Category Archives: Brexit

Diane Collison, Martyn Wilson, Ben Taylor and Steve Howell

The UK's new trading relationship with the European Union (EU) might only be a few months old.

But some businesses are struggling to adjust to the new trading landscape outside of the customs union and single market.

Firms across four different sectors share their stories of rising costs, extra paperwork and packages that never arrive.

Ben Taylor and Alice Liptrot have come a long way since they founded their knitwear brand Country of Origin straight out of university.

The couple now employ four other people and sell clothes wholesale to independent shops and to customers online.

About a third of sales, Ben says, came from customers in the EU.

"But since the end of January, it's tailed off completely."

Ben says the firm has been caught up in an "onslaught of admin" and about 80% of orders to the EU after Brexit have seen customers having to pay extra charges.

New rules have come into force for those in the UK either importing from, or exporting to, Europe.

Exactly what licenses are needed or what duties must be paid depends on what is being exported, its value, where the product originates from and to which country it is being sent, according to government guidance.

From 1 January, the UK government introduced a rule that VAT must be collected at the point of sale rather than the point of import.

This essentially means that overseas retailers sending goods to the UK are expected to register for UK VAT and account for it to HMRC if the sale value is less than 150 (135).

One customer in the Netherlands was asked to pay an additional 100 (88) on their order, Ben says, for "government fees", with no further explanation from customs agents.

Ben adds that the firm is not an "inexperienced" exporter, having shipped goods to Japan and the US. He says the lack of clarity on why certain charges are being raised is "frustrating".

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The next step? "To get some kind of operation going in Europe - moving stock to dispatch from there because this just isn't sustainable," he says.

"I just hope this doesn't put off any other young person who wants to start a small business today."

The flower grower - 'Each load is probably costing us about 200 extra'

Diane Collison has been responsible for helping her firm, Collison Cut Flowers, adapt to post-Brexit changes.

The Norfolk cut flower producer imports 35 million bulbs a year - mostly tulips from Holland, scented stock and lilies.

The government recently pushed back introducing new checks on most imported plants until 2022. But some of the bulbs imported by Collison's Cut Flowers count as "high-risk", so they have already had to make some changes.

Diane has registered the business as a "place of destination", where plants could be checked by local health teams, and for an EORI number so the firm can bring EU goods into the UK.

Day-to-day, she must email a freight forwarding business details of expected deliveries before they hit UK ports. That's on top of registering invoices and plant health certificates with UK authorities.

"Each load is probably costing us about 200 extra now - and at about 150 per year that's not an insignificant amount of money," Diane says.

The firm may soon need to increase costs for customers.

"But I'm just pleased we've managed to get our imports in and what we've done is working," Diane says, adding the firm has only seen deliveries delayed by a few hours so far.

Steve Howell's Foodlynx sells British sausages, bacon and bread to hotels and restaurants across the EU.

Typically it sends one or two trucks out a week and up to six in the peak summer season. But the Dorset-based firm suffered a three-day delay to the one shipment it has made since Brexit.

Its truck was held up at the port of Le Havre in France as customs officials questioned whether certificates for some animal products had been filled in correctly.

It was moved to another cold storage unit nearby while the issue was sorted out. Steve was charged 3,914 for storage and admin costs.

Although recent statistics show that UK exports to the EU dropped significantly in January, Steve believes other factors are at play.

"Demand dropped off due to Covid last year anyway, plus we, like many others advised our customers to stock up before Christmas to avoid these types of delays.

"Now, the customers are running low on stock and we're still trying to battle through paperwork, new labelling regulations and compliance."

"The whole point [of Brexit] was to take back control of our country," Steve says.

"We have succeeded in doing exactly the opposite because British exporters are completely and utterly blown out the water."

Martyn Wilson set up his classic car parts firm 12 years ago and about 60% of orders are shipped to the EU.

VAT is now applied at the point of sale for parts under 135 - on top of duty charged on car parts at 24%.

Citroen Classic Car Parts typically sends out 130 items per month - but difficulties arose quickly.

"For couriers, I have to supply customers' contact details - and often have to write to them in French and German to get those, which is a bit of a drama we never had to deal with before."

Deliveries into Italy, for example, have never arrived and others have been returned due to customers not paying the new charges.

"It has impacted us certainly from the mental point of view. It's a lot of additional stress and you're continually on deadlines, trying to get good reviews from customers and make sure things get delivered."

Martyn points out that he is able to deliver car parts to the US in less than 24 hours - and no tariffs are applicable on those under $700.

"I will muddle on through in the best possible way I can and maybe it'll push me to think outside the box a bit.

"Perhaps in the long-run it might be good for us, but we're going through the pain barrier."

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How Brexit changed clothes, flowers, sausages and cars - Yahoo Finance

What do lipstick, cravats, gold chains and poker chips have in common? The answer is that they are among a host of items that the US is threatening to impose punitive import tariffs on if the UK proceeds with its plan to implement a tax on big tech. The new duties are intended to raise $325m the amount the US government believes the exchequer will raise from the 2% tax on revenues of tech firms.

In some respects, this is just part of the merry-go-round in international trade (though actual merry-go-rounds have also been slapped with new tariffs) as countries ruthlessly pursue their national interests. But it matters because it reveals Britains newfound weakness in international trade from outside the EU and how that weakness may limit the ability of the government to curb the power of big tech.

Brexit was sold on a myth that buccaneering Britain would be able to use its freedom from EU structures to strike great new trade deals the world over. The problem was twofold: not only was it a daft idea that Britain would expand its exports by trashing its economic relationship with its most important trading partner, it was also simply untrue that agility would somehow trump scale in trade negotiations.

As this spat with the US shows, most trading relationships have a very clear dynamic: the larger and stronger party makes its demands, and the smaller and weaker party accepts what it must. Thats why the Brexit deal itself was so one-sided, with the EU securing almost all its objectives in the trade in goods, while Britain failed to achieve its goals in the trade in services. The data already shows that Brexit has been precisely the disaster its critics predicted, only occluded by the even greater crisis of the coronavirus pandemic.

Brexiters were seduced by some imaginary future where Britain and the US would somehow meet on equal terms. The idea the US would put our interests ahead of its own was always fanciful, based on nothing more than a puff of nostalgia for a transatlantic economic relationship that only ever existed in wartime. The dewy-eyed view of the special relationship has always been in London, not Washington.

As if to hammer home the point that scale matters, the US had initiated similar proceedings against the EU before deciding to drop them. This emphasises the reality of trade blocs in the 21st century: when two large blocs go head to head, the result is usually stalemate. Thats why there is no comprehensive trade deal between the US and EU, or either the EU or US with China.

The US response also shows the power of the big tech lobby. In polarised Washington, there are few points of agreement between Democrats and Republicans, and so it is particularly significant that this dispute was initiated by the Trump administration and yet still progressed by president Biden.

Rather than being a small victory for bipartisanship, it reveals that big tech has co-opted the federal government to advance its interests and to defend its monopoly positions. The power of platforms to reshape the economy is only set to accelerate as new automating technologies disrupt more and more sectors.

So EU membership offered Britain much more than merely preferential trading arrangements. It was also a means by which democratically elected governments could confront the power of multinational corporations, acting in the interests of their citizens and in the pursuit of economic justice.

No matter the rhetoric of the moment or the vaccine nationalism of this year, the stark reality is that Britain will need to pull closer to the EU in the future if it is to defend its own interests. That process will become a pathway back to membership, which is why so many Brexiters are so Europhobic despite Britain having already left. They know it is only a matter of time.

From climate breakdown to health security to the disruptive forces reshaping the economy, all the most interesting and important problems of the 21st century are collective-action issues. No amount of chest-beating and flag-waving can answer those substantive challenges. Only by working together with our friends and allies can Britain secure prosperity and justice for its citizens. A seemingly small dispute about trade tells us a whole lot more about the future than a fleeting glance might at first suggest.

Tom Kibasi is a writer and researcher on politics and economics

Originally posted here:

Biden's tariffs threat shows how far Brexit Britain is from controlling its own destiny - The Guardian

[Image: P. Dazeley/Getty Images]

On 24 December 2020almost literally at the last minute, and more than four years after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Unionthe U.K. and the EU finally sealed a trade and cooperation agreement to govern their post-Brexit relationship. The agreements stakes were high; in 2019, some 43% of Britains exports of goods and services went to the EU.

For a while, the final months of negotiation on a new framework to govern that big chunk of trade seemed impossibly snagged on arcane details of fishing rights in U.K. waters and state aid to industries. In the end, though, the December accordwhich guarantees tariff-free trade in most goods between the U.K. and the EUled to deep breaths and a sense of relief on both sides of the Channel.

The immediate aftermath of the agreement, which came into force 1 January 2021, included somewell-reported delays and snarl-ups for imports and exports of trade goods, as businesses attempted to grapple with a suddenly hard U.K.EU border and new paperwork requirements. But now, three months in, much of that dust has settled. To get some insight on the accords impact for photonicsand, particularly, on the U.K.s future participation in the new framework program for EU research funding, Horizon EuropeOPN recently talked with several members of the European photonics community.

Notwithstanding the eleventh-hour post-Brexit agreement in December 2020, one could be forgiven for thinking that relations between the U.K. and the EU have reached something of a low point in the past several months. Tensions have especially flared over the availability of COVID-19 vaccines, and over the complex post-Brexit status of Northern Ireland. There was even an announcement, in February, that a Cold War-style emergency hotline would be set up between Brussels and London to handle post-Brexit tensions.

Yet in the wake of the December agreement, these political twists and turns might prove relatively unimportant to the real-world photonics business.

James Regan. [Image: Courtesy of J. Regan/Effect Photonics]

I think its important to pick apart government posturing from teams of people actually working on the ground, says James Regan, the CEO of the Eindhoven, Netherlandsbased company Effect Photonics, which develops and manufactures on-chip modules for the communications market. Our governments do what our governments do, but where there are long-standing relationships, those are largely not affected by that Business is done between people, not between governments.

Regan is particularly well positioned to see both sides of the post-Brexit agreement. While headquartered in Eindhoven, Effect Photonics also operates a development lab and manufacturing facility in Brixham, Devon, U.K. (The company has a unit in Taiwan as well, and Regan expects that it will branch into other world regions in the future.) From that broad perspective, he says that one of the biggest benefits of the deal is simply putting an end to more than four years of uncertainty since the 2016 Brexit vote.

It was very frustrating, Regan observes. Like all of business, what we wanted was to have clarity Nobody likes the inability to plan. Another frustration, he adds, was that people will often tend to assume the worst-case scenarios, an orientation that Regan believes can distract from important issues. At least now we have clarity, he says. We understand what the situation is, and we go forward and build around the landscape that we find.

John Lincoln, the head of the U.K. Photonics Leadership Group, which provides information and advocacy for countrys photonics industry, likewise views the removal of complete uncertainty as the biggest impact of the post-Brexit agreement. He says that the ongoing uncertainty had led to a distinct tailing off in the past four years for U.K. participation in Europe-wide research consortia and in pan-European groups like Photonics21.

John Lincoln. [Image: Courtesy of J. Lincoln]

The ebbing of participation in the research consortia was a particular disadvantage, according to Lincoln. Being in one program tends to lead into being in the next program for a research group, he points out. That chain has been broken by this four years of uncertainty, which means its no longer obvious to have a U.K. partner in.

For this reason, one of the biggest pieces of good news from the December agreementfor scientists on both sides of the Channelwas that the U.K., in exchange for a 2 billion (US$2.36 billion) annual contribution to the program, would be able to participate as an associatedcountry in the EUs new Horizon Europe funding framework program. That framework will provide some 95.5 billion in R&D funding for EU member states and associates between 2021 and 2027.

Lincoln admits, however, that it will require work from the U.K. side to get back in, given the erosion of some bonds during four years of Brexit, plus the extra blow of COVID-19. We need to reach out, re-engage with those networks, re-engage with people in consortiapeople we might once have been speaking with once every few weeks, who now we havent spoken with in six months, he says. It requires rebuilding momentum.

James Regan likewise feels thatin addition to the removal of uncertainty, and the fact that the deal does not involve tariffs between the EU and the U.K.the re-integration of the U.K. into EU collaborative research is a big plus. Over here in Europe, these European collaborative projects have always been kind of the mainstay of building partnerships and consortiums allowing different universities and companies to collaborate, he says. I think the fact that the U.K. will continue to participate in these collaborative projects is very important for my friends at universities.

With the European Council having given its blessing to the proposed rules and structure for Horizon Europe, the program is set for final approval and adoption by the European Parliament in April 2021. At that point, the European Commission will start publishing final work programs determining how money in the first few years will actually be spent. And in both the EU and the U.K., photonics researchers may find competing for those money pots a bit more challenging than in the past.

Roberta Ramponi. [Image: Courtesy of R. Ramponi]

Photonics enjoyed a privileged position in the immediate predecessor to Horizon Europe, the highly successful Horizon 2020 framework program that governed EU R&D spending from 2014 to 2020. In Horizon 2020, photonics was identified as one of six Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) tapped for special support and funding. But Roberta Ramponi, the director of CNR-IFN and a professor of physics at Politecnico di Milano, Italy, as well as an executive board member of Photonics21, says that under Horizon Europe, photonics has again been somehow merged with microelectronics from the point of view of the EC.

In some respects, Ramponi admits, this makes sense given that the two technologies often support each other. But the ecosystems, in terms of industries, are completely different, with microelectronics dominated by very large companies and photonics predominantly consisting of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The latter, she maintains, need targeted programs that are much more flexible than those needed by microelectronics.

On a positive note, the status of the photonics public-private partnership (PPP), established under the aegis of Photonics21 during Horizon 2020, will be maintained in Horizon Europeand that, Ramponi says, gives us some independence and control on the roadmap. But funding dedicated specifically to photonics in Horizon Europe, at least as currently constituted, could be as much as 30% less than in Horizon 2020.

The 30% decline in photonics funding is, in one sense, more apparent than real, relating to changes in the structure and goals of Horizon Europe. In particular, the program now places much more of its funding weight than past framework programs on application-led grand challenges and mission-driven funding in areas such as climate, health, and digital sovereignty. In principle, photonics, as a key enabling technology, will find a place in Horizon Europe funding for many different application areas under such a scheme.

The updated industry roadmap document published by Photonics21 in December 2020 put a heavy stress on photonics role in enabling newly framed EU priorities such as climate, health and digital sovereignty. [Image: Photonics21]

In practice, though, Ramponi observes that this spreads the field rather thin, and threatens development that targets basic technology. It dilutes the funding much more, she maintains, and makes it more difficult for the photonics industry to have a roadmap with sufficient co-funding from Europe It risks making the field a bit less organized.

Ramponi recognizes that, from the point of view of the EC, you need to target the final step of the applicationespecially in light of the coronavirus pandemic, which has demonstrated the value of targeted initiatives to solve a specific societal problem. But if you dont support the technology, in a few years you will no longer be able to target the final step of the application.

John Lincoln agrees that the shift of the EC funding focus away from photonics as a KET, and toward grand challenges, will complicate things a bit. The challenge-led agenda is politically expedient, because it lets them say, Were funding this challenge to society and that challenge and that challenge, and well pool enabling technologies to provide solutions, he says. But it makes it difficult to explain the impact of photonics technologies to a more diffuse, less expert set of stakeholders, and to figure out the best places to put ones efforts to snag new funding. The result may require what Lincoln calls a broader collaborative approach in the photonics community for identifying potential opportunities in the vastness of the wider Horizon Europe program.

Lincoln believes that the complexities of Horizon Europes societal-challenge funding focus are actually another good reason for EU scientists and U.K. scientists to re-engage and work together after Brexit. In the U.K., he says, weve been living under challenge-led industrial funding for more than a decade Its something were very, very used to. And that experience, he suggests, could prove helpful to European scientists trying to navigate this new EU funding landscape.

While the U.K.s participation in Horizon Europe (as well as a number of other big EU science and technology efforts such as Euratom and the European space program) is good news, there are a few notable areas under the post-Brexit accord in which the U.K. will not be participating.

For example, while the U.K. will participate in the European Innovation Council as it did during Horizon 2020, it wont be eligible for loans or equity investments by the new European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, which will dole out some 3 billion in accelerator financing to scale up innovative start-ups and small and medium-sized businesses. The U.K.s exclusion from the EIC Fund likely reflects both the ECs desire not to fund potential competitors to EU companies, and the U.K.s desire to chart its own course on translational innovation. U.K. entities can still apply for non-equity grants from the EIC accelerator program, however. And they can also participate on an equal footing, according to EC documents, in the EIC Pathfinder component, which provides 34 million grants to support early stage development of future technologies.

[Image: European Commission]

The U.K. also wont be participating in the Erasmus+ education program, which will devote 26.2 billion for projects in mobility and cooperation across European countries from 2021 to 2027. Lincolnwho says he was one of the original Erasmus exchange students back in the 1980sthinks the U.K.s lack of participation in Erasmus+ is a real shame. The program helps early mobility of people right at the beginning of their careers, he notes, and that early mobility builds relationships and friends across Europe. (With the loss of Erasmus participation, the U.K. is creating its own exchange program, the Turing Scheme, to provide study-abroad opportunities for students there.)

To be sure, the inking of the post-Brexit agreement in December brought some near-term headaches in January, as companies accustomed to friction-free transport of goods across borders suddenly faced new paperwork and bureaucratic hurdles.

In the immediate aftermath of the implementation, we saw a lot of chaos in the logistics of moving goods around, says James Regan of Effect Photonics. But, he adds, were already seeing that that has been dying away quite rapidly You learn to do the paperwork, and then it almost disappears as an issue. And, says John Lincoln, photonics goods dont need to move as quickly as fresh food 24 hour delivery isnt normally essential.

Lincoln adds that its very hard to separate these impacts of Brexit from the impact of COVID-19almost impossible, in fact. And some of the communications technologies that have eased other aspects of the pandemic have been useful in the photonics business as well. You now see people doing remote installation of equipment via Zoom or other channels, he notes. That was previously unheard-of.

Indeed, the pandemic will likely remain a far bigger preoccupation for both the U.K. and the EU than Brexit in the near term. Roberta Ramponi observes, for example, that there is still much uncertainty about how the massive EU pandemic recovery funding will actually be spent, and on the split between investing in future activities and assisting those most harmed by the pandemic today.

Looking at the long term, however, James Regan stresses the strong bonds that continue to link Britain and the continent.

I think its very important to understand that, with Brexit, the U.K. didnt leave Europe, he says. The U.K. just left a particular financial organization Speaking as the CEO of Effect Photonics, Im glad that our U.K. team will contribute to continue to contribute alongside our Dutch team.

[Update, 30 March 2021, 16:15 EDT]: This story has been updated to clarify the U.K.s participation under the European Innovation Council.

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The Post-Brexit Landscape: Photonics Perspectives - Optics & Photonics News

Spain has warned British tourists and second-home owners that they are not entitled to spend more than 90 days in the country at a time post-Brexit, but dismissed reports that offenders would be rounded up and deported if they overstay.

Rules applying across the EU which now apply to Britons limit visa-free visits to those from outside the bloc to six months with an additional restriction of a maximum 90-day stay per 180-day period.

While the visitor rules do not apply to British nationals settled in the EU lawfully, hundreds if not thousands of unregistered British citizens in Spain could be affected.

These are people who have been flying under the radar for a long time when they should have registered their residence in the country and didnt for whatever reason, said Sue Wilson, the chair of Bremain in Spain, a group campaigning for the rights of British migrants living in Spain.

If they are unable to prove they were resident before 31 December and get entitlement to remain in Spain, they now face a 90-day deadline to leave the country.

Many are still planning to do the same and think the Spanish will either turn a blind eye or will take time to get their act together to enforce the law. But they are kidding themselves. These rules are rules that have applied to third-country nationals for years and the Spanish authorities have no catching up to do.

Spanish government sources have lamented what they say are misleading reports in UK media suggesting they will be deporting or kicking out 500 British nationals in the coming days.

The Guardian understands that police will not be deployed to search for British over-stayers, but that anyone staying longer than 90 days will be considered to be in an irregular situation and will be subject to the law if they are picked up at a control point.

British nationals living lawfully in Spain before 31 December are entitled to remain in the country permanently under the Brexit deal.

However, the new rules are causing anxiety and stress to some who face having to choose their formal country of residency.

If they remain in Spain, they have to become officially resident and might be worried about their rights to go home to access the NHS for example. For them it is crunch time, said one British national in Spain who did not wish to be named.

Michele Euesden, the Marbella-based managing director of the Euro Weekly newspaper, said there had been a surge in the number of people moving lock, stock and barrel back to the UK before they breached their 90-day limit.

Some people are frightened of the consequences if they overstay and are afraid if there is another lockdown they will wont be able to leave and come back again and visit because they will be known to the authorities, said Euesden, who also offers a one-stop shop for movers to and from Spain.

She added that the departure of people who had lived under the radar for 20/30/40 years and who contributed nothing in the way of taxes or social contributions would not be missed.

A spokesman for Spains interior ministry said there were errors in media reports that suggested the government was planning mass deportations of unregistered Britons.

Following the UKs departure from the European Union, and in accordance with the Brexit agreement with EU countries and international conventions, British citizens are subject to the same rules as citizens of other third-party countries, he said.

Like any other third-country citizens, the maximum period they can stay in Spain is three months unless they have a work, study, or other kind of visa that allows them to stay longer.

Government sources said Spain was merely following the rules governing visits and stays in its territory that apply to the UK as a non-EU country.

The government guidelines state: Stays in Spain cannot exceed 90 days in an 180-day period, whether in a single visit or various visits. Britons need to use their passports for identification purposes and will be exempt from visas.

The interior ministry also pointed out that fewer Britons were visiting Spain at the moment because of Covid travel restrictions, which will end on Tuesday.

Spain introduced the curbs on 22 December last year in response to the spread of the so-called British strain of coronavirus, allowing entry only to flights and ships carrying Spanish and Andorran citizens or official residents. The restrictions will be lifted on 30 March, but those arriving from the UK will still have to show a negative PCR result from a test taken no more than 72 hours before arrival.

Original post:

Brexit: Spain denies reports it will round up and deport Britons without visas - The Guardian

Sylvie Bermann was Frances ambassador to the UK between 2014 - 2017, serving at the moment the Brexit referendum happened in 2016. She has now written a new book about Brexit and what it means for the future of the UK and Europe, titled 'Goodbye Britannia: Le Royaume-uni au dfi du Brexit' (Editions Stock).

Today, she is retired from the diplomatic service and lives in Paris.

The Connexionspoke to her about the new book and her thoughts on Brexit. In this extended online version of the interview, she recounts those momentous days after the 2016 referendum, the xenophobia that followed, the differences in the Remain and Leave campaigns and about what lies ahead.

Did you know the UK well before becoming ambassador?

Yes, Ive regularly visited and am interested in its literature and history. I have French friends whove lived there for 30 years and I have often worked very closely with British diplomats my first post was in Hong Kong when it was a British colony. The French Quai dOrsay and the Foreign Office are founded on the same principles.

When you arrived in the UK in 2013, what was the atmosphere like?

There was a sense, in London anyway, of confidence and joy. Everyone still spoke of the success of the 2012 Olympics and it was a time when the feeling in France was pessimistic so the feeling of those coming to London was of being able to breathe freely and being in a truly global city where things were going well.

The UK had the highest economic growth in the G7 and seemed to embody happy globalisation, which is why the Brexit vote came as such a surprise.

I know there were the austerity policies and in the rest of the country it was less easy in poorer areas, but the feeling we had in London was of success.

When I came the British told me that, coming from China before, I was going to be bored because nothing happens in the UK

So the morning of the result came as a shock?

Yes, it was a big shock for me, and it was terrible for the French community in London.

Everyone who I saw political staff, MPs, observers the pollsters had said Remain would win. Even Brexiters told me we want to leave, but we know its not going to happen.

I had been to an electoral event the night before where several ministers were present and everyone was confident.

I went back to the ambassadors residence and continued to follow it I only slept an hour and after the results from Sunderland we realised it was going the wrong way.

It was a big shock, because its a real break-up. The French in the UK had a sense of being abandoned. They said yesterday we were Londoners and today we are foreigners.

Then there were xenophobic remarks. One French banker said he went to work the next day and his assistant said if you like Ill help you pack.

In the book you refer to aspects of the Leave campaign such as the red bus promising 350million for the NHS or the threat that Turkey was about to join the EU how do you feel about that?

Well we know very well they were lies, but a lot of people believed them and didnt check. And there was no effort by [Prime Minister-at-the-time] David Camerons team to rectify that. They just repeated that we would be stronger, safer and better-off in the EU.

There was no targeted campaign to rectify the false image of the EU - that it was too interfering, unelected, and the UK had no influence, whereas we French had the opposite sense that the UK had totally shaped the EU and its single market.

There was also a xenophobic campaign against immigration. We may think there was too much immigration in 2015, but the way it was dealt with was very violent.

There was confusion that was deliberately maintained. Some people who said they were Brexiters due to immigration actually said Europeans werent a problem to them, it was coloured immigrants who had nothing to do with the EU.

And while we know politicians lie during electoral campaigns, this time it reached record proportions.

In fact, the UK had rather encouraged the expansion of the EU and immigration?

Yes, in France we were reticent and there were remarks about how we didnt want Polish plumbers. We ended up with a seven-year transition period with immigration restrictions that Tony Blair didnt want, thinking immigration was positive.

But he didnt realise there would finally be a million Polish people. Its still hard to find a plumber in France, but it was effectively a choice of the UK. Often Londoners told me it was no problem as they had full employment and needed these EU nationals. You know, in theory, in EU law if someone has no work, they have no right to stay more than three months.

You say in the book that Brexit would never have happened without Boris Johnson?

He was the UKs most popular politician and so once he said he was in favour of Brexit it legitimised a position that before that was mostly supported by Farage and a small number of Tory backbenchers.

There was always some Euroscepticism, but what struck me was how it turned into Europhobia. David Cameron had wanted to resolve the problem with some of his MPs, and put it behind him, but never imagined we would leave.

It was unfortunate that Jeremy Corbyn was selected to lead Labour and he was a Brexiter himself.

Then there was the tabloid press on top of Boris Johnsons euromyth stories from his days as the Daily Telegraphs Brussels correspondent that gave a false idea of the EU.

As the Ladybird book Story of Brexit put it, some people understood the issue was something about the freedom of bananas Some people also claimed the EU was going to demand the end of the British monarchy, which was nonsense.

However, at first you appreciated Mr Johnson, especially for his support over the terror attacks in France?

Yes, that was very important, and he is charming, intelligent and funny, and likes to speak French. But I regret Brexit and think its a loss, diplomatically, and I think we ought to have good relations, but at the moment theyre rather difficult.

I hope its going to improve in the future and considering the international situation and the weight of certain countries like China, the US or Russia, I think we would be better off together.

They say it was a sovereign choice of the British, and its true, but at the same time its a divorce and we are concerned as well and are entitled to have feelings about that.

In the book you say Mr Johnson told you everything will be fine

He has always had this rather over-the-top optimism that Brexit would be a fantastic opportunity. I felt he was sincerely astonished when I said it would be difficult.

There have been accusations in some of the UK press of the EU wanting to punish the UK

Yes, they thought that France in particular was trying to punish them. I think they still find it hard to understand that the EU needs to protect its single market. We Europeans would all have preferred the UK to remain. If there are new barriers to trade, like plant and animal health checks, its normal and not something that we chose. Its the consequence of their decision. But as the Brexiters have always been partly driven by emotion, they continue to reproach us for it.

What do you think of the Brexit deal?

It is bare-bones because they wanted at all costs to leave at the end of last year, and it includes nothing for the UKs important financial sector. At the last minute the EU had proposed some flexibility for performers and sportspeople, but it was refused, inexplicably.

The withdrawal from Erasmus is a shame, because it helped young Britons to forge an identity that isnt just insular. Theres a risk of the UK closing in on itself, which isnt for that matter Boris Johnsons own mentality.

Now there are a lot of difficulties and contradictions to resolve. There are problems for the British fishermen and small businesses.

At the moment, the UK has a more effective vaccination campaign than the continents so thats whats being highlighted.

That has changed since the book has come out you wrote about how there were criticisms of Mr Johnsons handling of the health crisis.

Yes, but the book was sent for printing in January.

I think the EUs vaccination policy was good in principle to do it in solidarity because otherwise small countries would have difficulty in getting the vaccine.

Unfortunately there were perhaps not enough vaccine doses ordered and perhaps not enough aid was given to the laboratories beforehand, but then we were confronted by the problem of labs that were not able to supply what they had promised, which is not the EUs fault.

Then the vaccination campaign has been insufficient and too slow in the EU. So in this sense Boris Johnsons vaccination strategy has been better, even if the delay in lock-down last year meant the country has had a high number of deaths.

How do you see the future for the British in France?

I hope it continues because I think its very good to have a lot of Britons in France.

I think for those who are living there, yes its more complicated in bureaucracy, but I think it will be like in the UK, where many French people have asked for permanent residency cards and others have asked for British nationality because it makes things easier.

Ive known Britons in France who were local councillors and committed to local life in their villages, who regretted losing that. Its a shame but its a right linked to EU citizenship.

Are things better for the French in the UK now compared to after the vote?

I think those times are mostly over, though Im not there any more. I am however struck by anti-European articles in some of the press, and perhaps that wont get better if there is less frequent contact than before.

You are sceptical about the UKs ambition to be a global Britain?

Nothing was stopping Britain being global in the EU Germany trades with the whole world and France does pretty well. In the EU we pool our sovereignty and we make a critical mass compared to the great powers.

Who will it be global with? It didnt work out with Trump and Biden thinks Brexit is an error and his priority is the EU.

With China, the UK on the one hand is critical of them but also wants to trade, but theres a contradiction there. The Chinese president visited London before Brexit and said London would be Chinas best friend and gateway to Europe, but it cant be that any more. On the contrary, firms in the UK are now setting up in Europe instead. Relations are very hard with Russia.

So I think its an illusion, though it remains to be seen.

We French hope to see convergence with the UK on matters of foreign policy and defence, we very much want this bilateral relationship.

In the last few years, its all been about the EU talking to the UK

Yes, we wanted to avoid a politics of divide and rule from the UK, so bilateral relationships were very limited. Now we must move on to a new phase. However, nothing is settled with Europe as we have seen with the unilateral decision about the Northern Ireland protocol, which complicates things a bit.

Do you see a Frexit as impossible?

I think Brexit has shown us that we need to show people what the benefits are of EU membership and I think we should avoid referendums because people use it as a protest vote.

I think, however, that no one thinks Brexit is a success, though its too soon to say. I think theres a sense were stronger together. There is also this strong rivalry between the US and China, and it is hard to measure up as an isolated country.

Would it be different if Marine Le Pen (leader of the hard right-wing party Rassemblement National) became president?

It would be more difficult, but Im not sure shed seek to leave. I dont think the outcome of Brexit is a good advertisement. There is Euroscepticism, but I think the image of Europe in France is better than it was.

You have said that you see the British as dynamic and that they think they will bounce back?

Once again, I think its harder alone in the world today. Yes, I think there is a lot of talent in the UK, but how long will it take, I dont know.

And its hard to predict if one day the UK will rejoin the EU?

I think the young are more pro-EU, but if the UK asked to join again after this very difficult break there would also be the question of confidence. Will it want to leave again if theres a change of government? Its too soon to say.

I think the Covid-19 crisis is somewhat covering up the difficulties. Later it will be necessary to make clear what consequences are down to Covid and what are due to Brexit. It depends how the UK and EU come out of it economically.

This year, what areas will France and the UK need to work on?

Theres defence above all, where we have a very close cooperation, with exchanges of officers who take part in operations.

There will be things happening in the G7, which the UK is presiding. And bilaterally, we used to have our biggest trade surplus with the UK, whereas we are often in a trade deficit with the rest of the world.

Around 1 3million British people used to visit France each year and there were exchanges between students and researchers, which must continue.

We cant just cancel all that but well have to find new ways of doing it. Perhaps it will be more the companies and universities that will make agreements between themselves.

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Former French ambassador to the UK: 'Brexit was big shock' - The Connexion

Ten EU member states have said they will no longer extradite their nationals to the UK following Brexit, the British Home Office has said.

Countries including France, Germany and Poland have informed the UK of their refusal to allow the extradition of their nationals.

Two more Austria and the Czech Republic will only hand over suspects to the UK with their consent.

The European Arrest Warrant was introduced in 2004 and obliged member states to arrest and transfer suspects to countries where they were wanted.

The letter, sent from the Home Office to the House of Lords EU committee dates from earlier this month and was first reported by The Times.

It said: I can confirm a total of 10 EU Member States have notified of their intention to exercise an absolute bar on the extradition of own nationals. This includes Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden.

In addition, Austria and Czechia have noted own nationals will only be extradited with their consent.

Where Member States refuse the extradition of their nationals, the Agreement requires the State concerned to refer the case to its own prosecution authorities. In such cases the Agreement establishes an obligation to provide appropriate support to victims and witnesses. PA

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Ten EU states to halt extraditions to UK following Brexit - The Irish Times

Three months after Brexit began for real when the EU's rulebook stopped applying to the UK, many areas of life have noticed a difference.

The impact has been felt by both people and businesses -- although it has sometimes been hard to distinguish from the overwhelming impact of the pandemic.

British exports to the EU have been hardest hit by new border formalities, despite the last-minute deal struck in December ensuring tariff-free trade.

Although some sectors report improvements since the early chaos in January, they also say the problems run deeper than the "teething troubles" the UK government highlighted at the time.

Meanwhile, a further UK delay in imposing import checks on EU goods means European exporters have not been affected to the same extent.

Euronews examines the effect of the changes so far on several major sectors of the economy.

Official UK figures in March showed the UK recorded a record fall in trade with the EU in January, as the economy struggled with post-Brexit rules and the pandemic.

Goods exports plunged by 41% and imports by 29% as the UK's departure from the EU's single market had a major impact, as did additional bureaucracy and sometimes unexpected costs and taxes.

Figures released on March 18 by Ireland's Central Statistics Office said imports from Great Britain fell by 65% in January compared to a year earlier. Recent German figures showed imports from the UK dropped by 56%, while exports were down by nearly a third.

Trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland has also experienced new barriers under divorce deal arrangements designed to protect an open north-south border on the island of Ireland. The EU has begun legal action against the UK after the British government unilaterally extended a grace period on some food checks.

Euronews listed several examples of early problems food producers and other traders reported. An avalanche of cases airing similar grievances has followed: the pork exporter forced to spend an extra 4,000 per load that still got held up by customs; the Belgian supermarket now looking to Ireland instead of Britain for supplies; the UK beekeeper who can no longer import bees from the EU.

A UK parliamentary report on March 23 notes that UK food producers are facing new trade barriers with the EU in the form of health measures, extra paperwork, higher haulage costs and some "outright export bans".

Exports of some products such as seed potatoes have come to a halt, says the House of Lords EU Environment Sub-Committee. Small businesses in particular are suffering from red tape and transport costs. The lack of equivalence agreements is adding to friction, it finds.

An analysis published on March 23 by the UK Food and Drink Federation of a 75% fall in exports to the EU in January -- salmon collapsed by 98%, beef 91% -- cited COVID-19 and stockpiling. But it said much was "likely due to new non-tariff barriers". The FDF added that the "collapse in groupage movements" -- where different companies send goods in the same load -- had hit small and medium-sized firms in particular.

"Dismissing trade disruption at the borders as simply short term teething problems is no longer credible," says a Brexit Impact Report by the British Meat Processors Association. "British meat companies are painting a very different picture. They are reporting systemic weaknesses in the current export system, mountains of red tape and a potential permanent loss of trade of between 20 and 50 per cent."

Some bureaucratic demands are due to increase: for example, more export health certificates will be needed after grace periods end. The House of Lords committee warns that barriers to trade could become permanent unless the UK government takes action.

The UK wine trade has welcomed a second delay announced by the government on controversial import forms for EU wine from July until December 31, which the UK Wine and Spirit Association said would have brought "price hikes, permanently disrupted supply and drastically reduced consumer choice".

Deadlock over fishing rights was one of the main obstacles in post-Brexit trade negotiations, with the EU pushing to retain access to UK waters while London insisted on "taking back control".

But the deal brings many "long-term" barriers, the Lords report says, dismissing the government's description of early problems as temporary.

The impact of new demands for customs declarations and other paperwork hit UK exports immediately. Delays saw catch values halve and often made fresh fish shipments unviable.

UK environment minister George Eustice told a committee of MPs on March 25 that the EU's ongoing ban on the imports of live shellfish was unlikely to change. UK producers have been unable to sell mussels, oysters and scallops to the bloc -- and have been told to invest in purification material or seek new markets for frozen shellfish.

Cornwall Council in England and France's Brittany region have reportedly agreed to work together to facilitate shipments of British fish and seafood by ferry.

There was huge relief in the car industry on both sides of the English Channel when the Brexit trade deal was sealed, keeping the EU-UK market free of tariffs and quotas. A grace period over rules of origin -- delaying a requirement to declare where parts come from -- has also been welcomed, although this is due to expire at the end of 2021.

However, concern over the impact of non-tariff barriers on supply chains continued into the new year. "That does not mean zero cost," Mike Hawes, CEO of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) told a House of Commons committee on February 23.

"I would characterise all the industry as paddling furiously below the water to keep things going," he went on. "In terms of general daytoday operations, moving parts in and out, it is difficult. The administration is significant... This is the new normal; we accept that. Ensuring the entire complexity of the supply chain can continue to operate is a major challenge."

Paul Everitt, Chief Executive of the ADS Group, had a similar message concerning aerospace and defence. Companies were experiencing "a daytoday battle to make the new arrangements work and to find their way through this," he told the committee, citing delays and extra transport costs.

He added that key parts of the industry "are not able to do business, and some of them are actually losing business", because of uncertainty over the future EU-UK relationship on aviation safety and regulation.

British manufacturers reported a near-record increase in supply chain disruption and rising costs, attributed to Brexit and the pandemic, in an IHS Markit/CIPS survey carried out in February.

"This disorder was primarily created by shipping delays, transportation shortages and customs border commotion. Though it was difficult to see clearly where COVID disruption ended and the Brexit muddle began," said Duncan Brock, Group Director at the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply.

Brussels gave an initial green light in February for personal data to continue to flow between the UK and the EU in the post-Brexit era. The European Commission's draft decision concluded that the UK's data protection regime complies with the EU's own flagship law.

Health organisations on both sides of the English Channel welcomed the move. EU recognition of the UK regime "is vital for the functioning of the European health sector," they said in a joint letter. "It determines everything from the delivery of cross border health and social care for thousands of European citizens to governing how health data is securely shared to advance research."

The fact that the export of medicines and medical devices continues tariff-free under the Brexit trade deal has also been welcomed.

However, last year the European pharmaceutical industry highlighted the importance of reaching a mutual recognition agreement (MRA) on inspections and batch testing as part of a trade deal. Agreement was struck on the former but not on the latter.

The UK has unilaterally waived batch testing requirements for products coming from the EU for two years. But the EU is still imposing testing on medicines going the other way.

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has warned that this results in repeated testing "that complicates the supply chain and can delay the batch of medicine reaching patients for an average of 6 weeks and costs 1,500 per batch".

The Brexit deal contained only vague commitments on services and left financial services to a separate process.

The UK and the EU have reportedly reached a "memorandum of understanding" -- as had been expected by the end of March -- on future cooperation. It's thought it could help City of London firms regain some access to the EU lost when the UK left the EU's single market.

However, this goes nowhere near returning the full "passporting rights" giving blanket access to EU markets. And a decision on the lesser form of access -- given when the EU accepts a third country's regulation to be "equivalent" to its own -- rests in the hands of Brussels.

The immediate post-Brexit period in 2021 has seen a flight of share trading activity from the UK into the EU, while since the 2016 Brexit referendum hundreds of UK-based financial firms have moved at least some operations to the bloc.

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Three months on, what impact has Brexit had on UK-EU trade? - Euronews

UK SME retailers are having to route goods through friends and family in the EU to cater to the single market as they struggle to stay afloat in a maze of post-Brexit red tape.

The owner of an independent record label said their LPs and singles were being sent direct from a Czech pressing plant to a relative in the Republic of Ireland to post on to customers in the EU because additional costs otherwise made the sales unviable.

VAT, admin, collection charges, plus postage and packaging, for a 20 (23.40) album runs to about 50, nearly double the labels owner told The Loadstar.

Compounding the issue, on 1 July the EU will introduce its e-commerce VAT package, aimed at simplifying VAT obligations for companies conducting cross-border sales.

For UK-based businesses, the new rule, in effect, puts them in a bind, as to sell into the EU, non-reclaimable VAT will be applied at the point of sale, potentially resulting in an exodus of SMEs and their associated jobs into the single market.

Mail order is vital, and while 55% of sales are to the UK, 25% of mail order sales are from EU customers which I do not see being made up elsewhere, said the labels owner.

Because of this new VAT rule, I will have to permanently hive-off part of the business by relocating to the Republic of Ireland. This means setting up another company, gaining the necessary sub-licences and having to carry on as best as possible.

According to the British Phonographic Institute, independent and major record labels contributed more than 1.1bn to the UK economy last year.While much of this was through streamed music, vinyl sales surged more than 30% year on year, with expectations that this year will be the first since 1987 in which vinyl sales exceed CDs.

And independent labels have been recognised as something of a success story for the UK, with a collective contribution of roughly a third of total record sales.

These are really successful British companies that have been building up since the 1990s and have taken advantage of the two things that helped the internet and the single market, said the owner.

Describing the situation as ridiculous, the owner said rather than helping British business Brexit was simply an opportunity for multinationals to cement their market positions.

When asked if the company had received any government support the owner said:I very much doubt this government are going to do anything except say something like we recognise UK businesses need help for the new tariff- and duty-free rules and regulations, so weve set up a website explaining what they need to do, blah blah blah

Its such a stupid situation and theres no way out.

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UK 'success story' SMEs struggle to stay afloat in a maze of post-Brexit red tape - theloadstar.com

The Festival of Britain in 1951 was conceived as a celebration of Britains victory in the war and a symbol of leadership to the empire, as well as a commemoration of the centenary of the Great Exhibition. Its actual form, as developed under a Labour government, was very different. Prompted in 1945 by an open letter from the editor of the News Chronicle, Gerald Barry, to Sir Stafford Cripps, president of the Board of Trade, it soon morphed into a celebration of British achievements in design, the arts, science and industry.

Along the way the press grumbled: it was a waste of money; it was the work of a small elite. Barry, who was put in charge of the event, pressed on. He decided it should be joyful: a year of fun, fantasy and colour, a year in which we can, while soberly surveying our great past and our promising future, for once let ourselves go. It was to be a tonic to the nation. Now, perhaps, it is best remembered for its mood of optimism against a backdrop of austerity, and the quality of artists associated with it, from Lucienne Day and Barbara Jones to Edward Bawden and Laurie Lee. The last was particularly important in steering the tone of the event away from pomposity and towards a gentle self-deprecation the kind of wry, fond, anti-patriotic patriotism that the British used to be so good at before po-faced Tories started grimly hoisting union flags at every opportunity.

All of which is interesting to consider in light of the latest announcement from Festival UK 2022. As soon as it was announced by the former prime minister Theresa May in 2018, it was written off by many as a jingoistic festival of Brexit. Some cultural figures declared that it ought to be boycotted. But it should be given a chance to be judged by its results.

While it is naive to imagine that any creative gesture can possibly be apolitical, the festivals leadership speaks for itself: the organisation is run by Martin Green, who oversaw the London 2012 Olympics ceremonies and ran Hulls year as city of culture in 2017, and chaired by Dame Vikki Heywood, a former chief executive of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Now the teams of creatives who are developing projects have been announced. With participants including historian David Olusoga, the Turner prize-winning collective Assemble, the astrophysics department at Queens University Belfast, the National Theatre of Wales and the British Antarctic Survey, it seems particularly hard to imagine that the festival will be an exercise in tub-thumping.

In fact, just as the Festival of Britain changed substantially between conception and realisation, so will Festival UK 2022. It will take place in the wake of Covid-19, a trauma unimaginable when Mrs May announced the event. Among the many consequences of the pandemic, the UK itself the organising principle of the festival has been called more seriously into question than ever before. It will be fascinating to observe how the event will act as a mirror for the anxieties and preoccupations, as well as talents and ideas, of its creators.

Whether it will be any good or not, whether it will fail or succeed, is now in the hands of its leadership and those who are developing its projects. The Manchester Guardians Philip Hope-Wallace described the Festival of Britain as heady and sparkling just the tonic we were needing. One can only hope that the same will be said of 2022s festival.

This article was amended on 30 March 2021. An earlier version mistakenly referred to Eric Ravilious, instead of his friend Edward Bawden, as one of the artists associated with the Festival of Britain.

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The Guardian view on the 'festival of Brexit': judge it on its results - The Guardian

Delphiniums, lupins and other hardy perennials are hard to come by. Roses, fruit trees and house plants are in short supply. As for garden furniture, and equipment, if you think you can walk into a garden centre today and buy whatever you desire, think again.

Garden retailers across the UK are facing a perfect storm of Brexit and the pandemic, according to the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA). Demand is two to three times higher than normal, thanks to the extra three million people who have taken up gardening during lockdown. Meanwhile, supply has fallen by around 50% over the past year.

British garden wholesalers, already hit hard by global supply chain issues, social distancing measures and a shortage of migrant workers, are now battling with new red tape around plant imports from the EU. Throw in Brexit-related congestion at British ports and a giant container ship blocking the Suez canal and you end up with a shortage of plants and patio furniture and a lot of disappointed gardeners.

Its the biggest year for demand in the industrys history, without a doubt, combined with the most complicated supply issues ever, says Boyd Douglas-Davies, president of the HTA and director of British Garden Centres, a group of 58 retailers. Ive been working in garden centres for 35 years. Im born and bred into it. And this is, without a doubt, the most challenging supply year that weve ever seen.

Plants from Europe are now subject to health inspections in the EU. Importers must also notify the British government of their intention to bring those plants into the country before they arrive, and their goods can be subject to ad hoc health inspections in the UK as well.

Douglas-Davies estimates that since Brexit it can take up to 48 hours longer for plants to arrive from Belgium and the Netherlands. You might say thats not very long. But of course, thats 48 hours on a lorry. Thats not where plants are destined to be.

One importer lost all his plants from Portugal after a flight was cancelled due to the pandemic and low demand for holidays to Britain, followed by a Brexit-induced plant inspection in the UK, which wouldnt have happened last year. The delay of two days meant when they finally arrived, the plants were dead.

Brexit complications are also affecting orchids, indoor figs, yuccas and other foliage plants. Almost all of the house plants sold in the UK are grown in Holland or Belgium. Gardening tools and watering equipment also tends to come from Europe. Those are also subject to further delays and increased costs, Douglas-Davies says.

Garden furniture and equipment such as mini greenhouses are in particularly short supply, he says. People are rushing to prepare their gardens for long-awaited reunions with family and friends, which will be permitted in private gardens again when the outdoor rule of six is reinstated in England on Monday. As quickly as furniture arrives, its already been sold and goes straight to customers. Its selling out very, very quickly.

Most garden furniture and equipment is made abroad and shipped to the UK on a schedule decided six months ago. The tremendous demand to sit outside in the early spring was not anticipated then. Plus, the ports are clogged up with unwanted goods that were imported for retailers that collapsed during lockdown and the port congestion which began on 1 January has continued. That really stems from a Brexit issue. There are delays and it is taking about a fortnight longer than usual to ship products to the UK.

David Green is the founder of Chapel Cottage Plants, a hardy perennial grower in Cambridgeshire. He says: Brexit is causing major problems. Because its very difficult to get plants into the UK, the British grower is overwhelmed with demand.

Garden centres are requesting six to 10 times as many plants as they normally would in March, even when there was high demand. British weather means it is impossible for local growers to fulfil all these orders, especially because last year after the industry was brought to a standstill by the closure of garden centres during lockdown everyone was frightened to invest, says Green. As a result, supply to retailers has remained weak. He estimates garden centres and nurseries are receiving around half the plants they normally would.

Meanwhile, he is sitting on about 1.5 million units of homegrown British perennial plants, praying for a warm April. Im just hoping they soon become large and saleable plants.

The problem Green faces then is getting enough labour to process them. Weve struggled with labour terribly due to Brexit reducing the amount of foreign labour coming in. Unskilled British labour is very difficult to find for cleaning and processing the plants, ready to package for the garden centre. Normally, we would employ eastern Europeans.

Green is using three recruitment companies and has only managed to fill half the quota he requires: 40 workers, instead of 80. This has already brought down his sales by as much as 50% this season, he estimates. We know the demand is there, but were unable to fill it.

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All is not rosy for UK gardens as Brexit hits supplies and Covid hikes demand - The Guardian