Category Archives: Brexit

Exporters are increasingly concerned that the second half of 2021 will see short-term Brexit disruption evolve into the permanent loss of certain EU markets.

Many exporters had responded to the Brexit challenge so far by putting band aids on bullet wounds, said Neil Hammill, commercial director at Cambridge Commodities. However, he said many were now weighing up whether to stop exporting the goods that encountered the worst frictions upon arrival in the EU.

These were predominantly animal origin products and organics, Hammill said. I sense were going to end up putting them in the too hard box over there and going: OK, this is whats left, and it might be a business thats 75% of the size.

When the trade deal landed in December last year, Alex Matheson, a partner at food and drink distributor Fresh Marketing, expected the first few months to be a bit chaotic but that the business would find a way to make things work.

But now, just over five months in, some of our routes are becoming completely unworkable, he said, highlighting occasions on which hundreds of hours had been spent trying to work out how to send 2,000 worth of goods.

Its not sustainable for us, its not sustainable for the customers, and its not sustainable for the brands. The only sensible thing for the importer to do is find the products from somewhere else, Matheson added.

Spain, Portugal and Italy in particular were throwing up horrific issues, according to his business partner Barney Mauleverer, as local officials enforced different interpretations of the rules to elsewhere in the EU. This has included the new requirements on export health certificates for composite products. Often Spain insists that we need a health certificate, the UK says we dont, said Mauleverer.

The confusion has forced Fresh Marketing to ship goods via Belgium for the Spanish market, while food intended for Portugal is redirected via Malta. I think these importers are going to give up and turn their attention to lower hanging fruit, Mauleverer said.

Sandra Sullivan of the Food & Drink Exporters Association said many companies had hoped at the start of the year that new trading rules with the EU would change. But the fact is this is EU legislation. Its the rules. Thats now sinking in and companies are starting to change their business models.

She pointed to one major tea brand that has now completely stopped organic exports because its just too difficult. Organics have been one of the food sectors worst hit by Brexit, with difficulties including re-exporting goods that arrived in the UK from third countries.

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Food exporters set to permanently cut ties with EU due to Brexit - The Grocer

Up to 100,000 British citizens living in mainland Europe have less than a month to apply for permanent residency on the continent or risk becoming unauthorized immigrants with the threat of lost rights or deportation.

Under post-Brexit rules, UK citizens who live in countries including France, Malta, and Luxembourg are required to apply for residency by June 30 or risk losing basic rights.

But tens of thousands living abroad have still not applied, leading to concerns that those affected could lose access to services such as healthcare as a result of their new status.

"We are now less than a month before our deadline, and people just do not know what the consequences will be they don't know exactly how their lives will be impacted," Kalba Meadows, a resident in France who cofounded the citizens-rights group France Rights, told Insider.

"If they haven't applied before the deadline and they aren't due to have reasonable grounds for a late application, they're going to become undocumented migrants.

"What the actual consequences of that will be we don't know, but it is highly likely that they will lose access to healthcare. That has serious consequences, especially for the elderly and vulnerable."

Fourteen of the European Union's 27 member states granted automatic residency to British citizens who were already living there when the UK left the bloc, but the remaining 13 require UK citizens to apply.

Those countries include Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, which has extended the deadline to November 30.

According to the EU-UK joint committee on citizens' rights, 298,000 British citizens need to apply for residency but only 190,100 had done so by April 28.

That figure included 25,500 people in France from a total of 148,300 who had not applied by the end of April.

British in Europe, a citizens-rights group, has called for other member states to extend the deadline, a spokesperson, Fiona Godfrey, told Insider.

The UK several months ago issued guidelines on how it would treat late applications from people affected by COVID-19.

Godfrey said that British in Europe had asked the European Commission for similar guidelines in member EU states and that no guidelines had been published so far. The European Commission did not immediately respond to a request from Insider for comment.

"The thing we don't know is if the deadlines are not extended if people do wake up undocumented on July 1 what that will actually mean for them," Godfrey said. "I've asked in meetings: What concretely will that mean for them? We haven't been told that."

Continued here:

Tens of thousands of British people in Europe could soon become 'undocumented migrants' thanks to Brexit - Business Insider

The UK, led by International Trade Secretary Liz Truss, are in continued talks over a post-Brexit Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Australia and are hopeful striking a deal within the next two weeks. Both countries have agreed on the vast majority of issues for a deal, which official estimates say could add 500million to British economic output over the long term, but reports have suggested this could include a period of up to 15 years with zero-tariffs and zero-quotas. The proposal has faced a huge backlash from British farmers, who have warned they face being undercut by a wave of meat imports from Australia that could flood the market under an FTA.

The National Farmers' Union is furious at the UK Government for pressing ahead with the trade proposal, and has warned it will have "serious implications for British farming" and offer "little benefit" to the wider economy.

The farming union also warned the trade deal with Australia could threaten the farming sector and lead to the collapse of any, many beef and sheep farms throughout the UK - even if tariffs are dropped immediately.

NFU President Minette Batters told Express.co.uk: It is incredibly disappointing to hear news of the Governments trade strategy from sources other than the Government themselves, especially when its reported plans will have such a massive impact on British farming.

There remains a huge amount of unanswered questions about exactly how decisions regarding trade policy have been made, on what basis and how it will operate in the future.

"Its crucial urgent answers are provided to these questions.

It is also incredibly concerning that the Government is in a sprint to sign up to a trade deal with Australia that would have serious implications for British farming and would seemingly offer incredibly little benefit to the economy.

We continue to maintain that a tariff-free trade deal with Australia will jeopardise our own farming industry and could cause the demise of many, many beef and sheep farms throughout the UK.

"This is true whether tariffs are dropped immediately or in 15 years time."

READ MORE:Let's get our sovereignty back! Eurexit campaign mocks VDL

We remain of the view that it is wholly irresponsible for Government to sign a trade deal with no tariffs or quotas on sensitive products and which therefore undermines our own domestic economy and food production industry.

Last week, Britain and Australia held another round of talks as both countries look to press ahead with an agreement on a lucrative FTA.

British High Commissioner to Australia Vicki Treadell said the UK's International Trade Secretary Liz Truss and her Australian counterpart Dan Tehan held talks late on Thursday.

She said: "We are working hard to have an agreement in principle at the bilateral between Prime Ministers Johnson and Morrison on June 15.

"Last night secretary state Liz Truss had another session with Trade Minister Tehan and respective chief negotiators."

The proposed post-Brexit trade deal with Austria is the most advanced of several agreements currently being pursued by the UK Government.

On Wednesday, member nations of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on Wednesday agreed to allow Britain to start the process of joining the pact.

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Sort it out, Liz! Truss branded 'wholly irresponsible' as 500m post-Brexit deal nears - Daily Express

Apollo 11: Brian Cox says aerospace wasnt ready for it

The 53-year-old is back on screens today as the second episode of his BBC series 'Brian Coxs Adventures in Space and Time airs. The new documentary-series reviews how space exploration has developed in the past decade, while looking at some of the most remarkable discoveries made. Heralded for his ability to invigorate the nation's interest in physics, Prof Cox is also an ardent Remainer, and has been vocal in his wish that the UK would continue its membership in the EU.

But one remark the physicist made was shut down by critics on Twitter, after he claimed that he saw "Brexit as a transfer of rights from the individual to Government".

Prof Cox was sharing an article about how Brexit is "destroying music", as a result of musicians and artists not getting the desired assurances over visas to ensure they can perform and go on tour in the bloc.

The Guardian article from earlier this year detailed an account from musician Joseph Middleton, who said that in order for him to complete a concert in Spain, which had been booked in for two years, he would have to spend 600 in "visa-related bills".

This led Prof Cox to tweet: "I have always seen Brexit as a transfer of rights from the individual to Government.

"We had the right to work, to export our fish, to play our music, to buy and import goods, whatever... across our continent. Now we have to seek permission."

But his comment saw a fierce backlash from social media users, who argued that Prof Cox had actually got his argument wrong.

One wrote: "No, we the people as a collective group, our govt signed us up as members of an elite club. The group had a vote as individuals and decided to leave.

"The biggest expression of one man one vote weve had. It was a transfer of power from the govt to the individual."

JUST IN:Brian Cox told to 'learn his lesson' after call to 'shelve Brexit'

A second explained that although "you have to seek permission" it was the "EU that is making this terrible for everyone" as applications have to be made to them.

They continued: "Their insistence on punishing the UK by needlessly complicating things.

"The anti-democratic fervour at the heart of the EU project is being laid bare."

A third added: "You've got it backwards, Brian.

"It's a transfer of power to the national Government, sure. But that power was transferred from the EU, not from the British people."

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The physicist, who was also a musician in a number of popular bands, has authored or co-authored more than 950 scientific publications.

He is perhaps best-known for presenting a range of science programmes including his BBC Wonders of series.

But that encounter was the not the first time the Remainer has upset fans.

Last year, he claimed the moment [Boris Johnson] is gone the UK will begin a process of negotiating with the EU adding that the only way to take back control is to rejoin.

This caused anger, as did his comments after he targeted Home Secretary Priti Patel and her plans to intercept migrants crossing the Channel.

Ms Patel wrote: We need the cooperation of the French to intercept boats and return migrants back to France.

I know that when the British people say they want to take back control of our borders this is exactly what they mean."

He replied: Im so sick of this the British people nonsense.

Its inflammatory and divisive and also errant vacuous nonsense with no meaning in a multi-party democracy.

The phrase should be banned from political discourse.

But people were not entirely on Prof Cox's side, including one who wrote: "Woke professor calls for the phrase the British people to be banned. He would never say this about the French people or the German people,' of course.

Brian Coxs Adventures in Space and Time airs tonight on BBC Two from 9pm.

Link:

Brian Cox's gloomy Brexit claim over 'transferring rights from individuals' torn apart - Express

Picture: DAVID FERGUSON. (30990590)

Fifteen applications from wealthy individuals were approved in the first five months of the year equalling the target for the whole of 2021.

Four families have visited the Island this week to explore the potential for relocation.

And with about 23 applications being granted annually between 2016 and 2020, officials say the number of high-net-worth individuals moving to Jersey could be well above average this year.

The interest comes during a boom period for the housing market which recently saw a property in St Brelade sold for a record 31 million after two millionaires became embroiled in a bidding war.

Economic Development Minister Lyndon Farnham predicted a total for successful candidates in the 20s by the end of the year. While stressing that there was no cap, he said the numbers were carefully managed.

We have to maintain a balance and are mindful of letting the number go too far, but whether we have 15 or 25 [successful applications] there is no indication that this does anything other than benefit the Island, he said.

I believe the uncertainty resulting from Brexit and the pandemic have been contributory factors Jersey continues to be very stable economically and politically and an attractive place to live.

Senator Farnham said the benefits to the Island went beyond the revenue achieved through income tax, stamp duty and business activities of wealthy immigrants.

Theres a quality over quantity issue here if people are purely interested in relocating for financial reasons, there are other jurisdictions with lower tax rates where they could go, he said.

The minister added: We want to attract people who want to be part of the community and will contribute to Island life through investing in local industry and philanthropic activities those contributions may be less easy to measure than tax revenue, but they are very significant.

Kevin Lemasney, head of high-value residency engagement for the Government of Jersey, said 2021 was likely to see the second-highest number of successful applications. 2017 was the busiest year on record, he said, with 34 applications granted as interest in moving to Jersey surged in the wake of the UKs 2016 Brexit vote, the 2017 UK general election and the election of Donald Trump to the US Presidency the previous year.

Mr Lemasney recently told a meeting of the Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel that while there was no strict upper limit on approvals, the target figure was 15 and there was an appreciation that Locate Jersey would work with ministers to combat the situation if the figure went above 20 and there was any indication the process might be overheated.

High-value residents are required to demonstrate assets of at least 10 million and income that is comfortably and sustainably in excess of 725,000 meaning each pays 145,000 in income tax at the standard rate of 20%. A total of 155 residents have made the move within the past ten years, the meeting heard.

Mr Lemasney said the threshold figures for assets and income were due to be reviewed every five years, with the next set of changes due to be brought in on 1 January 2023. Prior to that date, the minimum price figures for properties bought by high-value arrivals are set to increase later this year.

From 1 September, an apartment bought by a high-value resident must cost at least 1.25m an increase from 900,000 while there will be a minimum house price of 2.5m previously 1.75m.

Asked by panel chairman David Johnson whether there might be further changes to increase the revenue received by the Island, Mr Lemasney said this was ultimately a matter for the States Assembly, but that Jersey already had quite an onerous application process and may not wish to lose ground to rival jurisdictions, notably Guernsey.

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Brexit fuelling rise in interest in Jersey from the super-rich - Jersey Evening Post

HOME Secretary Priti Patel is being asked to visit businesses in the Highlands to see first-hand the recruitment crisis facing tourism and hospitality as a result of Brexit.

SNP MP Drew Hendry has written a letter to the UK minister warning the situation is so bad venues are facing the prospect of closing their doors due to staffing shortages, not long after being able to reopen following easing of Covid restrictions.

He said while factors such as the pandemic have contributed to the crisis, the overarching cause of the shortages is Brexit and the failure of the UK Government to heed calls to protect freedom of movement or put a workable visa solution in place.

He wrote: Local businesses are doing all they can to attract workers, including offering significant wage rises. However, they are still struggling to attract staff due to demographic challenges in our region and the seasonal nature of this work. This is why freedom of movement has been so vital to the Highlands.

Last week it was reported The Winking Owl restaurant in Aviemore has had to go to drinks only because it has been unable to staff its kitchen. The Applecross Inn, in Wester Ross, has also recently reported struggling to get staff which resulted in a cut to opening days.

Hendry, who represents Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, said: Hospitality and tourism businesses across my constituency are feeling the full impact of a post-Brexit UK.

READ MORE:Gerry Hassan: Dirty camping in Scotland is a symptom of a worldwide problem

Having just come out of a pandemic, they are now dealing with a staffing crisis, leaving many of them struggling to keep their doors open.

While the pandemic has exacerbated the staffing challenges, Brexit and hostile Tory rhetoric created this crisis, and the situation is only getting worse.

Hendry said the Home Secretary seemed intent on doing everything she can to make the UK as unattractive as possible for migration.

In his letter he has requested Patel visit Aviemore to meet with some of the businesses at the frontline of this hostile environments negative impacts.

He said: Like those across Scotland, our local tourism businesses need a migration policy that meets our regions distinct needs to staff their operations. Throughout the Brexit fiasco, my SNP colleagues and I repeatedly told the Tory Government that securing the right of EU citizens to work freely in Scotland had to be a priority to protect our economy.

They ignored us then, and they are ignoring this crisis now.

Emmanuel Moine, a hotel general manager and chair of the Inverness Hotels Association, said the Covid crisis had added to staffing problems caused by Brexit.

He said: Since Brexit we have nobody coming into the UK to work. It is even worse now because of Covid on top of that.

We had a lot of staff who went home because they felt it was not really welcoming.

With Covid, we had some excellent staff, but they left the trade. They have got another job now and dont want to come back, which is fair enough.

He said the Highlands was one of the most popular destinations in the UK for staycations which was welcome, but the current uncertainty around Covid meant added pressures for businesses.

It was English holidays last week I spoke to a lot of managers of hotels, restaurants and bars and we all got hammered as we didnt expect so many people, he said. We filled up the hotel within four or five days people are not making plans. So you are left suddenly with 70 rooms to clean, you dont have the staff.

We put an advert for a housekeeper last week and made 10 appointments for people who all said they would come. But only two turned up.

READ MORE:Scottish travel sector needs our support with bookings still slow

He emphasised hospitality businesses wanted guests to visit and they would be very well looked after, but said it was a challenging time for the trade. Ive heard some restaurants just cant open. They dont have staff in the kitchen, they dont have staff in the restaurant, so it is difficult, he said.

A UK Government spokesperson said the new points based immigration system encourages employers to invest in the domestic workforce, rather than relying on labour from abroad.

He added: Weve implemented an unprecedented package of measures to support businesses throughout the United Kingdom during the pandemic and our Plan for Jobs is helping people across the country retrain, build new skills and get back into work.

Were working with UK hospitality to better promote jobs in the sector via our nationwide network of Jobcentres, and are supporting workers into these roles through the Kickstart Scheme and our expanded apprenticeship and traineeship offers.

Original post:

Highland hotels are suffering from a lack of workers due to Brexit and Covid - The National

Leaders of the main Westminster parties are failing to call out thiscatastrophic error

Alastair Campbell is absolutely right - a majority of the UK population appears not to give a toss about Johnson's failings, lies, false claims and dodgy dealings, but he should be assured that a lot of people are angry about the damage being done to our country. The government suppresses a lot of that anger by announcing populist measures, so quite a few people then shrug their shoulders and say, in effect, "Well, that's OK then, at least he's trying to do something about it" (whatever "it" is on that particular day, such is the frequency of the blunders - last week's having been the education catch-up funding debacle).

In any case, getting angry doesn't change anything, especially when most of the media support a PM who is manifestly unfit for office, but manages to blag his way through. What makes a difference is having a credible and united opposition. As things stand, I don't really know what Labour stands for, what the vision is for a much better Britain, what their priorities would be if they came to power, how things would be different. What I see is internal strife and a policy vacuum. If I vote Labour, what am I voting for? At present, I don't have a clue.

The manifold problems caused by Brexit are now really coming to the fore - the great British public will notice when there's nobody to prepare their al fresco lunch in The Lake District or Cornwall, when the shortage of NHS workers causes their appointment to be postponed yet again, when the inferior work on their new home results in a snagging list the size of War and Peace, their new cheaper Chinese appliance goes up in flames and they finally realise just how many disadvantages Brexit has brought. Who is going to be brave enough to call out this catastrophic error, level with us and tell the public just how wrong we were to leave the EU? Then there would be a genuine choice, as EU membership signals a whole raft of very different policy choices, and a very different vision for the country's future.

Brexit is the root of many people's anger, but nobody is responding to it. It's not just the elephant in the room, it's a very large mammoth.

Anne Green

Have your say by emailing letters@theneweuropean.co.uk. Our deadline for letters is Monday at 9am for inclusion in Thursdays edition. Please be concise - letters over five paragraphs long may be edited before printing.

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Brexit remains the elephant in the room in UK politics - The New European

The predicted twin forces of the pandemic and Brexit are beginning to converge and manifest in an unprecedented staffing crisis in the London restaurant and wider hospitality industry, with Michelin-starred Le Gavroche chef-owner Michel Roux Junior announcing that a labour shortage has left him unable to open for lunch for the foreseeable future.

On Instagram, Roux Junior wrote that the past year has sadly taken a great toll on the hospitality industry and despite the relief felt by many whove been able to reopen their dining rooms, major problems remained. In this instance, Roux wrote, staffing.

Since opening, restaurants up and down the country have suffered greatly with staffing problems partly due to new Brexit regulations as well as there now being a major lack of well-trained hospitality professionals since the pandemic struck. Whilst we have been working our hardest to resolve this issue over the last couple of months, Le Gavroche is sadly understaffed for the time being.

Whilst it is incredibly frustrating and painful to report this, we have decided to open for dinner only from 5 p.m. starting from June 14th until further notice.

In a long message, Roux, who was in 2017 outed for short-changing his staff, later added that staff wellbeing is of utmost importance to us both mentally and physically and that the team was currently working tirelessly to ensure we can resume business as usual at the earliest opportunity.

While the pandemic might have delayed the effects of Brexit and bought business owners time, it has served to obscure the impact not prevent it. In the past fortnight, restaurateurs across the city have reported that trade is up and their restaurants are full but that the labour market is stretched and finding enough staff at the right level is currently not possible. Some have been warning about this crisis for years.

Elsewhere, at the other end of the spectrum and apparently without irony, to reignite the ire fire inside Remain ultras, Tim Martin, the Wetherspoons pub boss and Poster Boy of Brexit, has called for special visas for the EU citizens he requires to work in his massive pubs. Pubs that were formerly staffed in large numbers by EU citizens able to live and work freely in the U.K., but who, since the turn of the year, have not been able to do so because of Brexit, the project that the likes of Martin and his mullet hard-rallied behind for years. Yes, the pint-pulling-slightly-less-facist-Farage is among a number of voices in the formerly serious Daily Telegraph newspaper calling for a relaxation of work visa rules for EU migrants.

Martin said that a reasonably liberal immigration system controlled by the U.K. rather than the EU will boost the economy.

One former London restaurant worker who has recently relocated to Paris told Eater London that you could not make it up, mec.

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Brexit Supporting Wetherspoons Boss Now Wants Pub Workers from the EU - Eater London

The fragmentation of Europe's capital market due to Brexit has increased operating costs for banks to the point where some struggle to make their UK and EU hubs viable, a report showed on Tuesday.

Many banks that used London as a base for serving the European Union have opened hubs in the bloc after Britain's departure from the EU left the City of London largely cut off from the continent.

"The aggregate costs across banks European operations have risen considerably as a result of fragmentation, without so far a corresponding increase in revenues to offset this rise," according to the report from consultants Deloitte and IHS Markit, a data company.

"In many cases, UK entities have been left with reduced profitability and the new or expanded EU entities are struggling to develop viable business models and achieve sustainable profitability," the report said.

The EU has said it was in "no rush" to consider direct market access for the City of London, though some activities like corporate and retail banking must effectively be done from inside the bloc in any case.

Large chunks of derivatives and share trading have left the City for the bloc and New York. read more

Such market fragmentation will make it hard for some banks to hit their profitability targets or even exceed their cost of equity, the report said.

When adding up risk-weights from a portfolio of euro interest rate swaps that has been split between entities in the UK and the EU, capital requirements increase by between 8% and 51%, the report said.

"The challenge banks now face is how they can improve efficiency and achieve sustainable profitability across their European operations and strike the right balance between what business they do in Europe relative to other global financial centres," said David Strachan, Deloitte's head of EMEA Centre for Regulatory Strategy.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Brexit market fragmentation leaves some banks struggling, says report - Reuters

Britain's cabinet minister in charge of relations with the European Union, David Frost, walks outside Downing Street in London, February 24, 2021. REUTERS/John Sibley

The way in which post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland are operating may not be sustainable for long, Britain said on Tuesday, as firms count the cost of disruption and pro-British loyalists oppose requirements brought in since Jan. 1.

London and Brussels agreed to keep Northern Ireland within the EU's trading sphere, avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland but introducing trade barriers, including a customs border, between the province and the rest of the United Kingdom.

"Businesses have gone to extraordinary efforts to make the current requirements work, but it is hard to see that the way the Protocol is currently operating can be sustainable for long," British negotiator and junior minister David Frost said in a statement.

"I hope they will take a common sense, risk-based approach that enables us to agree a pragmatic way forward that substantially eases the burdens on Northern Ireland."

The EU and Ireland have said there is no reason to change the Brexit divorce deal which was signed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and is now an international treaty. Talks between London and Brussels regarding the province have continued in 2021.

Angry young loyalists rioted last month over the perceived growing power of the province's Irish nationalists, who have long sought a united Ireland, and barriers to trade with mainland Britain following its exit from the European Union.

Instability has been compounded by an announcement that the province's pro-British First Minister Arlene Foster is to step down.

"Solutions must be found rapidly in order to protect the Belfast Agreement in all its dimensions and to minimise disruption to the everyday lives of people in Northern Ireland," said Frost, referring to the 1998 Good Friday accords that ended decades of loyalist-nationalist bloodshed.

"We will continue to consider all our options in meeting our overriding responsibility for sustaining the peace and prosperity of everyone in Northern Ireland.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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UK warns on sustainability of post-Brexit N.Ireland trade rules - Reuters