Category Archives: Brexit

Can you please explain the rules for sending gifts to Europe post-Brexit, because every time I send one to my son in Germany he ends up having to pay charges to take delivery.

All the goods I have sent are well under the 45 (37) that seems to be the threshold for paying VAT. But he always ends up having to collect the package from a depot and paying between 6 and 10. I have been using Royal Mail and printing my own labels and the CN22 customs declaration form. The most recent fee of 9 was for a paperback book, only worth 10.

How do I prevent these bills?

GH, Sheffield

I have received a lot of similar emails, mostly from people who sent Christmas gifts to recipients who ended up having to pay a fee before the carrier would release their item. Its another post-Brexit disaster area, that even the Royal Mail struggles to explain.

The situation is confusing as VAT is now payable on non-gifts arriving in the EU from the UK. In contrast, as I understand it, gifts valued below 45 are not subject to VAT or duties, and therefore there is no reason for extra fees.

Royal Mail confirmed that your son has been wrongly charged and has refunded you for the December parcel, and another sent last week.

It told you that the gift tick box on the CN22 customs form is being misinterpreted by EU carriers and it is addressing this with a redesigned form due at the end of the month.

In the meantime, readers may want to take back control and hold off sending items to Europe. It may be better to buy online and have the item delivered from within the EU until this is resolved.

We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include a phone number. Letters are subject to our terms: gu.com/letters-terms

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Since Brexit, my parcel gifts arrive in the EU with a big bill - The Guardian

Everyone misses something. For some, its quite specific: PG Tips, Branston pickle, proper curry. For many, its more intangible: the atmosphere of an English pub; that greenness, everywhere; tolerance; and British openness.

Then they pause. Actually, many formerly British-resident EU nationals say, what they miss is an idea. Or, to be precise, the idea of Britain they had before 24 June 2016: all of them remember, in painful, pin-sharp detail, how they felt, and what they did, the morning after.

While it is clear that EU immigration into the UK has declined sharply since 1 January last year, when Britain finally left the blocs orbit and free movement came to an end, it is hard to say exactly how many EU nationals have left since the Brexit referendum. The figures are confusing. The ONS says Brexit and the pandemic prompted more than 200,000 EU nationals to go in 2020, leaving a total of 3.5 million in the UK but the Home Office says it has received 6m applications for settled status. Jobs data suggests 9% fewer EU nationals were working in Britain last year than in 2019. Immigration experts, however, say the official data is insufficient, and almost certainly underestimates the true number of departures by a significant margin.

Elena Remigi is a translator and interpreter who, after the shock of the referendum result, set up In Limbo, a Facebook group for EU citizens in the UK and Britons on the continent. She reckons more than 20% of the 100-plus EU citizens whose testimonies she published in the first of the projects two books in 2017 have now left Britain.

Some went right after the vote, says Remigi, who has lived in Britain for 15 years. Others waited for job offers. More left in 2020, in the transition period, when British partners could still settle easily in the EU. The pandemic convinced another lot to go.

But for all the confusion around the exact numbers, few experts doubt that the bitterness created by Brexit, combined with longer-term concerns about becoming second-class citizens, have prompted many to go. Early reports of unfair hostile environment treatment of legally resident EU citizens have spurred the exodus: EU nationals arriving for job interviews have been locked up, and others legally resident in Britain have been detained.

When the Independent Monitoring Authority, which was set up under the Brexit deal to protect the rights of EU citizens settled in the UK, surveyed 3,000 EU nationals in the UK last summer, it found one in three lacked trust in the government, and one in 10 were planning to leave. Last month, the same body launched legal action against the Home Office, accusing it of breaching EU nationals basic rights.

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Many, of course, have decided to stay, regardless. For those who decided to go, the decision was rarely easy. Often, they had been living, working and bringing up families in Britain for decades. Some took British partners often with equally strong feelings about Brexit with them. Others separated.

They are still scarred. We settled, they say, contributed, built lives in Britain, felt it was our home and then, without us having any say, you suddenly changed the rules. The words they use to describe how they feel are invariably the same: forgotten, lost, abandoned, unprotected, unwelcome, betrayed, belittled, voiceless. Many were asked when they would leave. Most believed that in future some degree of discrimination over jobs, housing, healthcare, bank accounts was inevitable.

But returning to the EU has not always been easy. So yes, there are things about Britain they miss. Though they have also lost their illusions of what Britain was. The most succinct summary she has heard, says Remigi, goes like this: Farewell, Britain. You were once good to me. And then you werent.

Candela thinks her experience is a common one. Come to England, find a job, meet someone, get married, have children, she says. Then wake up one morning, see the result of the vote, and realise everything has changed. Leave. There are many like me, arent there?

She still believes Britain is a tolerant country. I always thought it, she says. Perhaps this is a hiccup of history. Maybe Britain has just stepped back to move forward. What I do know is the day I left was the saddest of my life.

Candela spent 23 years in Britain, coming first to study English, then working for a Japanese trading company. She married a Japanese man in insurance, and raised two children, now aged 15 and 20.

We bought a house in Orpington, she says. It was our home. The day we left, 4 August 2017, I cried so many tears. I feel emotional talking about it even now. I have kept a photograph of it, all emptied.

Brexit was such a shock. British people always seemed so respectful of foreigners. And the vote brought everything out that was hidden. All this pride in being British, this dislike of other cultures, all in the open.

The morning after, taking her daughter to school, she recalls other parents looking at the floor. People who knew me. They looked guilty, she remembers. A remainer friend came round and announced, We love you. Very dramatic. Lots of people said, Its not against you. I thought: but its against people like me.

What also changed, she says, is that she started wondering about people. Which way theyd voted. Id never thought that way before. Comments you wouldnt have thought about twice, you started noticing.

Just over a year after the vote, her then husband (they separated a few months ago) was offered a job in Spain, and took it. He was over the moon, she says. The sun, the food He wasnt very happy in England.

For Candela, there was a reverse culture shock. She was feeling sad that my country isnt capable of doing that much better. The whole Catalan independence thing kicked off as we arrived the same issues, a divisive referendum, all over again. It wasnt easy.

Now she is working in Barcelona, for a startup. Although her children are British nationals, her son just told her: Mum, wherever I go, Ill be a foreigner. Her daughter is studying at Goldsmiths, and happy; she at least feels at home. Candela misses Londons multiculturalism. Proper customer service. Green trees. Not the weather. Not the food. And I wouldnt go back.

There are mixed feelings, but no regrets, says Mammone. Now a senior researcher in contemporary history at the Sapienza University of Rome, for the past 10 years he was at Royal Holloway, University of London.

An expert on the far right, nationalism and European politics, Mammone, whose first experience of Britain was an Erasmus year in Bath in 1999, watched the Brexit process unfold with an interest that was as much professional as personal. He got it half wrong, half right. On the one hand, I thought the leave campaign did not look like it was winning, he says. On the other, I was absolutely certain, looking at what the Conservatives were saying, that if it did, it would be a disaster.

There are lots of people like Mammone in UK universities, people who came for this very open British system, this rich exchange of ideas, this great multicultural welcoming of foreign minds. Now, he says, many are leaving. You see a difference of approach. It feels like certain topics or themes are becoming almost out of bounds. A kind of nationalism has come back. Add in the marketisation of higher education in the UK, and the universities are not what they were.

Professionally, Mammone says, he could see this was demagogy in action. The Brexiters analysis was so poor; it was clear they could never deliver all they promised. We used to talk about British pragmatism, but leaving Europe actually brings Britain closer to the populist politics of parts of the continent.

Personally, he feels a sort of betrayal. Like a rejection of the European identity. It was a shock when it happened, certainly. Politically, culturally, Britain showed a different face. It no longer considered me a citizen. I had no reason to stay not family, not the weather, not the food. It was not special any more.

Mammone does miss London. Or at least, a nostalgic, romantic vision of London dynamism and greenery. But I was back for a month this autumn and its changed. In Italy theres a kind of post-pandemic renaissance under way; London feels the opposite. Every day I am more sure I made the right choice.

After 19 years in Britain, Joke Qureshi has come to spell her name as its pronounced in Dutch: Yoka. Its also the name of the new band she has formed with her British husband, Ray, a year after returning to the Netherlands.

It hasnt all been easy, she says. I felt like a foreigner in my own country: so much was the same, so much completely different. I didnt know how things worked. We felt lonely at times, often misunderstood.

She was disappointed, too, to discover escaping Brexit did not mean escaping some of what drove it. All the our country is full rhetoric, the idea that immigrants are taking peoples jobs, that they are the cause of the housing shortage, only after our money that exists here, too, she says.

Qureshi landed in London in 2002, aged 29, from Amsterdam. She found a job in a pub, then as a recruiter, then in a travel agency, and spent her weekends gigging. Ray, who drives trucks for a day job, joined the band as a guitarist in 2011. She studied for a social policy degree from the Open University, volunteered with a youth offenders service, and eventually became a special educational needs teacher, a job she loved.

In August 2016, weeks after the referendum, they moved to Kent. There were still leave posters everywhere, she says. In the pub, people would just assume we agreed with them. I felt nervous, unsure what to say. But when we went to see my mum in the Netherlands, everything just felt so easy. I felt like I belonged. Like I didnt have to pretend. Ray loved it, too.

When they finally decided to move, in June 2020, it was a scramble: Ray needed to be resident in the Netherlands before the end of the transition period or face a series of complications, including a Dutch language test. But everything fell into place. Before they left, Qureshi found a job in youth care; Ray started driving trucks as soon as they arrived. They found a home with a garden and a workshop for Rays hobby, guitar-making.

The pandemic hasnt made life easier, but they feel on track, Qureshi says. The band is on; a social life beckons. I miss my friends, I miss my old teaching job, I miss the British blues scene, which was so warm, she says. I miss nice Brits. Ray really misses a good curry. But Im happy we left.

English was Ollivier-Minns worst subject at school, which is why she came to Britain in 1986, aged 19, to improve it. I honestly thought I would spend the rest of my life there, she says. I loved that country. I embraced the culture. It really was home.

In more than three decades in the UK, she worked as an au pair, an auxiliary nurse, a French teacher and, finally, as a sculptor, living first in London, then near Great Yarmouth, and for 24 years in a big house with a lovely garden in Norwich. She married a Briton (a good man) and had two children, now 24 and 27.

In September 2018 she moved back to a one-bed house near Nantes, where she grew up and has family and friends. I had to leave, she says. The weight of Brexit became so enormous. The division, the apathy, the sense of betrayal. I couldnt stay. It became almost physical.

Her last two years in Britain were suffocating, unbearable. The architects of Brexit stole my friends, she says they felt uneasy about the vote and kept their distance afterwards. Brexit also robbed me of my beautiful home: it no longer felt like home. They tarnished the British values we shared, and soiled me in the process. They left me feeling unsafe.

Ollivier-Minns didnt trust the EU settlement scheme. I could see the discrimination coming, that dangerous us v them, she says. I had to get out.

Brexit also cost her her marriage. I fell out of love with the country, then I fell out of love with my husband. So after more than 30 years together, we divorced when I returned to France. It was immensely stressful.

Rebuilding a new life in France after so long away, wrestling with the bureaucracy and doing up a new home have proved a huge challenge, but also a distraction. She has a lot less money. I ended November with 35 in the bank, she says.

I miss my children most. Theyre British; they dont feel in the least French. Thats the biggest sacrifice, a huge sacrifice. I miss English pubs. I miss PG Tips. I miss speaking English I love this language. I was missing it so much I set up an English conversation group here.

Yet she remains angry. I still care about Britain, but the deep feeling of betrayal wont leave, she says. Im disgusted by what happened, by whats still happening. But Im happier out of it. I had to look after myself. Theres no price for freedom and security.

Aichbauer headed back to her native Austria in October last year, with a British partner and daughter in tow. It was a relief, she says. I could have stayed, made the most of it. But Im so grateful Craig wanted to leave too.

An inveterate traveller, Aichbauer arrived in the UK in 2001, aged 28, in pursuit of an Irishman she fell for on a motorbike tour of India. She settled in Brighton, working at a museum cafe to fund more road trips. She met Craig in 2009 and travelled around Asia with him for 14 months. Then she became pregnant with Judith, and moved in with Craigs mother in the Fens. Later they bought a home of their own near Wisbech in Cambridgeshire.

I trained as a baby swimming teacher and pregnancy yoga instructor, and loved it, she says. Craig did warehouse shifts, then found work as a plumber. We had a whole life there. A happy life.

The referendum was devastating. Craigs whole family had voted leave. The pub no longer felt so friendly. I got a few When are you going home? comments, and I just thought, I dont have to do this, Aichbauer says.

Craig was very honest, she says. He just said he didnt have the guts. But then Covid shut down her workplace, and in May 2020 Aichbauer took Judith to Austria for six weeks. We had the best time ever, she says. We called Craig every day. But it was an English friend who convinced him. He said it was clear where Britain was heading. She wont easily forget the date. The sixth of July. He called, said hed spoken to the estate agent, that the house was on the market. From then on, things went really fast. (They had to move quickly: as with the other British partners of EU nationals, Craig needed to be in Austria before the end of the transition period.)

They were lucky: Aichbauers big old family home, now owned by her sister, was mostly used for holiday lets, so they were able to stay. In the Alps, where Austria, Italy and Slovenia meet, most jobs are seasonal, but Aichbauer has found permanent work as an assistant to the local vet, and Craig is working as a plumber. Judith is loving school.

I have no regrets, Aichbauer says. I miss my job, my lovely colleagues. Craig struggles a bit with the winter, the sheer weight of the snow. But you look where Britains heading now and you think, I wouldnt have been true to myself if Id stayed.

Pavelkov is back where she began, in Prague, and theres not a lot she misses about the country that was her home for 15 years. Im not a big tea-drinker, she says. I do miss the openness, the tolerance at least, I miss my idea of Britain as it was, before Brexit.

Pavelkov left for the UK after graduating from vet school in the Czech Republic in 2006. She found work in Lancashire; it was hard to begin with. But after a spell travelling, she returned in 2010, settling in Cheshire, qualifying as a veterinary cardiologist in 2014, then working in an animal hospital in Manchester.

I think I was a bit naive about Brexit, she says. I didnt think anyone would be so stupid as to vote leave. But I started to worry as the referendum neared, and people around me started saying they would.

The outcome was, Pavelkov says, a life-changing event. It completely threw me. I panicked about the implications for my job, my work, free movement. It was clear EU citizens would never have the same status, that the country wouldnt be the same.

She overheard a nurse telling a colleague she had voted out because I dont like the immigrants. A neighbour asked when she was leaving. A client who brought his dog in was proudly sporting an I voted leave T-shirt.

The whole atmosphere was different, Pavelkov says. She applied for permanent residency in the UK before realising she didnt qualify because she had not had private health insurance while she was studying.

Then, in 2018, she met her British husband, Stuart. Id calmed down a bit by then, Pavelkov says. But neither of us felt our future was in the UK. Neither of us liked where the country was going. We decided to leave in January 2020, and we knew wed have to be gone by the end of the year.

Pavelkov applied for British citizenship. She says: Im not proud of having dual nationality; it was necessary just to keep the rights I already had. But last December the couple moved to Prague. She has set up her own veterinary cardiology practice, and Stuart, an environmental officer in the UK, is working from home.

Pavelkov has returned a few times since then for locum stints, but has mixed feelings. I do miss my colleagues; were a small, close, very friendly community, she says. I love seeing my friends and family. But Britain has changed. Life is cheaper here in Prague, and easier. The quality of lifes better. Were happier.

This article was amended on 30 January 2022. Due to an editing error, an earlier version said that the UK left the EUs orbit and free movement came to an end on 31 January last year. The UK formally left the EU on 31 January 2020; then, following a period of transition, it left the EU single market and customs union at the end of 31 December 2020, when free movement came to an end.

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The day I left was the saddest of my life: EU nationals on the pain of leaving UK - The Guardian

Geopolitical events such as Brexit can lead to profound effects on local, regional and global healthcare markets. Brexit, the UKs withdrawal from the European Union (EU), prompted a period of uncertainty in the countrys healthcare market during the transitional years, starting with the initial vote to leave in 2016 and continuing to the present day. There is speculation over potential price increases in medical and healthcare supplies and disruptions in the supply chain. Delays can also occur due to the shortage of professional assessment as larger providers have pulled out of the market, leaving three approved bodies for UK medical devices.

The approval and marketing processes for new medical devices are more costly and time-consuming as manufacturers need to follow both EU and UK regulators. All manufacturers will need to register with the UKs Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), submit reports to the agency and receive a UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) mark. In addition, new EU regulations such as the Medical Devices Regulation (MDR) and In Vitro Diagnostics Regulation (IVDR) have delayed many companies as there are increased costs and time associated with the approval processes. As a result, with the additional hurdles associated with marketing medical devices in the UK and EU, manufacturers may be deterred from launching new products in the UK.

In a GlobalData poll of 218 participants, 50% agreed that Brexit will disrupt the UKs ability to acquire the latest and safest medical devices. The new EU regulations, MDR and IVDR, have a higher degree of safety because of the EUs increased standards on clinical data needed to market a new device. Since these new regulations are scheduled to take effect next year, GlobalData predicts that small-medium enterprises, especially from outside the UK and EU, will exploit opportunities to release and market cheaper medical devices that conform to the less-stringent old standards. This will lead to the release of devices that conform to different safety standards, which will lead to different price points. The increased safety standards in MDR-approved devices will win market share, which will affect the UKs ability to gain the safest medical devices until they instil stricter safety regulations.

According to GlobalDatas thematic research report Brexit Impact on Medical Devices, Brexit holds a lot of uncertainty for the UKs medical devices market. Despite Brexit, however, the UKs in-vitro diagnostics segment accounted for 15% of total revenue in 2020. GlobalData projects that the UK medical devices industry is set to reach $19.8bn by 2030, as the UK is a popular location for clinical trials and home to the headquarters of 1,800 medical device companies. Although there is immediate uncertainty of Brexits impact on the UK medical devices sector, GlobalData expects the market to continue to grow as manufacturers adjust to the new UK and EU regulations.

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New regulations due to Brexit may limit medical devices from entering the UK - Medical Device Network

The former EU Brexit negotiator accused the Prime Minister of being a "buccaneer" as he called on Mr Johnson to respect the withdrawal agreement signed in 2020. He told French channel Europe 1: "What interests me about Boris Johnson is that he respects his commitments, that he does not behave like a buccaneer and that he respects his signature."

Mr Barnier went on to say that the Prime Minister should "respect EU fishermen" and should respect Irish citizens over the issues around the Northern Ireland Protocol.

But the former EU chief was promptly scolded by Generation Frexit leader Charles-Henri Gallois who said: "You haven't read the treaty you negotiated?

"On fishing, the UK respected the agreement.

"The EU and you negotiated very badly."

Mr Gallois added: "On Ireland, it is also a big joke.

"It was you who cynically used it all the time during the negotiations."

The former Brexit negotiator has been attacking the Prime Minister front and centre for the past week.

He criticised Mr Johnson for threatening to take unilateral action to rip up the mechanism if the EU refused to compromise in discussions on how to make the deal more sustainable in the long run.

Attacking Mr Johnson for urging Brussels to fix the problems caused by the Protocol, Mr Barnier said last week that the deal was "exactly what they signed up".

He said: "The British Government has very consciously accepted this complicated solution which preserves the all-Ireland economy, protects the internal market, provides the controls we need and keeps the peace.

"The British Government must adopt a pragmatic attitude, without ideology, in order to find practical solutions."

Mr Barnier added: "Mr Johnson is a skilled and experienced politician, he has around him very high-quality civil servants.

READ MORE:EU throws Ireland under bus as military crippled

Goods crossing from Great Britain are subjected to bureaucratic customs checks, with many companies simply refusing to ship to the province due to excessive paperwork.

Presently good travelling to Northern Ireland is assumed at risk of entering the EU's single market via the Republic in the south.

Mr Johnson wants Brussels to agree to scrap customs checks for all products unlikely to leave the UK.

He is also calling for the role of the European Court of Justice in overseeing the Protocol to be removed.

The Prime Minister has argued that it is impossible for the EU court to be impartial in proceedings.

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Have you read your deal? Barnier skewered as he attacks Boris on hated Brexit agreement - Daily Express

Boris Johnsons government has claimed that Brexit has already proved a big success despite a new survey showing most British exports are struggling with red tape.

Treasury minister Simon Clarke said the UKs exit from the EU had allowed us to get rid of a load of red tape it has been a big success already.

The claim comes despite huge lorry queues at Dover as drivers get snarled up in red tape, and a new survey showing that most British exporters are struggling with customs controls.

Some 60 per cent of exporting firms surveyed by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) reported difficulties in trading with the EU an increase from 49 per cent in January 2021.

The business body called of urgent action from the government to ease trading barriers with Europe on the second anniversary of the UKs departure from the bloc.

Though the BCC survey results relate to November 2021, the business body said the picturesof lorries stacked up near Dover offered a vivid illustration of additional problems with trade since full customs controls were introduced on 1 January.

One oftheissuesat Dovercurrentlyappears to be linked to the export of food products across the Channel, said William Bain, head of trade policy at the BCC.

He added: Like many of the problemsthislooksto be down to a differing interpretation ofhow thetrade arrangements workafter leavingthe EU.

Each haulier is taking 10 to 20 minutes to clear checks at Dover, drivers and the Unite union have told The Independent with queues on the A20 stretching up to 15km.

The additional time is down to the codes needed for governments new Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) system and other export paperwork.

Though exports checks have been in place since last January, companies had 60 days to fill in customs forms after exporting. But since 1 January, the forms have to completed in full adding to the pressure on the GVMS and customs agents at the border.

Even longer delays have been experienced on the French side atCalais because of the additional red tape and rules of origin forms needed for imports from the EU into the UK since 1 January 2022.

The BCC called on both London and Brussels to streamline some of the red tape, suggesting they could eliminate or greatly reduce the complexity of export health certificates required of food exporters.

On Monday Mr Johnsonclaimed the governments Brexit freedoms bill aimed at making it easier to remove or amend EUregulations copied into UK law would encourage investment.

We wont diverge for the sake of it, but we are going to make sure this is the number one place to do business and invest because of the freedoms that we have, he told broadcasters during a visit to Tilbury docks.

Meanwhile, Mr Clarke told LBC: In reality [Brexit] has allowed us quicker vaccination, its allowed us to scrap free movement, its allowed us to begin free trade negotiations, its allowed us to get rid of a load of red tape. It has been a big success already."

A booklet will be issued to celebrate the benefits of Brexit will be issued this week to mark the two-year anniversary of the UK leaving the EU.

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Brexit has been big success says government despite 60% of exporters struggling with red tape - The Independent

Its the second anniversary since the UK officially cut ties with the EU, but plenty of people arent celebrating.

The prime minister and his cabinet have been promoting the occasion as a landmark success of their government, while trying to dodge further questions about the ongoing partygate scandal.

On Monday, Boris Johnson tweeted that the UK has now taken back control of our money, our borders and our laws and is developing this post-Brexit agenda of freedom.

Pro-Tory newspapers, the Daily Mail and the Daily Express, have the prime ministers pledge to go faster on Brexit freedoms and blitz outdated EU red take with a new Brexit bill leading their front pages.

However, not everyone is so delighted and have questioned why this news emerged on the day senior civil servant Sue Gray unveils her redacted inquiry into the alleged No.10 parties, even though the UK left the EU two years ago.

Dominic Cummings, Johnsons former trusted aide, also accused the prime minister of being more interested in Brexit Day than in governing during a scathing weekend interview.

Speaking to New York magazine, Cummings claimed: I was sitting in No.10 with Boris and the complete fuckwit is just babbling on about, Will Big Ben bong for Brexit on the 31st of January?

He goes on and on about this day after day.

Despite being in the middle of renovations at the time, Big Ben chimed on January 31, 2020, to honour the political occasion.

Two years later and people still dont want to celebrate especially as No.10 faces further criticism over its alleged lockdown parties...

So, some pointed out that Brexit has not exactly been a success...

While others pointed out how Brexit appears to be the governments go to distraction technique...

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Boris Johnson Wants Us To Remember It's Brexit Day But No One Is On Board - HuffPost UK

From left: First lady Jill Biden, President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Carrie Johnson at the G7 summit in Cornwall, England, last year.Getty

Tension over Northern Ireland may be delaying the end of Trump-era sanctions, an ex-ambassador said.

There is also "some resentment on both sides" over the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, he said.

A former State Department official said the US was frustrated with the UK's inaction on laundering.

President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson are presenting a united front as they hold crisis talks with other world leaders over how to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine.

But the so-called special relationship hasn't always run quite so smoothly since Biden took office.

President Biden was elected months after referring to Boris Johnson as "a physical and emotional clone of Donald Trump." He has repeatedly rebuked the prime minister, both in private and public, over ongoing Brexit disputes in Northern Ireland, which have yet to be resolved, while making pointed references to his own Irish ancestry.

For his part, Johnson raised eyebrows in Washington when Downing Street said he preferred not to use the term "special relationship," suggesting it made Britain sound "needy and weak," reports said.

So what is the state of UK-US relations, and given an ongoing row over illicit parties that could see Johnson replaced as prime minister what priorities might help a future prime minister to improve them?

At a personal level, relations between the Johnson and Biden camps are "pretty good" at the moment, said Peter Westmacott, the UK ambassador to the US under President Obama. Defense, intelligence-sharing, and much of foreign-policy cooperation remain strong, as evidenced by the coordinated actions on Ukraine.

But there remain significant tensions, most particularly over the Brexit situation in Northern Ireland, which "may be delaying the lifting of Trump-era sanctions," Westmacott said.

Biden has repeatedly warned that Johnson's actions could undermine the Northern Ireland agreement, the defense of which he considers a key part of his political identity, given his Irish ancestry.

Story continues

After the surprise resignation of Lord Frost, the Brexit minister, in December, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was tasked with overhauling the Northern Ireland protocol. Truss, a potential leadership rival to Johnson, has already received warm praise from Brussels following a second round of bilateral talks this week, although the impasse remains.

Westmacott also mentioned "some resentment on both sides" over the chaotic withdrawal of UK and US troops from Afghanistan last year, as well as other issues, including the case of Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US diplomat who faces criminal charges in the UK after being charged with causing the death of a teenager by dangerous driving.

The UK has also surprised some in Washington with a more muscular foreign policy than many expected it to adopt after Brexit, said Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who was a senior director for European affairs at the National Security Council under President Obama.

"The more internationalist dimensions of the British government have prevailed against the inward-looking impulse," Kupchan said. "And I think that's good news for the UK-US relationship."

That approach has been on display in Ukraine, where the UK has adopted a harder line against Putin than many of its European neighbors as the Russian president masses thousands of troops on Ukraine's border.

The crisis appears to have sharpened minds and brought NATO powers, including the UK and US, closer together. But there is also frustration in Washington over the UK government's failure to tackle "dirty money" flowing into London from Russia.

American officials are concerned that economic sanctions in Russia in the event of war with Ukraine would be ineffective because they could launder money so easily through the UK, The Times reported.

London has gained an unwanted reputation as a money-laundering hub for prominent Russian business figures with links to the Kremlin.

"There is a level of frustration" from Washington toward the UK about the issue, Max Bergmann, a former State Department official, told Insider. "The lack of action from the UK is troubling."

Bergmann this week proposed a UK-US "anti-kleptocracy" task force should Russia invade Ukraine, a measure designed to crack down on laundered Russian money as frustration in Washington about the UK's inaction grows.

"Crises are clarifying," he said.

"If Russia does invade Ukraine, there's going to be a strong push from the US, and I think inaction from the UK would be very damaging for the relationship."

But the consensus view was that the long-term relationship between the two countries would remain strong, whatever the current leaders' personal views of each other.

Westmacott said: "President Biden showed early on that he was not going to bear grudges against Johnson. But he thinks Johnson's support for Brexit was unwise and damaging to US as well as UK interests."

"He distrusts him over Northern Ireland, and like other leaders sometimes has difficulty in knowing when to take him at his word," he continued.

"Joe Biden is a pragmatist, and he is a people person," Kupchan said. "And he believes in the importance of building relationships. I don't see any differences over Brexit or any divergences of opinion in the past as affecting the relationship."

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Russian money and Brexit are undermining the UK-US relationship. Here's how a future prime minister could improve it. - Yahoo News

The ambitious plans are revealed in a new report heralding an enormous opportunity for the UK to be at the forefront of green economies - as an independent country. Reconfirming the UKs commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, the report lists several ways Brexit Britain will establish itself as a key player in the fight against climate change.

It is part of a 108-page document, titled 'The Benefits of Brexit: How the UK is taking advantage of leaving the EU', which was published on Monday.

Net zero refers to the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere - meaning a net zero economy fully offsets its carbon emissions.

The UK was the worlds first major economy to set a target of being net zero by 2050.

The Government report states: There is enormous opportunity for the UK in net zero and to seize this opportunity we must move first.

By 2030 low carbon goods and services globally are expected to be worth between 1.1 trillion and 1.8 trillion per year.

In the UK the green economy could support up to two million jobs, including in our industrial heartlands.

We want to help our manufacturing sector lead the world in the green industrial revolution.

The report goes on to argue that Brexit is key to the UKs position in the green economy.

It adds: Following Brexit, the UK now has the flexibility to determine our own decarbonisation pathways to 2050, in a way that fully utilises the unique strengths and opportunities of UK diplomacy, industry and innovation.

We have already published the Net Zero Strategy, Energy White Paper and Prime Ministers Ten Point Plan on how to drive a green industrial revolution and we led the way towards global net zero through our hugely successful hosting of Glasgow COP26.

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Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said these gilts will be used to finance vital green Government projects across the country, including things like clean transportation, renewable energy and preserving our natural environment."

Mr Sunak added: In helping us to build back better and greener, it will also help to create jobs as we transition to net zero.

The UK has also taken advantage of its exit from the EU by introducing new or amended regulations across eight product categories - to reduce bills for consumers and support their right to repair on products.

The reports adds that existing product policies already reduce the average dual fuel bills by around 75 and saved eight metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2021, with further significant potential carbon and energy savings outlined in our Fifth and Sixth Carbon Budgets.

The UKs newfound independence when it comes to trade is also crucial to promote global trade rules which are aligned to net zero, states the report.

When the UK appears at COP27 in November, it will do so independently from the EU, allowing it to drive UK priorities.

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Brexit Britain to lead way in 1.8TRN global business - boom of 2 million UK jobs by 2030 - Express

The push against a Russian invasion of Ukraine is being led by Brexit Britain while EU nations drag their feet, one of Boris Johnsons ministers has claimed.

Treasury minister Simon Clarke singled out Germany for criticism, as the UK government prepares to set out new sanctions against Moscow in the event of an invasion.

Brexit Britain is one of the foremost opponents of the actions of the [Vladimir] Putin regime, he said. If you look at the EU, it is countries like Germany that are dragging their feet in the response to this crisis.

Mr Clarke told Sky News: We are the ones tightening this sanctions regime, making sure we support our Nato allies and standing up to Putin in a way that is, frankly, leading the continent rather than following it.

The Treasury minister also denied the idea that the UK was compromised by the flow of suspected dirty Russian money into London, claiming British politics was fundamentally clean.

Asked by host Kay Burley about donations to the Conservative Party from Lubov Chernukhin a former banker who holds both Russian and British citizenship and others donors originally from Russia, Mr Clarke said: No-one has taken money from the Russians.

The minister added: Lets be very clear about this. One needs to be a UK national to make a donation. Any such donations are declared and properly scrutinised.

Mr Clarke said there was nothing wrong with any person in business having a link with any country, as long as it is legally-acquired wealth, adding: How they choose to spend it at that point is a matter for them.

The Treasury minister said: I think its important we dont muddy the waters on this issue. To do so is to undermine a wider faith in politics. I believe British politics to be fundamentally clean.

Mr Clarke said he did not believe MrJohnsonhad lied about parties at No 10 during the pandemic and described the PM as a good man ahead of the imminent release of a redacted version of the Sue Gray report.

He also told LBC that Brexit has allowed us to get rid of a load of red tape it has been a big success already, as the government prepares to release a booklet to celebrate the benefits of Brexit.

It comes as the Foreign Office is expected to set out plans to toughen the UKs sanctions regime on Monday in a bid to target Russias financial interests.

Mr Clarke said that if Russia were to take further action against Ukraine, sanctions would be tightened, targeting businesses and individuals with the closest links to the Kremlin.

However, officials in Washington are said to fear that suspected dirty money flowing into London will undermine efforts to sanctionRussia in the weeks ahead.

US State Department officials have expressed dismay and frustration at the British governments failure to tackle the flow of Russian funds into the city, according to The Times.

A report from the Centre for American Progress, a think-tank close to Joe Bidens administration, has warned the US will have to take the lead in countering Russian kleptocrats because the UK has become a major hub for Russian oligarchs and their wealth.

Tory peer Lord Agnew who dramatically quit as Whitehall efficiency tsar earlier this week claimed the government had rejected the chance to put forward anti-fraud legislation in the next parliamentary year, attacking the decision as foolish.

Tory MP John Penrose, Mr Johnsons anti-corruption chief, warned the government against delaying an economic crime bill that would expose the kleptocrats use of shell companies to buy British property.

Mr Penrose said the well of excuses has run dry after years of promising legislation on tackling the problem warning that it would be about as popular as a cup of cold sick if the proposed bill is ditched or kicked into the long grass.

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Brexit Britain leading opposition to Russia as EU countries drag their feet, claims minister - The Independent

The Prime Minister celebrated the two-year anniversary of Getting Brexit Done by announcing the creation of the Brexit Freedoms Bill. In a release, he said the bill will ensure that the special status of EU law in the UK will come to an end as well as guarantee that it can be more easily amended or removed.

It will also involve a major cross-government drive to cut 1billion of red tape for businesses and improve regulation.

It follows the PMs New Years Day pledge to go further and faster to maximise the benefits of Brexit in 2022.

Political analyst Mujtaba Rahman branded the release Mr Johnsons answer to David Frost and Tory hardliners.

His tweet came shortly after Lord Frost told GB News that Number 10 was hit by instability and chaos.

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Regarding infrastructure and Levelling Up, the country can more easily exclude poorly performing suppliers and enhancing our public health system by reforming clinical trials and medical devices legislation.

Reforming environmental regulation, 80 percent of which came from the EU, will help deliver cleaner air, create new habitats, and reduce waste, while changing the rules on gene-edited organisms, to enable more sustainable and efficient farming, the Government said.

Leaving the bloc has also allowed the Government to support business and industry in a better and more agile way, it said.

Since Brexit, the UK has taken an ambitious approach in financial services areas previously regulated by the EU, simplifying unnecessary reporting burdens firms, the Government said.

All of this combines to make the most of an unprecedented opportunity to forge new alliances and strengthen our partnerships around the world as Global Britain.

Unveiling the Bill, Mr Johnson said: Getting Brexit Done two years ago today was a truly historic moment and the start of an exciting new chapter for our country.

We have made huge strides since then to capitalise on our newfound freedoms and restore the UKs status as a sovereign, independent country that can determine its own future.

The plans we have set out today will further unleash the benefits of Brexit and ensure that businesses can spend more of their money investing, innovating and creating jobs.

Our new Brexit Freedoms Bill will end the special status of EU law in our legal framework and ensure that we can more easily amend or remove outdated EU law in future.

Attorney General Suella Braverman said: Setting up a mechanism to deal with these legacy EU rules is essential.

It underpins our ability to grasp important opportunities provided by Brexit.

It means we can move away from outdated EU laws that were the result of unsatisfactory compromises within the EU, some of which the UK voted and lobbied against but was required to adopt without question.

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Take THAT, David! Frost sent reeling as Boris slaps down ex-Brexit chief with FIVE points - Daily Express