to achieve "greater connectivity" on the island of Ireland.

Mr Martin had been previously accused of "letting down the unionist community" in Northern Ireland by not including a unionist in the Seanad.

Ian Marshall, who in 2018 became the first unionist elected to the Seanad (Irish Senate), called Mr Martin's commitment to a "shared island" a "farce".

"How can you have a shared island if you only talk to yourself?".

Responding to Mr Marshall's comments, Mr Martin said it was "a disproportionate comment" and said "having a (unionist) senator is not the be-all-and-end-all in terms of having a relationship".

"There is no issue at all with Mr Marshall, but there were political circumstances prevailing on this, particularly in the parties that came together to form a government," Mr Martin said.

"Engagement with unionism is far wider than that," he added.

On the relationship between his party and the SDLP, the taoiseach said this would continue to "grow and strengthen".

In February 2019, the SDLP voted overwhelmingly in favour of a partnership with Fianna Fil.

However, the Fianna Fil leader said this will not affect his role as a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement.

Mr Martin also dismissed claims he was ignoring unionism by not electing a unionist to the Seanad (Irish Senate).

He also believes a border poll "out of Brexit" will be "too divisive".

Speaking on , Mr Martin said he will play his role as taoiseach "down the middle".

"I will continue honest and objective leadership in respect of the north," he said.

"I will be proactive in a positive and constructive way with Northern Ireland."

Mr Martin said that the SDLP has experienced "a renaissance" in Northern Ireland and said that Fianna Fil will continue to "give support to the SDLP".

You can see the full interview with the taoiseach on Sunday Politics on the BBC iPlayer.

Originally posted here:

Brexit: Michel Martin says injection of momentum needed in talks - BBC News

Image caption "Devolution has gone so much further" than some people thought it would, according to Mark Reckless, the Brexit Party's leader in the Senedd

The Brexit Party will campaign in next year's Senedd election to scrap the current system of devolution.

Mark Reckless, leader of the party's group in the Welsh Parliament, said "devolution has gone so much further" than some people thought it would.

He is proposing a directly-elected first minister and getting rid of members of the Senedd (MSs).

The last Welsh barometer poll suggested around 22% of people supported abolishing the Welsh Parliament.

But in a multiple-choice question, the highest level of support was for leaving the settlement as it is (24%), followed by a Senedd with more powers (20%) and Welsh independence (16%).

Plaid Cymru's leader hit back at Mr Reckless and said people's understanding and awareness of devolution was at a "high watermark" as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Adam Price dismissed the Brexit Party's support for scrapping the devolution system as an attempt to turn Wales "into western England".

"What is the message of the Brexit Party in this regard? It's not just abolishing our democracy, it's abolishing Wales," he told the BBC's Politics Wales programme.

"Is anyone seriously, when we look to the last three months, at the more careful, reasonable, thoughtful approach that the Welsh Government has shown in recent months compared to the reckless policy, the dysfunctional policy of bumbling and blustering its way through the crisis that we've seen from Boris Johnson, do we really want to take the powers that we have to protect our people and give them to Number 10 Downing Street in these circumstances? Absolutely not."

Speaking to the same programme, Mr Reckless said under his plans a directly-elected first minister would be scrutinised by Welsh MPs.

He questioned the value of having the Senedd and its members in addition to MPs in Westminster.

"A lot of people who haven't engaged with devolved politics now see the powers this place has, and many of those people would prefer to be governed on a UK basis rather than having things done differently in Wales just for the sake of it, as so often has been the case under Mark Drakeford," he said.

The Brexit Party's four MSs are its biggest group of politicians now that the UK no longer has members of the European Parliament (MEPs) following its departure from the European Union.

Mr Reckless said party leader Nigel Farage is "consulted over key decisions... but he doesn't micro-manage us here".

He said he did not "rule out" a potential rebrand of the party, as had been reported.

The Brexit Party has been very critical of the Covid-19 lockdown measures.

Asked if he believed there should be another Wales-wide lockdown, he replied: "We think it's much better to trust people's judgment. The individual knows best.

"I think what we'll see is that many more people will stay at home.

"But the idea that you tell people how many times they should exercise... I don't believe there's science for that.

"I also believe that interference with people's lives is so great when the evidence is so very limited."

Pushed on whether he was against another lockdown in the event of a steep rise in coronavirus cases, he said: "I think it should be a last resort, and I think the time when you really need to do that is if infections are at such an extent that it threatens the capacity of our health services to cope.

"I think that is a good reason for closing schools, for government intervention, in order to stop that.

"But actually, I think when we look back it was that handwashing, it was a degree of social distancing, it was more people staying at home voluntarily that saw the infection rate begin to come down and meant that capacity in the health service wasn't overcome in that way."

Former First Minister Carwyn Jones said the idea showed the Brexit Party "cannot stand the idea of Wales as a nation."

"So much for respecting the result of referendums [devolution referendums in 1997 and 2011] but let's not forget that this is really a play to get re-elected to the Senedd by appealing to a minority in the hope of getting above 5% in his region," he added.

BBC Politics Wales is on BBC iPlayer.

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Brexit Party's election campaign to scrap the Senedd - BBC News

The governments chief Brexit negotiator, David Frost, is to host his EU counterpart, Michel Barnier, for a private dinner in Downing Street on Tuesday evening in an attempt to revive flagging talks on a trade and security deal.

Less than six months before the status quo transition period is due to end, both sides have expressed concern about the lack of progress in the negotiations.

Barnier and his team of officials arrived in London on Tuesday and posed for photos wearing face masks. Informal talks between about 15 officials on both sides will take place in Whitehall on Wednesday.

The meeting follows the abrupt ending to the first round of accelerated face-to-face talks last week after which Barnier complained about a perceived lack of respect and engagement from the British government.

Asked what would be on the agenda, Boris Johnsons official spokesman said: Theyre informal talks, so there is no published agenda, but you are fully aware of the range of issues that we need to reach agreement with the EU on. Discussions will cover everything from what the EU calls the level playing field, through to governance structures.

Downing Street said Frost and Barnier would dine on halibut perhaps surprising given that fish are one of the most contentious issues between the two sides.

In a transcript of an interview with Barnier by a Lords committee published earlier on Tuesday, the EU negotiator accused the UK of continuing to seekthe advantages of being a member state but with the right to diverge on regulations.

He also warned that no deal would mean a cliff-edge for British exporters from 1 January as the EU had no intention of phasing in border controls like the UK.

We will not delay things. As of 1 January, all products coming into the single market coming from any third country anywhere in the world, including yours, because you are a third country will be checked, he said.

Meanwhile, MPs have heard that EU citizens settled in the UK are being used by the Home Office as guinea pigs for a future digital-only immigration system.

They will also face significant problems after Brexit unless the government provides them with a physical card to prove their right to remain in the UK legally, parliaments Brexit select committee was told.

A lawyer for the3million campaign group said some feared they risked ending up like the Windrush generation with difficulty evidencing their rights with landlords and employers.

There is a lot of mistrust in the way that government does things, particularly the Home Office, and that has come about because of a legacy of mistakes and because some very, very bad things that have happened to human beings. And I think a lot of EU citizens are very worried that this will happen to them, he said.

The rights of EU citizens have already been enshrined in the withdrawal agreement signed in January but the Brexit select committee heard that anxiety about their future rights remained high.

Words like angry, anxious, alienated, annoyed, unwanted, upset and unwelcome, were the feelings cited in a survey of 3,000 EU citizens, which also found that 89% said they wanted a physical card.

Concerns were also raised at about EU citizens wrongly being granted pre-settled status.

As many as 1.3 million of 3.3 million people who had gone through the settlement process had been granted pre-settled status with fears raised several times in the past year that some people were accepting the inferior status without realising they were entitled to the full settled status.

Piper told of the serious consequences for those that did not reapply or the vulnerable, such as children in care or people with dementia who for some reason miss the 30 June 2021 deadline for applications.

Without the status, they would become unlawfully resident and lose their right to work and access to the NHS and housing until they acquired a legal status.

Coram, the childrens charity, recently published a report on children and settled status. It found that local authorities had secured status for just 500 of the estimated 9,000 children and young people in the care system.

A Home Office spokesperson said: Nobody has been granted pre-settled status without first being offered the opportunity to submit evidence that they qualify for settled status. Both pre-settled status and settled status mean people can work, study, receive healthcare and access benefits and services as they do now.

The EU settlement scheme also protects the rights of EU citizens in UK law and gives them a secure digital status which, unlike a physical document, cannot be lost, stolen or tampered with.

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UK Brexit negotiator meets EU counterpart in bid to revive talks - The Guardian

The international trade secretary, Liz Truss, joins a long list of people concerned that the UK may not be as ready for Brexit on 1 January 2021 as it needs to be.

In a letter to cabinet colleagues this week, she has reportedly raised concerns that the UK will not be operating a World Trade Organization (WTO) compliant border when we leave the EU. It was an embarrassing revelation, particularly coming on the same day as the UK was nominating her predecessor, Liam Fox, as the man to lead the WTO into a new era.

Truss joined an array of business groups in the UK, as well as the Scottish and Welsh governments and the Northern Ireland Assembly, who have argued Britain needs more time: either to seek an extension to the transition period, or to seek an adjustment period once transition ends to allow business to get ready.

On 1 July, the UK lost its right to ask for an extension to the transition period, under the terms of the withdrawal agreement with the EU. It might be able to engineer more time at a later point, but that is more risky legally and will depend on a heap of EU goodwill. For now, the only basis on which to plan is that we need to be ready on 31 December at 11pm to complete the process of Brexit, deal or no deal.

The immediate crunch is that this means government and business need to be ready to operate on two new borders: a border with the EU27 across the Channel, and a border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The shape of the Irish sea border is clearer. The text was agreed last October. But the UK government initially refused to acknowledge the political inconvenience of what it had actually conceded, impeding proper preparation. The government is gradually admitting what was in the small print when it signed up to the deal: there will be customs forms, there will be border inspection posts.

But there are big issues outstanding. Two weeks ago, Michel Barnier told the House of Lords EU committee that detail in key areas was still lacking. It was a long list: customs, tax, VAT, duty, sanitary and phytosanitary arrangements, and fisheries. The thing Truss is most worried about is the readiness of the dual tariff regime; designed to allow Northern Ireland to stay behind the EU external customs border but remain part of the UK customs territory and benefit from new trade deals that may be negotiated. That promise was important to unionists in Northern Ireland.

The depth of the Irish sea border also depends on the UK-EU deal. But even if the EU simply signed on the dotted line of the UKs draft texts, businesses trading with the EU or Northern Ireland will have to be ready for big changes.

On Monday we will find out the detail of the UKs border operating model, but we know now that the EU will treat the UK as a third country with new checks, forms and bureaucracy. The negotiations will determine how intrusive they are and whether there are tariffs on top. Whatever happens, it will be very different.

Some businesses will already be preparing; others will have pushed it down the to-do list as they struggle with Covid-19. Expect a Get ready for Brexit this time its for real campaign soon to persuade businesses who sensibly banked on a transition last year that they cant put it off any longer.

Meanwhile, the UK government has already admitted that it wont be able to operate a fully functioning border between Great Britain and the EU on 1 January (not a luxury it has for the Great Britain-Northern Ireland border). Instead changes will be phased in, so only this time next year, 1 July 2021, will it be fully operational.

Truss is worried that before then, by waving EU imports through, we will face complaints in the WTO. There may be reputational damage, but the WTO will not act fast and by the time it does, we should have a functioning border up and running.

She should be more worried that many of the businesses she wants to benefit from her new trade deals beyond the EU will instead be struggling to cope with the disruption they face in maintaining trade with the UKs biggest export market.

Jill Rutter is a senior research fellow at UK in a Changing Europe

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Liz Truss is suddenly worried about a Brexit deal but for the wrong reason - The Guardian

The Scottish Government has repeatedly called for the transition period to be extended with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon writing to Boris Johnson, warning "fundamental issues" still remained between the UK and EU negotiators.The party said they have concerns less than six months before the end of the Brexit transition period as recent talks reached a deadlock.

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has repeated the bloc's openness to an extension in a letter to leaders of smaller parties in Westminster, including the SNP, Lib Dems and Plaid Cymru after they contacted him about the talks.

He said: "Such an extension of up to one or two years can be agreed jointly by the two parties. The EU has always said we remain open on this.

But under the terms of withdrawal from the EU, Britain only had until July 1 to decide whether to extend the transition period.

Now the SNPs Westminster leader Ian Blackford will formally stress that the UK economy must come first.

Mr Blackford will say that with no good deal in sight and the country facing an economic crisis, it would be "reckless in the extreme" for the government to go ahead and pile a no-deal Brexit on top.

He will add: Boris Johnson must put his responsibilities towards the economy first and agree to the Brexit transition extension on offer from the EU to protect peoples jobs and living standards.

The MP will stress that the UK cannot afford the added damage a no-deal Brexit would add to an economy which needs all the help it can get.

He will point out many businesses are already struggling to survive because of COVID-19 and thousands of jobs have been cut.

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At the same time, the Scottish Governments Monthly Economic Report stressed that a no-deal Brexit would have a significant impact on economic activity in Scotland.

It continued: COVID-19 has resulted in an economic crisis in Scotland, through the direct impact on the economy but also the secondary impacts on health and society from a weaker economy.

As we also move towards formally exiting the EU transition period (31 December 2020) uncertainty regarding future trade arrangements with key markets has the potential to impact already weakened business sectors and have a significant impact on economic activity, particularly if there is no deal.

Scotland has already felt the impact of the pandemic after figures showed GDP fell 18.9 percent in April, the first full month of lockdown, and around 23 percent over March and April combined.

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However, figures for the month of May are due to be published by the Scottish Government next week.

Ms Sturgeon wrote in her letter to Boris Johnson: "No-one could reproach the UK Government for changing its position in the light of the wholly unforeseeable COVID-19 crisis, particularly as the EU has made it clear it is open to an extension request.

"We, therefore, call on you to take the final opportunity the next few weeks provide to ask for an extension to the transition period in order to provide a breathing space to complete the negotiations, to implement the outcome, and the opportunity for our businesses to find their feet after the enormous disruption of recent months.

"At the time the Withdrawal Agreement was signed, no-one could have imagined the enormous economic dislocation which the COVID-19 pandemic has caused - in Wales, Scotland, the whole of the UK, in the EU and across the world."

The letter claimed that, at best, there would only be a "bare-bones" trade deal in place by December, or a move to a no-deal exit from the EU.

But Boris Johnson and UK chief negotiator David Frost has ruled out any such extension.

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Meddling SNP to demand Brexit extension with six months to go 'reckless in the extreme' - Express.co.uk