Category Archives: Brexit

Bars are full, restaurants are turning away customers who dont have reservations and, judging by the people laden with bags, the Christmas shopping season is already under way. Belfast has known plenty of crises down the decades but this doesnt feel like one of them.

Instead, on a Thursday evening in November, Northern Irelands capital has the air of any other big provincial UK city, with a thriving hospitality sector and plenty of money changing hands. Were it not for the accents, it could be Leeds or Manchester.

But as with Leeds and Manchester, scars are visible just a short walk from the city centre, and in Belfast these result not just from the impact of industrial decline but from the Troubles, too. The Berlin Wall may have come down; the peace wall separating the Falls and Shankill roads has not.

Brexit has added a new level of complexity to the highly charged politics of Northern Ireland. The protocol agreed by London and Brussels prevented a hard border being created between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland by putting a barrier between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK in the Irish Sea.

If the plan was to make the peace process more secure, it didnt work. Unionist politicians say strict interpretation of the protocol by the EU has made the agreement unworkable, and Brexit minister Lord Frost has for weeks been threatening to invoke article 16, which puts an emergency brake on the Northern Ireland chapter of the UK-EU deal. That could trigger a full-blown trade war, which would be devastating for businesses already feeling the impact of the extra trade friction.

Archie Norman, chairman of Marks & Spencer, says: At the moment things are not too bad. We do have border constraints but they are deal-able-with. Things are a lot better than they are in the Republic of Ireland or in continental Europe, where weve announced a restructuring of our food operations.

Norman insists there isnt a food safety problem. Our food standards are higher than those in continental Europe. The sensible thing would be to agree to product equivalence, where we would agree not to drop standards. If we were planning any variations, we would notify the EU and they could then decide what to do about it.

In the grand scale of things the economic issue is so trivial. Northern Ireland has a similar population to Hertfordshire. Of course it matters hugely politically, but there is no hazard to anyone from produce from the rest of the UK arriving there. We are at risk of going to war over nothing.

Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis wants a deal that gives exporters the best of both worlds access to the EU single market and the UK internal market.

The conditions are met to trigger article 16, he said, but we dont want to use it. We would much rather come to an agreement with the EU. Thats achievable with a different implementation process.

Lewis says the public discourse over Northern Ireland focuses on Brexit and the Troubles, and it is hard to cut through that so businesses and individuals see the opportunities that exist. Everyone wants to talk about the protocol and the legacy of the past. There is a different story going on.

One part of that story is the boom in Northern Irelands film and TV industry catalysed by Game of Thrones. What began with some modest pump-priming in 2010 led to eight blockbuster series and acted as a magnet for other productions. We invested heavily in the pilot. We took a risk and it paid off, said Richard Williams, chief executive of Northern Ireland Screen.

GoT blazed a trail: after it came, among others, Line of Duty, Derry Girls, Dalgleish, a new mini-series based on Henry Fieldings novel Tom Jones, and The Northman, a new Viking revenge film starring Nicole Kidman. Belfast now has three film studios, and Williams says the success of the industry is a shining example of what was meant to happen post the Good Friday agreement.

PAC group a manufacturing firm in north Belfast that comes up with solutions to engineering problems may lack the stardust of a new Kidman movie, but in its way it is emblematic of the Northern Ireland economy: small (45 employees) but growing fast post-lockdown, and now running into supply constraints.

Darren Leslie, the companys business development director and one of its founders, said: Things are starting to bounce back. Everybody is busy. Nobody can get people. Workload is going through the roof. We are having trouble finding the right people and keeping them.

More than any other part of the UK, Northern Ireland is a land of contrasts. It has by far the highest share of public sector employment, yet Queens Belfast boasts the most spin-offs of any university, and over the past 25 years public-private partnership has helped build an impressive cybersecurity cluster. It is the poorest region and the happiest.

John Turner, professor of finance at Queens, said Northern Ireland had an abundance of social capital that may explain high happiness levels. People have come through the Troubles and can deal with adversity. Maybe it has made people a bit more resilient.

Graham Brownlow of Queens Universitys management school said Northern Ireland had three sets of economic problems. First, it shared in the problems of the UK economic model and was entwined in that. Second, the UKs weaknesses such as poor productivity and low investment in R&D, were magnified in Northern Ireland. Finally, it had its own unique problems: the protocol, the shared border, and the fact that the Good Friday agreement didnt really take account of the need to run for economic reconstruction alongside political reconciliation.

A lot of people suggest solutions that dont deal with all the sets of problems. Theyll suggest a silver-bullet solution such as having the same low rate of corporation tax as the republic but there isnt one, Brownlow says.

The Troubles held the economy back, leading to weaker investment and trade. Public spending plugged the gap, and has been rebadged since the Good Friday agreement to form part of the peace dividend. But political instability has been holding back the economy since partition in 1921, and in the early 1960s the Treasury pressed for closure of the shipbuilders Harland and Wolff as part of an economic restructuring.

The close links between politicians and businesspeople foster cronyism. The education system remains largely fractured along Catholic-Protestant lines. Northern Ireland has the largest proportion of Neets young people not in employment, education or training in the UK. Small businesses tend to stay small.

Owen Reidy, assistant general secretary at the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, also complained of a lack of a long-term strategy, and of squabbling local politicians possibily over-estimating their importance: This is a little place on the fringes of Europe. There is too much emphasis on looking south, looking east or looking across the Atlantic.

Some look to daddy in London; some look to mummy in Dublin. But mummy and daddy are not that interested any more.

Ever since Milton Friedman coined the phrase, economists have been arguing about the merits of helicopter money drops of free cash designed to encourage consumers to spend. Northern Ireland is putting the theory to test.

Taking its lead from a scheme tried in Jersey last year, every adult in the country has been given a Mastercard loaded with 100 that they have to spend before mid-December. In an attempt to support local businesses and encourage high street footfall, the money cant be spent online.

Gordon Lyons, Northern Irelands minister of the economy, says if every adult spends up to the 100 limit, there will be a 140m boost to the economy. We wanted to give businesses an immediate shot in the arm and we are at the peak of the scheme right now.

Lyons is hoping for an even bigger boost thanks to a multiplier effect from, say, someone buying a new washing machine and needing to hire a plumber to fit it. Mastercard says there was a discernible multiplier effect in Jersey.

Even so, some say the money from the UK governments Covid recovery fund might have been used more effectively. Peter Bryson of Save the Children in Northern Ireland said helicopter money would be better spent on topping up the incomes of those on universal credit or child payments to the one in four Northern Irish children living in poverty.

SDLP politician Matthew OToole asked: Is this the right time for a stimulus? People are going to be using it on Black Friday and it is hard to see it having an added stimulus.

He thinks it a fascinating economic experiment, though. People will be doing PhDs on it for years.

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Northern Ireland is huge in TV, but post-Brexit reality is far less glitzy - The Guardian

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By RICHIE CHEVATFor Montclair Local

Well, we did it! We fixed education in Montclair. Congratulations all around.

With the new elected school board, we have definitely made our educational establishment more accountable? Responsive? How about elected? We can say for sure that the new school board will be much more elected than previous ones.

Feel better? Good, because thats about all we know. Like the people of the UK voting for Brexit, we took a firm stand that will result in who can say? When will the first elections take place? What will happen to the repairs desperately needed for the schools? How exactly is this new system going to improve, you know education?

It certainly sounds more democratic, which we all know is a good thing (well, most of us). But what this new system really does is establish the following qualifications for school board: Candidates will need 1) $20,000 to $30,000 to spend on an election campaign and 2) an axe to grind. Why the axe? Because why else are you going to spend $20,000 to $30,000 to win a seat on the Montclair school board?

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Funny thing about axes. They make you think of words like chop, cut, hack or maul. They have labels that read, Use in case of fire. Never in the whole history of axes has there been one with a label that read Use in case of guaranteeing quality education for all students.

If you dont think people have an axe to grind about education, perhaps I can introduce you to a little concept called Critical Race Theory. Or remind you of every argument weve ever had about education in this town. Theres always an axe to grind and its always called chop, cut or slash.

Across the country, right-wing nuts are mobilizing to storm school boards, take them over and promote insane conspiracy theories. But that would never happen in Montclair, would it? At least, not openly. School board candidates tend to have innocuous, generic slogans along the lines of Good Schools for a Good Montclair, or maybe Better Schools for a Better Montclair, or how about The Best Schools for a

Well, you get the idea.

And dont worry, it wont just be right-wing nut jobs trying to hijack our schools. There will be more than a few good liberals with self-identified brilliant, innovative ideas for improving schools while running them like a business and employing technology to disrupt old paradigms while reducing costs and boosting efficiencies. Or something like that. On top of that, now every single school improvement, like fixing the staircases, will have to go up for a town-wide vote. That sounds like a lot of fun.

It will be up to those of us who care about guaranteeing quality education for all, which we can only hope is more than the 30 percent of residents who have students in the public schools, to mobilize ourselves in every single election and decipher which of the generic-sounding slogans represents halfway decent candidates. Or, perhaps well run our own candidates you know, Superlative Schools for a Superlative Montclair? I mean how hard could it be? Plus, hardly anyone votes in local elections, so we should be able to on the other hand, it could be a lot harder than it seems.

On the other other hand, maybe the referendum didnt go far enough. One of the main things the school board does is select the superintendent, but that doesnt seem right, does it? To make things truly accountable and responsive we ought to elect the superintendent too, right? And what about principals? Elections for everybody!

Well, we seem to have covered everything. Wait! What about, you know, education? Every year the school board writes up a list of truly admirable goals for our schools and hands them to the (unelected!) superintendent to implement. And the superintendent does their best to make those goals a reality. For the most part, everyone involved seems to genuinely want to improve educational opportunities for our kids.

But this all happens in a constrained framework of what is possible. Lowering class size, raising teacher pay, adding learning specialists, universal Pre-K (which we used to have until it was cut by the axe-grinders) and a whole host of possible improvements are always off the table, for one simple reason: money. And to address that, wed have to consider things like, Should education be paid for by property taxes? and What responsibility do we have to address inequality? and How can schools truly guarantee quality education for all, which involves a lot of stuff beyond the control of our town, so lets not even get into it?

Instead, lets celebrate. We did it!

Richie Chevat is a writer, activist and Montclair resident for more than 30 years. Hes the author of the comic sci-fi novel Rate Me Red, the play Who Needs Men? and the young reader version of A Queer History of the United States, among other works. He can often be seen running errands around town on his bike.

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In Montclair, our very own Brexit (On The Other Hand) - Montclair Local

It has been Margaret Thatcher Week for some in the Conservative Party. Monday (22 November) marked the 31st anniversary of her fall from power, and the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS, a think tank she helped form) commemorated the occasion by hosting the Margaret Thatcher Conference on Trade. To underline her continued significance and relevance, both David Frost and the Prime Minister addressed the conference.

Some peoples minds may have recently drifted back to November 1990 as they recalled a blonde, charismatic, electorally successful but divisive prime minister losing the confidence of their MPs and being forced from office.

I would not draw the parallels too far. As I argued last week, I do not think Conservative MPs are about to remove Boris Johnson. In addition, because she was such a substantial figure, her defenestration was an extraordinary moment in our political history that will not be replicated, even by Boris Johnsons eventual political demise.

The post-1990 history of the Conservative Party has been defined by the events of that November. Which side were you on? For the Lady, or against?

Margaret Thatcher may have lost office but a powerful new legend was created. She perished because she resisted the moves to a European super-state; her pro-European cabinet colleagues had betrayed her at the end but even before that, she had been forced into the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) against her better judgement; and she was clear-eyed as to the risks of UK membership of the single currency. She was punished, much of the Conservative Party has concluded, for being right about Europe.

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Of course, the truth is a little more complicated. The poll tax was a colossal error and cost Thatcher support. Had she survived, Labour may well have won the next general election. I think she was right about the ERM but its strongest advocate, Nigel Lawson, was and is a prominent Eurosceptic. And her scepticism about the single currency was justified, but even without her we stayed outside it.

Nonetheless, for many Conservatives the events of November 1990 were an occasion when they picked a side the Eurosceptic side, the anti-establishment side, the plucky, heroic and romantic side and few had reason to regret it.

A generation later, unexpectedly large numbers of Conservative politicians and then Conservative voters, when faced with a binary choice, went for the romantic option Leave. It is easy to believe that for some this was an act of consistency. If you were Eurosceptic in 1990, you supported Margaret Thatcher, and if you were Eurosceptic in 2016, you backed Brexit. Pick a side and stick to it.

On this point, however, the truth is a lot more complicated. Contrary to the hopes of many of its advocates, Brexit does not constitute continuity Thatcherism.

The Prime Ministers speech to the CPS post-conference dinner on 22 November will not be as long remembered as his performance in front of the Confederation of British Industry earlier the same day, during which he referenced Peppa Pig and lost his place in his notes. It was, however, interesting in its appraisal of Thatcher. Johnson professed to be a Thatcher fan and noted the amazing things she did for free markets and her critical role in support of free trade. But he also declares that she has a blot on her record and she had a blind spot. Not only did she campaign to join the common market that handed away this countrys ability to control its own trade policy, but that she was later persuaded that she needed to go further and agree to another cession of powers in the mid-1980s by creating the single market.

The cognitive dissonance is striking. In a speech supposedly celebrating free trade and Margaret Thatcher, Johnson criticised the two policies she supported joining the common market and creating the single market that did most to remove trade barriers.

Brexiteer free-traders appear incapable of understanding some straightforward points that Thatcher grasped when in office. Free trade is not defined solely by tariffs (as it largely was in the 19th century); non-tariff barriers are a bigger issue in modern economies (see the governments complaints about Britain-to-Northern Ireland trade); and that the most effective means of reducing them is a system of shared rules with institutions to enforce them. You can withdraw from those institutions, but it comes at a cost of higher trade barriers.

David Frosts speech at the conference argued that the UK must use its new autonomy to diverge from the European social model and, if not, we will not succeed. His formula for success consists of low taxes (I agree with the Chancellor our goal must be to lower taxes, which some took as a dig at the Prime Minister Et tu, Frostie?) light-touch and proportionate regulation and free trade.

This is all very Thatcherite but a world away from the realities of Brexit. Free trade, as I have mentioned, has been diminished as we have erected barriers with our largest market; businesses face a mountain of new regulatory burdens if they wish to trade with the EU; and taxes are going up, in part because the economy will be 4 per cent smaller than it would otherwise have been. Meanwhile, the Conservatives support has become more social democratic in its outlook.

Brexit may have been seen by its advocates as a reaffirmation of Thatcherism, but the reality is that in giving us a higher taxed, more bureaucratic, less open economy it is its repudiation.

[See also: The best way to boost economic growth is to reverse hard Brexit]

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The Brexit project is betraying everything Margaret Thatcher stood for - New Statesman

The Brexit minister met with his EU counterpartMaros Sefcovic this afternoon for face-to-face discussions on the Protocol. Talks have already been extended beyond the initial timetable proposed by the UK as both sides frantically try to avoid the suspension of the Brexit treaty via the legal mechanism of Article 16.

While it is understood some progress was made in some areas today, talks once again ended without results.

With Lord Frost warning he will not let discussions become unnecessarily lengthy, each meeting without a breakthrough pushes Britain closer to deploying the nuclear option.

Following today's meeting, the Brexit minister said: "European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic and I met today in London to take stock of discussions on the Northern Ireland Protocol.

"We discussed the full range of issues causing difficulties in Northern Ireland.

READ MORE ON OUR BREXIT LIVE BLOG

A solution on the matter must be found within "weeks" if there is to be a solution that does not require Article 16 according to officials.

While there is some hope a long term fix will be found on medicines, the UK mood is more downbeat on other areas.

Despite constructive discussions, no significant progress has been made on easing the flow of goods to Northern Ireland across the Irish Sea.

The protocol effectively places Northern Ireland in the EU's single market for goods to help avoid a hard border with Ireland.

But this has led to checks on goods crossing from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, creating a barrier to trade within the UK.

Lord Frost wants Brussels to agree to scrap all checks on goods set to remain in Northern Ireland with little chance of leaking into the EU single market.

In a statement of his own following today's talks, Mr Sefcovic said there was the need for urgency to reach a solution, as time begins to run out.

He said: "A decisive push is needed to ensure predictability."

The two men will meet again next Friday for further discussions.

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Brexit talks on the brink as EU refuses to back down - countdown to Article 16 begins - Daily Express

With less than a month to go until Christmas, many retailers are not only having to deal with the impact of the pandemic and a global supply chain crisis but are also experiencing the full impact of Brexit on festive demands for the first time.

Here we talk to the people behind four key components of the festive period to see whether we will notice the impact in our houses and at our tables this year.

CHRISTMAS TREES

An estimated six to eight million Christmas trees are sold every year in the UK each of which has to be felled, pulled out of the field, packed and handed over to the customer.

Usually growers rely on the help of a seasonal workforce to get the job done, many of whom come from outside the UK. But this year, as a result of Brexit, growers have had to find local labourers to step in who may not be as skilled and as a result took longer to do the work. It is feared that this, along with Brexit-related transport issues, could lead to tree shortages.

Christopher Hood, the director and founder of Swindon-based Needlefresh, the UKs largest supplier of trees to blue-chip retail businesses such as Waitrose and Tesco, said that in more than 30 years of working in the business, this season has been one of his hardest and the first time that he has really felt the Brexit effect.

This is the first year weve had real challenges with labour and with transport. We felt it much more this year than last year. He usually hires 80 to 90 people each year, many of whom usually come from eastern Europe. But this year he had to find and train local labourers.

Another factor causing issues is transport, caused by a shortage of HGV drivers and the fact that most British trees are grown in Scotland.

Hood, whose company uses 700 lorries a year to move trees around the country, said: Were having to work a lot harder to get the results and were having to ask customers to be much more flexible as to when they take delivery of the trees.

While he believes he will satisfy all of his tree orders, he has heard that some growers are getting extremely behind. He said it is too early to say whether there will be shortages, but that it will become apparent in the next two weeks. It wont be a matter of availability of product, it will be the ability to get that product to market.

The British Christmas Tree Growers Association reported a rise in early inquiries from retailers but urged shoppers not to panic.

ALCOHOL

Amid Brexit border control issues, shortages of HGV drivers and other staff, combined with pandemic business closures and global shipping disruption, industry leaders have warned of a cocktail of chaos that they say could lead to Christmas alcohol shortages.

In a letter to transport secretary Grant Shapps last week a group of 48 wine and spirits companies said rising costs and supply chain chaos have caused delays in wine and spirit deliveries which could lead to empty drinks aisles in supermarkets.

Miles Beale, the chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, which coordinated the letter, said the confluence of factors has led to problems in the supply chain leaving our wine and spirit members faced with major issues getting deliveries to supermarkets, off-licences, pubs and restaurants. He called on the government to take action as a matter of urgency to save British business from facing huge losses.

Pierre Mansour, director of wine at Stevenage-based the Wine Society, said despite having planned for Brexit since the middle of last year, it has made moving stock from vineyards in Europe to the UK the most logistically and operationally challenging Christmas weve had to date.

In the last 12 weeks of 2019, not including bar, pub and restaurant sales, over 403 million bottles of wine and spirits were sold in the UK, according to Nielsen data, with a total value of 3.4bn. Will there be enough to go around this year?

With shipping times doubled, Mansour advised people to order early, especially if they want a specific brand. Already he said demand is higher than this time last year, which was a record-breaking year for the cooperative wine merchant, with many customers ordering magnums for, Covid-permitting, big family gatherings.

TOYS AND GIFTS

After months of talk of fears of empty shelves in toy shops as a result of the global shipping crisis, industry leaders say there will be toys on the shelves after all, but that if youre looking for something specific, its best to buy it sooner rather than later.

Brexit has led to labour shortages in warehouses and especially for HGV drivers, leading to shortages throughout the supply chain.

Roland Earl, director general of the British Toy & Hobby Association, said: There will be toys in the shops but there might not be as many choices as there might be in a normal year. For those seeking a specific gift, he advised people to buy it when they see it rather than wait because once it sells out restocking is difficult.

This festive season has been, he said, a bit of a nightmare for the industry with multiple things all happening at the same time.

FOOD

While fears around turkey availability appear to have calmed for now, after the government introduced a temporary visa scheme for seasonal poultry workers, the supply of other Christmas staples such as pigs in blankets is still less than certain.

Earlier this month the National Pig Association said thousands of pigs had been culled on British farms, and thousands of more were likely to follow, because of a shortage of skilled labour in the UK following Brexit and warned of a catastrophic collapse in the price of pork.

The government has introduced an emergency visa scheme for 800 butchers to come from outside the UK in the run-up to Christmas but they are reportedly not expected to start work until January.

Sophie Hope, a pig farmer at Alexander and Angell Farms in Gloucestershire, said a shortage of skilled workers in processing plants who usually come from the EU has led to a backlog of pigs. That in turn has led to some farmers having to cull pigs on site which means they cannot be sold. Others end up with pigs that are too big and lose half their value. Hope believes there will be shortages of British pork at Christmas. Theres not a shortage of pigs on the ground, but theyre not being able to be slaughtered and processed, she said. She fears shops may instead import pork to fill gaps on shelves, which she said, obviously doesnt help us British farmers at all.

Meanwhile, shoppers appear to be getting their orders for Christmas food in early. Marks & Spencer said it closed its Christmas food-order service early this year because all the slots were taken more quickly than normal despite having more slots: Theres not been a supply issue but certainly shoppers did shop early.

A government spokesperson said the food supply chain is highly resilient and has coped well in responding to unprecedented challenges.

Read more here:

Its Brexmas! From turkeys to alcohol, how will shortages affect Christmas? - The Guardian

After the UK left the EU last year and the Brexit transition period ended, British nationals were regarded as third country citizens by Brussels. Britons saw their freedom of movement within the 27-member trading bloc come to an end. UK travellers may still visit the Schengen Area without a visa but are limited to stays of up to 90 days during a 180-day period. The Schengen Area is designed to do away with passport and border controls for the zones 26 member states.

The group of countries signed up to Schengen is slightly different to the EUs 27 member states.

One of the Schengen countries where the 90-day rule now applies to Britons is Spain, which attracts millions of UK travellers each year.

Maura Hillen, a legal expert in the country, told Express.co.uk how the authorities there were implementing the EUs 90-day rule.

The Irish expat, who has lived in Spain for 14 years, and has campaigned for the rights of British expats, is the spokesperson of the property association Abusos Urbansticos Andaluca No.

She warned that Britons who dont have Spanish residency who overstay their welcome could now be given marching orders to return to the UK because of the EUs 90-day stay rule, and that repeat offenders can even be detained.

JUST IN:Covid: Lock it down now! Panic at major threat of vaccine resistant variant

In Spain, overstaying is considered a serious breach of the law, which can result in fines of up to 10,000 (8,462), a ban from the Schengen Area for six months to five years, and even expulsion from the country.

Ms Hillen said the punishments were dependent on the circumstances of where and when Britons are found to have broken the 90-day limit.

She said: It depends on if you're in the airport or if they pick you up in a town where they know you can get a flight, they might give you 24 hours to get out of the country.

But otherwise, if they know you need to travel to actually reach a port, they might give you three or four days to leave the country or if there's extenuating circumstances, they can give you longer.

But if you're a repeat offender or if you're not very compliant, I believe they do have the power to put you in a detention centre.

Ms Hillen told Express.co.uk: It depends on your circumstances. It depends on the humour of the particular border official on the day.

The expert said her friend, a retired border official, had also suggested the Spanish authorities may take a subjective approach in their application of the law.

She said: If you have a legitimate reason for overstaying they might say make sure you get back to your home country within the next three days and they may not put a note on your record.

The expert added that, although the authorities have the power to detain Britons who overstay their welcome, it is not really an option that they would go for.

Britons can appeal against rejected residency applications via two avenues, each of which has to be completed within a month.

Ms Hillen said: I have heard of instances where people were already residents here, but their residency applications were rejected when they applied for residency, perhaps because they lived so far under the radar, they couldn't prove they've lived here.

In those circumstances if you're already in the country and your residency is turned down, you're given a period of time to appeal.

If the appeal is turned down, then I do understand that you're given your marching orders to return to your own country within a particular time period.

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Brexit chaos as Britons breaking 90-day Schengen rule given 24 hours to return to UK - Daily Express

A

declaration has been signed at hundreds of locations across Northern Ireland urging Boris Johnson to listen to unionist opposition to the Brexit Protocol.

There is anger among unionists and loyalists at the post-Brexit trade arrangements which see the region treated differently to the rest of the United Kingdom to avoid placing a hard border in Ireland.

The declaration, organised by the Orange Order, was signed on tables covered in Union flags at an estimated 250 Orange Halls across Northern Ireland.

The initiative had echoes of the signing of the Ulster Covenant in 1912 against home rule in Ireland. That was signed by almost 500,000, some reportedly with their own blood.

Harold Henning, deputy grand master of the Orange Order, said the declaration is in support of the anti-protocol stance taken by leaders of the unionist parties.

He said there is strong feeling against Northern Ireland being treated differently to the rest of the United Kingdom, and the impact this has on businesses.

Mr Henning, who visited several of the halls where the declaration was signed, said people are frustrated.

There was also an opportunity to sign the declaration online.

Mr Henning said they will not know the total number of signatures until they are collated next week, but said he assumed tens of thousands have already signed it.

When you have all the unionist-elected politicians against the protocol, why is the message not getting through? he told the PA news agency.

People are coming out to sign and say, hold on, listen to us.

At this stage we are leaving it to our politicians to try and sort this out, and I hope they can do it, and I hope our Prime Minister listens, and I hope Europe listens, because thus far, they have not been listening.

Mr Henning said the declaration will be presented to Mr Johnson at Downing Street.

Earlier this year, demonstrations against the protocol organised on social media were followed by rioting, but Mr Henning described the declaration as a peaceful means to express frustrations.

He added there could be further moves taken if deemed necessary.

There will be more, this is one part at this time and well see what progresses, but hopefully theyll listen, he said.

I dont think there will be another declaration but there will be moves in other directions to keep the pressure on and get the message out to Dublin, Europe, and to our Prime Minister, who needs to listen to the unionist people of Northern Ireland.

It may be more gatherings, rallies, thats in the future. At the minute, its being left to the politicians to do their best to sort it out.

DUP MP Carla Lockhart was among those who signed the declaration at Carleton Street Orange Hall on Saturday.

She said it was great to see a steady stream of people joining in.

It shows the strength of feeling there is on the ground amongst the unionist people against the protocol, the damage it is doing economically and constitutionally to Northern Ireland, she said.

Talks remain ongoing between the UK and EU about the protocol under which Northern Ireland effectively remains in the single market for goods.

This helps to avoid a hard border with Ireland but increases checks and barriers to trade on goods crossing the Irish Sea from Great Britain, making it a source of tension in unionist communities.

The DUP has urged the Government to trigger Article 16 of the protocol, which would suspend parts of the agreement and risk a major escalation in tensions with the EU

Ms Lockhart added: We at Westminster will continue to fight the protocol, we will continue to urge the government to urgently act and trigger Article 16.

The protocol must go.

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Declaration opposing the Brexit Protocol signed in 250 Orange Halls - Evening Standard

Britain was excluded from the 80billion Horizon Europe project amid tension over the Northern Ireland protocol issue and post-Brexit disputes over fishing licenses. While Britain has been told it can re-join if those disputes are settled, modern history professor Jan Palmowski argues the prolonged back-and-forth is weakening the EU's stance globally. Prof Palmowski, of University of Warwick, wrote: Disrupting this seamless collaboration with partners in the UK and Switzerlandwhich is also excluded from associate-member status due to problems with wider negotiations with the EUwill undermine the global competitiveness of European science in the EU and beyond.

While some experts fear exclusion from the project could be harmful for British science, Prof Palmowski believes the UK may have the upper hand in this situation.

He wrote: Europes research and innovation sector has been vocal in calling on the EU to fulfil its treaty obligations and activate UK association.

But in doing so, is it complicit in allowing the UK to cherry-pick, opting for collaboration when it suits and non-compliance at other times?

Lord Frost lashed out at the EU earlier this month for ignoring the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), an aspect of the Brexit deal he claimed has not been violated by Britain.

But the UK remains banned from Horizon Europe - despite this being a feature of the TCA.

He told the House of Lords: We agreed we would participate in this in the TCA.

"The TCA is clear, the UK shall participate and the relevant protocol shall be adopted, that is an obligation.

"If it became clear that the EU will not deliver that obligation and it has not done so far we will regard them as in breach of Article 710 of the TCA."

And with the UK still currently banned, it means the UK may use the 6.9billion of funds allocated for Horizon Europe for their own alternative plan.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed the nearly 7billion fund allocated for the UKs Horizon Europe membership could be spent on domestic research in a four-year commitment.

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The initial plans was to contribute 2.1billion annually to the programme so British scientists and researchers could have access to an array of European science projects.

The UK has expressed a strong interest in being included in the project, and Mr Palmowski has suggested that the EU could benefit from UK involvement too.

He wrote: Both sides have an interest in UK association to Horizon Europe. Past funding from research and innovation programmes, including from the European Research Council, underpins the research that led to the breakthrough BioNTech and Oxford vaccines that have helped both sides of the Channel return to some semblance of normality.

Funding from European Framework Programmes has been instrumental in addressing global crises, from the Covid pandemic to the Ebola virus.

But with Article 16 on the cards, there are fears that Britain may never be allowed to re-join the project.

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While Article 16 could be triggered by either side, Lord Frost has said this is very much on the table".

And Vice European Commissioner Maros Sefcovic warned triggering Article 16 could have serious consequences.

James Wilsdon, from the Universty of Sheffield, toldExpress.co.uk: "If Article 16 is invoked, I would think that it would take our association with the project off the table entirely.

"In terms of where the science piece of this sits, clearly the Commission has been very explicit that they don't see a resolution to the trade association agreement without a resolution of those bigger questions."

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EU fury as Brexit talk 'disruptions' risk losing 7bn UK funds and 'undermines' bloc - Daily Express

Given the challenges ahead, the European Union will need to show flexibility to keep both its flock and its values together.

Representational image. Reuters

As the Merkel era ends in Germany, the country and the European Union (EU) are being reminded of the perils that remain, despite her best efforts. The crisis in Poland, and with Belarus have highlighted the contradictions which the EU faces.

The more recent crisis has been at the Polish border with Belarus, which has also impacted the Belarus-Lithuania border. Belarus is accused of admitting large numbers of West Asian migrants and unleashing them at the borders of the EU, mainly Poland and Lithuania. This is purported to be a retaliation for EU sanctions on Belarus following the election of President Alexander Lukashenko last year. The sanctions hurt enough for Belarus to adopt this unique model of pushing migrants into the EU.

Nearly 35,000 migrants are said to be around the Belarus-Polish border. Most of them are Kurds, but others are from Syria, Iraq and other places. Belarus is accused of easing immigration controls and encouraging large numbers of flights to bring them in and then visibly guide them towards the Polish border to put pressure on the EU. Most of the Kurds intend to cross Polish territory to enter Germany where they have relatives or friends. Thus, Germany could face the tribulation of another wave of migration, which signaled the last years of the Merkel era in 2015. Merkel herself stepped in to talk to Lukashenko and others to ease the crisis which raises anxieties.

Soon, Merkel will not be the Chancellor of Germany, but the problem of migration into the EU, particularly into Germany, will remain.

This has overtaken the internal EU problems which Brussels was having with Warsaw. A judgement by the Polish Constitutional Tribunal (PCT) in response to a case introduced by the Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, held that Poland's national legislation was not subordinate to EU laws and commitments. This raised serious issues of compliance by EU member states with EU laws which they undertook when they joined the EU.

The PCT emphasised the incompatibility of Polish laws with four particular articles of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU). These are Article 1, Article 2, Article 4(3), and Article 19.

Article 1 laid the foundation of the EU. Article 2 lays down normative values including rule of law, freedom, democracy, equality, and respect for human rights. Article 4(3) emphasises mutual respect in assisting each other in implementing tasks emerging from the treaties. Article 19 permits the European Court of Justice (CJEU) to ensure that in the interpretation and application of treaties, the EU law is observed. By enunciating incompatibility, the Polish establishment has in effect rejected the enforceability of the EU laws in Poland

Among the issues which Poland is accused of violating are controls over the media, curbing LGBT and abortion rights, and circumscribing judicial independence. Supporters of the Polish efforts see it asserting its sovereignty in an indirect manner to enhance economic well-being. The ruling right-wing Law and Justice Party (PiS) has strong popular support which has not diminished despite its curbing of rights and judicial and media independence.

Poland is the largest economy in Central Europe and its economic resilience has grown since it joined the EU in 2004. About 73 percent of Polish exports go to EU countries; the EU accounts for 88 percent of FDI inflows; thousands of Polish workers are employed in other EU countries, showing the economic interdependence of Poland and the EU. However, due to its violation of EU values and laws, the EU has stopped funds of euro 57 billion of which euro 23 billion was granted for dealing with the pandemic and euro 34 billion loan under the special dispensation which the EU passed last year.

This seems unlikely due to the economic interdependence. Also, the ruling and opposition parties are both pro-Europe. It is more likely that Poland needs the EU euro 57 billion which is on hold and is leveraging various domestic positions to pressurise Brussels. Former president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, who is an opposition leader of the Civic Platform in Poland, supports a defence of a European Poland. The current regime is willing to put that concept at risk to secure a better deal from Brussels. It faces an election in 2022 and wants to burnish its credentials.

In the midst of this crisis, came the Belarus effort to thrust migrants into Poland. Poland reacted with severity and used strong tactics to prevent the entry of migrants which Poland feared would be stranded within Poland as other EU countries may not accept them. This led to a strange situation where internally the EU was uncomfortable with Polish actions but externally was bound to defend it.

The Polish Prime Minister has been on a tour of the Baltic countries to lobby support for the Polish position relating to migration. He then visited France, Slovenia, Germany and the UK to discuss a united European position. Brussel's fear is that this diplomatic effort is also to gain sympathy for Poland on internal EU issues.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has spoken of three ways in which the Commission can respond: Legally challenging the court ruling, withholding EU funds, and suspending Polands rights as a member state. The suspension of emergency funds is underway. Suspending Poland is an unlikely option. Legally challenging the PCT ruling in the European Court of Justice (CJEU) may be the stopgap option.

The problem is that such voices of dissent while staying within the EU are growing in several members and the EU will need to show flexibility to keep both its flock and its values together.

The writer is a former Ambassador to Germany. Views expressed are personal.

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Post-Brexit, the idea of European Union faces another challenge this time from Belarus and Poland - Firstpost

Saturday 27 November 2021 10:30 am

Around half of UK SMEs believe that Brexit has had a negative impact on the UKs society as a whole awhile 64 per cent believe that it has negatively influenced the UK economy.

Moreover, one in four said Brexit has affected their business directly, according to new data shared with City A.M. this weekend.

Cloud accounting provider FreeAgent found that over half of businesses experienced shrinking customer bases, while 43 per cent were impacted by supply chain issues and found it harder to get cost effective supplies or produce for their business.

Meanwhile, two in five of SMEs said costs had increased since Brexit, particularly to import goods, while 16 per cent suffered a talent shortage as they are finding it harder to recruit staff.

Without doubt, Brexit has had a drastic impact on all businesses large or small. However, the research emphasises how the challenges presented by Brexit are now being felt more so by UK SMEs, commented Roan Lavery, CEO and co-founder of FreeAgent.

Lavery told City A.M. this weekend that leaving the EU has presented significant bottlenecks to the survival of these businesses including both supply chain issues, increased red tape and higher costs.

So, how do SME owners feel about Brexit?

Nearly one in five SMEs (19 per cent) have considered closing their business during Brexit and one in five also did not think their business would survive Brexit.

Even now, nearly half (46 per cent) of SME business owners are worried about the future of their business. This worry increases for younger business owners, with 57 per cent of 18-34 year old SME owners concerned about the future of their business

In addition, over half believe that Brexit has a greater negative impact on SMEs than it had on large businesses while 68 per cent of SME owners believe that Brexit has led to a more divided United Kingdom.

SME owners are more likely to agree with this statement if they also said that Brexit had a negative impact on the UK economy and the society as a whole where it rises to 79 per cent and 85 per cent respectively). This is also the case for SME owners who are worried about the future of their business (81 per cent).

The onus rests on the government to support these businesses, which make a significant contribution to the wider economy. Many SMEs are still tackling uncertain times as we as a society emerge from a pandemic stricken world, Lavery said.

In light of this and the concerns expressed by SME businesses in this research, government support is clearly still needed to put these worries at bay, he concluded.

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Brexit has made our life more difficult, say two thirds of all small businesses across Britain - City A.M.