Category Archives: Brexit

LORD David Frosts speech last week in Lisbon, unsurprisingly, incorporated many remarkable elements.

Among them, as he endeavoured to answer his own question, Can we fix the UK/EU relationship?, was the following declaration from the Brexit minister: At some point we must both try to raise our eyes to the horizon, look at the possibilities for better relations, and try to help each other solve problems, not create them.

The unelected peer, who negotiated the UKs departure from the European single market and was appointed as a full member of the Boris Johnson Cabinet from March 1, hammered home his belief that the Northern Ireland protocol should be changed in his speech in Lisbon.

It was obviously a political speech, in stark contrast to how, for example, an economist or business leader might have assessed the impact of Brexit in an objective way.

However, even in this context, the degree to which Lord Frost waxed lyrical about what he sees as benefits of Brexit and crucially the lack of any kind of real acknowledgement of the problems caused, beyond the albeit significant ones related to the Northern Ireland protocol, were incredible.

It was also a speech which seemed to signal a continuing British wish to have its cake and eat it, to use a proverb adapted by Mr Johnson to the Brexit situation.

Mr Johnson ebulliently used this imagery again after agreeing the UKs hard Brexit deal in late December last year.

Time has told a very different story, as the UK economy has been dragged down by woes for the countrys exporters, labour and skills shortages, and supply-chain chaos. Businesses and the population at large are most certainly not having their cake and eating it.

Rather, businesses and households the length and breadth of the UK are paying the price for the Tory hard Brexit.

Lord Frosts speech, most demoralisingly, gave no indication at all that the Johnson administration will be moving to help those laid low by the Brexit odyssey.

Rather, Lord Frost talked much about what he perceives to be benefits of leaving the European single market, supposed advantages which to say the very least seem most obscure and narrow in the context of the overall post-Brexit landscape.

Lord Frost declared: Brexit is about doing things differently not for the sake of it but because it suits us and because it creates a greater variety of alternative futures. History shows us that it is genuine competition regulatory and commercial between states which has typically been the most reliable driver of innovation and progress.

Thats why what some people call I quote hard Brexit in its original sense of leaving the EU customs union and single market was essential. It was the only form of Brexit that allowed us freedom to experiment and freedom to act. This is already happening. And you can see some themes emerging reflecting our different policy preferences in the UK.

READ MORE:Ian McConnell:Brexit could have taken many forms. Cheshire Cat Boris Johnson chose this one

The not for the sake of it but because it suits us is a most interesting collection of words.

Many people would surely be forgiven for being unable to discern any meaningful difference between the two things.

Then again, suits us is certainly more accurate than, for example, if Lord Frost had said benefits us, given the latter is quite the opposite of what has happened in the wake of Brexit on myriad fronts.

And because it suits us might also to some who have watched the unfolding drama in relations between the UK and European Union, regardless of how the Brexit minister meant the phrase, give the impression of a thrawn approach. To take just one example, refusal to accept regulatory alignment in the Brexit deal looked most thrawn.

The reference to a greater variety of alternative futures following the Tories chosen form of Brexit is also interesting. Nothing about the alternative future which has manifested itself so far has looked good.

In a speech so, so heavy on ideology and politics and very light on conventional economics, it was difficult to find much at all, if anything, that might reassure businesses.

If you had to come up with something that could be seen even vaguely as a positive, it might be the following from Lord Frost: On border controls, even when they are fully in place, we are never going to adopt the same levels of checks and controls required by EU systems because we dont believe the level of risk requires them.

The even when they are fully in place is notable. The UK had to delay border checks for inbound goods from the EU for months following its European single market exit because it was not prepared for them, something that seems remarkable given that quote hard Brexit was something the Johnson administration planned all the way along.

That said, it might be a relief to businesses and households that the UK will not be adopting the same level of checks and controls required by EU systems given the degree to which supply chains are in chaos even before the border controls get going in earnest.

However, any consolation here is about limiting how much worse things get, rather than about improving the dire post-Brexit situation.

What were held up by Lord Frost as benefits of Brexit were, to put it mildly, unconvincing.

READ MORE:CalMac Scotland ferries: Caledonian MacBrayne should be treated as national treasure: Ian McConnell

He talked about a renewed emphasis on the modern use of science, gave his view that England was arguablythe free-est country in Europe in opening up amid the coronavirus pandemic, and declared: We are also going to get moving on areas like cyber, like artificial intelligence and gene editing.

It is difficult to see how most of these aspects have anything to do with Brexit.

And Lord Frost certainly seemed to rather skate over the UKs loss of frictionless trade with the EU, as if it were a theoretical rather than real-world thing.

He said: Too often the debate about Brexit is technocratic the merits of one kind of trading arrangement over another, the merits of one visa arrangement over another. Those are important issues, if now largely settled. But the fundamental element of the Brexit project is about democracy to bring home political debates, to allow us to set our own ways of doing things in our own way, to open up the field of political and economic possibility.

READ MORE:Ian McConnell: Reports of Scottish economic collapse are much exaggerated

Lord Frost cited vigorous debates about the direction of the UKs independent trade policy, with Parliament bringing different viewpoints to the table.

He added: We have a very lively discussion of migration policy, freed by the debate over free movement to offer unprecedented immigration and visa schemes to tens of thousands from Hong Kong and, more recently, Afghanistan. And indeed our whole levelling up programme is about the trade-offs between different kinds of economic policy in different parts of the country. Thats why I dont see anything wrong with Brexit being described as a populist policy.

The very lively discussion on migration policy is an interesting way of putting it. The Conservatives have clamped down on immigration from the EU, fuelling labour and skills shortages, and the visa schemes mentioned by Lord Frost surely do not have any significant bearing in this overall context.

Sectors including haulage, hospitality, engineering, social care and food manufacturing, to name just a handful, are bearing the brunt of the Conservative clampdown on immigration from the EU.

However, this was not something Lord Frost sought to address in his speech.

He seemed most upbeat about Brexit, and its context. Lord Frost said: If populism means doing what people want challenging a technocratic consensus then I am all for it. To suggest that there is something wrong in people deciding things for themselves is somewhat disreputable, even disrespectful to the British people and our democracy.

However, surely a democratically elected government would want to take decisions to enhance and not damage living standards?

Lord Frost said in Lisbon: We didnt want it to be like this. We just want friendly relations, free trade, and the chance to do things our own way, all within the framework of a meaningful and robust Western alliance.

The key part of this from the Johnson administrations perspective, for anyone who has followed events in the run-up to and in the wake of the UKs exit from the European single market, is surely the chance to do things our own way.

Or, as Lord Frost also put it, doing things because it suits us.

What the UK Government has been doing has certainly appeared to suit many Brexit supporters. And its Brexit crusade was the key factor in Mr Johnsons December 2019 general election victory, so it has suited the ruling Conservatives.

It has, however, not suited businesses trying to export, or to manufacture, or hire suitably qualified staff. And it will not suit households affected by the hit to the UKs economic prosperity and living standards.

Sadly, from Lord Frosts speech and everything else you hear from the Johnson Cabinet, it seems the UK Government is more interested in suiting itself and currying favour with Brexit supporters who have been so important to its overall popularity than in trying to mitigate the economic woes.

It seems the Johnson administration is unable in the context of Brexit to address what is right in front of its nose, let alone raise its eyes to the horizon, and is far more interested in populist, nationalist navel-gazing.

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Brexit: Never mind the horizon, Brexit brigade cannot gaze past navel: Ian McConnell | HeraldScotland - HeraldScotland

Five years after the Brexit referendum and almost two years after Britain left the EU, British social media is still full of Pro-Europeans who are abusive to anyone who dares to suggest that its time to move on, even if they previously campaigned on the same side.

We must rejoin the EU! they insist with frustration that their cries fall on deaf ears. None of the major parties will back their desires and the wider population is truly sick of the subject. Polling throughout 2021 clearly indicates that although some people now think that Brexit may not have been the best idea, they dont want to reverse the decision. Even if it were otherwise, their dream of falls at many hurdles.

To Dream the Impossible Dream

While politicians and the public across the EU were shocked and saddened by the UKs exit, they have moved on. Dealing with Brexit has been an exhausting process, taking bandwidth from other priorities for a very long time.

There is no appetite for letting the UK rejoin at any time soon most certainly not with the budget rebate and opt-outs from Shengen and the Euro it previously enjoyed. The extent to how these special privileges were long resented by many Pro-Europeans within the EU is either little understood or deliberately ignored by Pro-Europeans in the UK.

In the European Parliament itself, MEPs may say how much they miss the great British sense of humour, but in private they also express relief that Nigel Farage no longer disrupts their proceedings. Contrary to a desire to letting the UK rejoin, most feel they can finally get on with the project of ever-deeper union without being held back by a reluctant UK.

In fact, the very idea of rejoining is misleading. The EU is not a bus you can simply hop on and off from. As any other third country, the UK would have toapply to joinand go through the full accession process, which can take decades.

But not only that, it would also have to convince the EU that there is no risk of Brexit 2.0. According to MEPs from various countries I spoke to, that doesnt just mean winning a supermajority in a referendum, but also a clear cross-party consensus, lest the opposition campaigns on a Leave again ticket in the next general election.

In short, its not going to happen and there is a wide gulf between serious Pro-Europeans in the EU and the UKs wild FBPE rabble that wont be satisfied until Farage gets his seat back.

Time Travel Does Not Exist

The sooner everyone realises that there is no going back in time, the better. There are now 23 countries in Europe that are not part of the EU and like it or not, the UK is one of those.

The best that UK Pro-Europeans can hope for is to improve some of the terms of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), that now governs our relations with the EU.

People on all sides agree that it is far from perfect, but few seem to be aware that it has plenty of room for improvement.A few chapters are left blank, not just because no agreement was reached within the short time it was negotiated, but also because it was deliberately designed as a flexible framework on which we can build a new relationship.

For the time being, however, any chance of improvement is being held back by the ongoing uncivil war of continuity-Remainer and Leavers, neither of whom appear to realise how unrealistic their respective hopes and fears of rejoining the EU are.

The on-going conflict and language around it doesnt just feed the polarisation of our own society, but also stands in the way of post-Brexit reconciliation that the majority of people and businesses on both sides of the English Channel and Irish Sea hope for.

While Rejoiners need to accept that we have to make Brexit work, especially for Northern Ireland, it is also true that some Brexiteers still need to accept that Brexit meant change what was the point if it didnt? and that this change was unwanted by many. Some are angry that they can no longer trade into the Single Market as easily as they usedto, while others had their dreams of moving to Spain dashed, but for many it was also a very emotional loss of an identity they cherished. They are in a process of grief that explains their anger. These are not things to be mocked or laughed at. Calling someone sore losers is what bad winners do. We all need to move on.

The author is a Strategy Advisor and Political Affairs Consultant, and former National Organiser of Conservatives for a Peoples Vote.

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Brexit won't be undone - Rejoiners must face reality - Reaction

Once again, I was only half-joking. The Sainsburys on our high street still has stocks of food and taps at the local have yet to run dry. But both petrol stations on my morning run in North London have effectively been closed for weeks now, and theres talk that the energy crisis may not be fixed until next year. Load-shedding over Christmas, anyone?

There is, of course, a critical shortage of heavy goods vehicle drivers in the UK, now that those from Eastern Europe have returned to the continent and most of them cannot be bothered to deal with the additional red tape involved in crossing the English Channel following Brexit.

In the wake of this, the UK government fast-tracked the approval of 5,000 special visas for non-UK drivers of fuel tankers recently, but only 27 applications were received; Downing Street was reportedly "infuriated" by this.

One wonders what the UK government actually expected, given that immigration has been the main crutch used by Brexiteers in their arguments and policy decisions for years. It was the former chair and CEO of Citicorp, Walter Wriston, who said decades ago that capital goes where it is welcome and stays where it is well treated. This clearly applies to all forms of capital, including the human version. If I were a lorry driver from Slovenia, Id probably also prefer to drive from Ljubljana to Lodz rather than taking the long road to London or Liverpool.

The politicians will, of course, remind one that Covid also had something to do with this problem. And they would be right: supply chain issues have been experienced in other parts of the world as well.

But nowhere has it been as acute as weve seen on the British forecourts over the past month. The winter of our discontent may just have started.

Which brings me to a remark from another Twitter friend, following my tongue-in-cheek response to Schsslers question: she said that it never sounds like Im actually happy to be living in the UK.

I wrote back saying that Im delighted to be here however, it does help to have a sense of humour. The one thing which I confess to moaning about repeatedly, though, is Brexit in my view, probably the biggest own goal a nation has ever scored in the history of the world.

I think the situation will probably get worse before it gets better. One can only hope those sunlit uplands promised by Boris and his Brexit buddies will in fact arrive one day.

Thankfully, we do at least have the lovely English weather to enjoy in the meantime.

Deon Gouws is chief investment officer at Credo Wealth, London

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DEON GOUWS: Brexit: the biggest own goal a nation has ever scored - Financial Mail

Touring musicians face an existential threat to their careers from the huge costs and red tape imposed by the Brexit deal, a parliamentary inquiry has found.

A stinging letter to David Frost, the Brexit minister, implores him to listen to compelling evidence from performing artists who face being forced to give up on the industry theylove.

The alarm is raised over obstacles in obtaining visas and work permits in the EU, over transporting equipment across borders and over the problems facing artists coming to the UK to perform.

Backing an industry warning of an existential threat, the Lords European Affairs Committee warns it is so severe as to force many performers out of the sector.

The government is condemned for a preferring to pursue headlines rather than deal with the very serious issues accurately and substantively.

And, the committee concludes: This not only risks substantial damage to an important sector of the UK economy, but may also undermine the governments vision of a global Britain using its soft power to advance its interests internationally in the post-Brexit era.

The criticism comes after months of ministers refusing to approach the EU to negotiate a visa-waiver scheme, which as The Independent revealed the UK rejected last year.

The Society of Musicians has warned of many tours being unviable, its survey revealing 42 per cent of artists would consider quitting the UK in order to rescue their careers.

Boris Johnson made a high-profile pledge to fix the crisis, but Lord Frost the minister he put in charge appeared to wash his hands of the issue and refused to say it would be resolved.

Ministers were then attacked, including by Elton John, for wrongly claiming 19 of the 27 EU countries are offering visa and work permit-free access, when severe restrictions still exist.

Labour has since vowed to end the stalemate, by opening its own negotiations with the European Commission and other bodies, to try to revive a deal.

In its letter, the Lords committee, said the music industry felt ignored by ministers who lacked sufficient understanding of the issues facing it.

The government is putting performers at risk and failing to take the decisions and steps necessary to support the creative industries, it warned.

Yet they are of comparable size to the UKs construction industry, with the music industry alone worth 5.8bn a year and employing more than 100,000 people.

Lord Kinnoull, the committees chair, said: The creative sector is important not just to the economies of the UK and other countries concerned but also the enjoyment and wellbeing of people.

It is important that the government rebuild trust with the creative industries and provide the support they need to adjust to the post-Brexit era.

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Brexit deal an existential threat to the careers of touring musicians, David Frost warned - The Independent

What must it be like to be in the inner circles of this government, watching the economy bounce from crisis to crisis? Shortages mount, while livestock that suddenly cannot be put into the food chain is slaughtered and sent to rendering plants. Ships are diverted from UK ports because no drivers can be found to transport their cargo once it is offloaded. In response to ministers threats to suspend the trading arrangements for Northern Ireland that we are now told the government never believed in to start with there is reportedly pressure within the EU to begin preparations for a trade war.

The prime minister goes off to Marbella, where he pretends to paint pictures; the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, is said to be pinning his hopes for an easing of the current energy crisis on a wet, windy and mild winter. Yet the Conservative party is still ahead in the polls, apparently shored up by the weakness of the Labour party and the clear, optimistic narrative that Boris Johnson has so far managed to project on to events. And I wonder: in cabinet meetings and ministerial get-togethers, do they laugh at the apparent absurdity of it all, or anxiously exchange estimates of when the roof might finally start to fall in?

After all, the central political fact of life in the UK could not be more stark. Whatever the effects of the pandemic and supply-chain issues that are evident all over the world, we are fundamentally living with the gigantic consequences of a gigantic act of recklessness, led by many of the people in charge and now unravelling.

In Scotland, the results of Brexit sit at the heart of Nicola Sturgeons drive for independence; in Northern Ireland, they are the focus of no end of anxiety. But in England and Wales, the contrast between the realities of life outside the EU and what we were promised seems like some cruel deceit at the heart of a family or marriage: silently acknowledged and understood, but so far largely unspoken. Looking to the future, one big political question surely demands to be asked: what happens when some watershed point is reached, and the fact that people were conned becomes inescapable?

We all know the promises made by Brexiteers in pursuit of what they wanted of cheaper food, easy trade deals, that 350m extra a week for the NHS, and all the rest. What is still underestimated is how much hope a lot of people were thereby encouraged to invest in the idea of leaving the EU. When some people backed leave, it was the first time they had voted in their lives. Many did so not out of bigotry or nastiness, but a kind of desperate belief that things might finally get better. Europe, they had endlessly been told, was a drain on both the UKs attention and money: as one Brexit voter told me in 2018, the simplest available solution was to get out, and repair the country. If that collective belief has so far shown no obvious signs of fading (indeed, it lives on in the implied links Johnson draws between Brexit and levelling up), that is probably an indication of how much faith some people still have in it and, by implication, what a seismic moment we will have reached when it no longer makes any sense.

Brexit was also an expression of a dire breakdown in public trust, which had been under way for several years, furthered by the effects on politics of the internet, intensified by the MPs expenses scandal, and traceable in large part to the war in Iraq. That conflict and its aftermath, as the former UN ambassador Jeremy Greenstock later put it, was one of those things that got people in this country thinking [that] our elite, our toffs, our leaders up there are not listening to us, are not looking after us in the way that we want. It also alerted us to how far institutions could be pushed away from the demands of truth and sense.

For any serious politician, Iraq should have been a salutary lesson in how big deceptions change things in messy and unpredictable ways, and the pretext for a profound rethink about how politics and power operate. But it did not quite play out like that. One of the most overlooked aspects of modern British history is the fact that the supporters of military intervention included such Conservatives as Johnson, David Davis, Iain Duncan Smith, John Redwood and Michael Gove. In that context, their eventual championing of Brexit represented something grim: people using a collapse in trust they themselves had contributed to, to build support for a course of action that risked squashing trust yet further. (It is telling that in July 2016, Davis used the publication of the Chilcot report about Iraq to accuse Tony Blair of being a liar and then, three months later, brazenly told the House of Commons that if leaving the EU went to plan: There will be no downside to Brexit at all, only a considerable upside.)

Among some of the people we once termed remainers, there seems to be a belief that the chaos Brexit causes will sooner or later have beneficial political effects. When people realise their error, perhaps the political mainstream will realign in a pro-European direction; eventually, Labour may rediscover its European voice and lead us back in. It is an appealing vision, but I am not sure the world works like that any more.

One of the surest signs of Englands strange political condition is the way that the right seems to benefit from the very chaos it causes. Eventually, if peoples anger rises and cannot be quietened, Johnson will doubtless put out the union jack and direct it towards the French and Germans; if their fury grows so uncontrollable that it somehow sweeps him away, it may well benefit altogether shadier forces. Put another way, taking such a vast, historic gamble with this countrys future was irresponsible enough, but doing it in the age of QAnon and Tommy Robinson was reckless beyond words.

All this enforces a duty on the politicians who might eventually lead us towards something better. Dysfunctional circumstances give rise to dysfunctional politics, particularly if bad faith is allowed to run rampant and plain truths remain unspoken. So people in the political mainstream by which I chiefly mean Labour MPs need to start loudly talking about Brexit, the promises of the people who led the campaign for it, and what life outside Europe is doing to us. Whatever happens, the resentments Brexit causes are likely to benefit some dark political forces, but without voices trying to direct peoples exasperation towards something positive, that problem will be even worse.

Such realisations have seemingly yet to arrive in the minds of Tory Brexiteers. It may take a few years of queues and chaos for everything to become clear; Johnsons undoubted political skills and the oppositions shortcomings will probably delay any moment of reckoning yet further. But when it eventually comes, the cleverer politicians among them will surely feel it as a pang of remorse realising, perhaps, that whatever their aims, hindsight will cast them not as visionaries, but people whose hubris and carelessness were always going to have disastrous consequences.

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The gap between reckless Brexit promises and reality will soon be too big to ignore - The Guardian

Many countries are experiencing economic problems associated with the pandemic and supply chain shortages, but none is in such a bad position as the UK.

This is entirely because of Brexit. Quite apart from the multiplicity of crises associated with the acute shortage of heavy goods vehicle drivers pigs being culled, but not for eating, farmers pouring milk down the drain, queues for petrol, you name it the economic self-harm is now showing up in the statistics, with the International Monetary Fund putting the UK bottom of its Group of Seven future growth league. This contrasts with our prime ministers shallow claims that the UK is currently enjoying the fastest growth in the G7.

It is officially calculated that the output of goods and services in the economy will still be 3% lower next year than before the onset of the epidemic. Chancellor Sunak had to be dragged screaming and shouting and badmouthing his business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, on the way before agreeing to give minimal assistance to Britains desperate energy sector.

One of Sunaks concerns is the concatenation of so many demands for funds from cabinet colleagues as budget day approaches. He is not helped by the fact that he espoused Brexit himself, thereby guaranteeing extra pressures on the finances from the mounting impact it is having on our trade and business investment that is, the lack of it.

A YouGov poll indicates that 21% of respondents think Brexit is going well as many as that! and 53% think it is going badly. Only 53%? I was heartened to learn from my fellow journalist David Aaronovitch that a pro-EU lobby is stirring among the young. But David thinks it is going to be a long haul, as long as the decades it took fanatical Eurosceptics like Sir William Cash to achieve their dubious aims.

Many pro-Europeans seem to have given up hope. But I wonder. The damage is mounting, and all the signs are that it is going to get worse. There should come a time when a vast majority of this country will recognise that they have been had. Even Johnsons mendacious administration can hardly rely on hiding indefinitely beneath the cover of Covid and other worldwide problems. At some stage the electorate will recognise that Brexit meant Brexit and constituted an attack on our freedom to do many things we previously took for granted.

I dont see why it should take a generation of damage for this country to change its mind about Brexit. Lets face it: it is rapidly threatening to be the biggest self-inflicted catastrophe since Suez. For younger readers, I should point out that Britain realised the limits of the arrogance that went with empire when it had to pull out of a misconceived joint venture with France in 1956 to prevent Egypt from nationalising the Suez canal. It had to pull out because the pound was collapsing and the Eisenhower government refused to support it.

It was a sad end to prime minister Anthony Edens career; his health suffered, and he went for a convalescent holiday in Goldeneye, the Jamaican retreat owned by the James Bond author Ian Fleming. The chancellor at the time was Harold Macmillan, who saw what was happening to the nations foreign currency reserves, and became known as the minister who was first in and first out in regard to support of the Suez venture. Macmillan succeeded Eden as prime minister.

The historical significance of this was that Macmillan realised that the UKs future now lay in closer ties with continental Europe. His own efforts to join what was then known as the Common Market were thwarted by the opposition of Frances President de Gaulle. It was not until 1973 that we finally joined.

There is little doubt that, quite apart from the geopolitical advantages of being members of the EU, our economy benefited enormously. Growth improved, and, in economic terms, we essentially became a region of the EU under rules, such as the single market, that were drawn up in no small measure by the British. All that is being thrown into reverse. An economic omelette is being ruinously unscrambled.

Now, one of Macmillans favourite quotes was from Hilaire Bellocs wonderful Cautionary Tales: Always keep a-hold of nurse/For fear of finding something worse.

Five years ago a tiny majority of those who voted opted for Brexit. The tragic thing was that a lot of people did not bother to vote, because (like Boris Johnson) they thought the nation would not be so stupid as to opt for something worse. Why, as my colleague Rafael Behr has discovered, even one Lord Frost, who will go down and down in history for trying to rewrite an agreement he himself negotiated, wrote in June 2016 about Brexit: Even the best-case outcome cant be as good as what we have now.

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Suez taught us our future lay in Europe. So will Brexit - The Guardian

The ghost of a hard Brexit is haunting Gibraltar once again. Instead of being eliminated, the border between the British Overseas Territory and Spain, known locally as La Verja (literally, the fence), could become a daily nightmare for the nearly 10,000 Spaniards who cross it every day for work.

If ongoing post-Brexit negotiations between the United Kingdom and the European Union fail to bear fruit, the European Commission could demand that Spain start carrying out the kind of checks on passengers and goods at La Verja that are performed at the EUs external borders.

Right now the biggest danger is that the Gibraltar negotiation could be affected by stalled talks on the Northern Ireland protocol, after the British government signaled that it wants to replace rules it agreed to in 2019 covering trade between Northern Ireland (in the UK) and the Republic of Ireland (in the EU).

Spains Foreign Minister Jos Manuel Albares said on Sunday that the differences over the protocol should not condition the Gibraltar deal. They are two different issues that have absolutely nothing to do with each other; whats more, they are two different negotiations, he said.

But sources consulted by this newspaper said that it will be very difficult to keep both negotiations separate, as they are taking place simultaneously and both depend on European Commission Vice President Maros efovi.

They are two different issues that have absolutely nothing to do with each other; whats more, they are two different negotiations

Gibraltar, which is located at the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula, overwhelmingly voted to remain in the EU at the 2016 Brexit referendum. The territory, which has been the source of years-long disputes with Madrid, was left out of the main Brexit deal between the EU and the United Kingdom, meaning that a separate agreement is required.

A preliminary framework deal was agreed on December 31 by Spain and the UK for the future relationship between the EU and Gibraltar. Under this deal, Gibraltar would join the Schengen area, a European free-travel zone that is made up of 26 countries, despite not being formally part of the EU itself. But now that best-case scenario is hanging in the balance once again.

Maintaining smooth circulation between Gibraltar and the neighboring, economically depressed Spanish area of Campo de Gibraltar, home to many cross-border workers, has been a priority for both sides since the UK voted to leave the EU. For Gibraltar, it is crucial to avoid a similar kind of isolation as when the late dictator Francisco Franco closed the border in June 1969 and kept it shut for the next 16 years.

Last week, European and British delegations held the first round on the future status of Gibraltar with a view to reaching a deal before the end of the year. In theory, all they need to do is to put down in a formal treaty the content of the preliminary agreement reached on December 31 that gives Gibraltar all the advantages of Schengen membership, with Spain acting as the guarantor. There is a sticking point, however: the role of Spanish police and EU Frontex customs officers at the port and airport of Gibraltar.

But for now the biggest problem is the Northern Ireland protocol, which could have a knock-on effect on the Gibraltar talks. The problem is that time is running out, and the dispute over checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from England, Scotland or Wales could end up resurrecting the old border between Gibraltar and La Lnea de la Concepcin, the way it was before Spain joined the EU in 1986.

For now, the Gibraltar negotiating teams are planning to hold two rounds of talks in November and hope to close a deal on the week of December 13. But the concern is palpable. If the dispute over Ireland is not resolved by the end of the year, or if London acts on its threat to unilaterally suspend the protocol, it will be very hard to conclude the negotiation on Gibraltar, no matter how much progress is made, said a European source.

Ever since the Brexit transition period ended on December 31, Gibraltar has effectively been in no mans land, outside the EU and without coverage from the trade and cooperation treaty regulating the relationship between the UK and the EU. From a legal standpoint, La Verja has already become an external border of the EU, although in practice it remains in the same situation as when it was a part of the union.

Sources consulted by this newspaper said that the EU Commission is looking the other way while talks are underway to, presumably, eliminate La Verja altogether. But this situation cannot last indefinitely, and sooner or later the Commission will have to demand implementation of Schengen controls, including visas and passports.

Additionally, contingency agreements on healthcare for cross-border workers, the validity of UK drivers licenses in Spain and other practical matters will expire on October 31. Minister Albares is planning to meet with mayors of towns located in Campo de Gibraltar to issue a message of calm, but without losing sight of the fact that preparations need to be made for the possibility of a hard border scenario in Gibraltar.

English version by Susana Urra.

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Brexit disputes threaten to leave Gibraltar with hard border - EL PAS in English

The Prime Minister also said job losses and disruption to capital flows in the City were lower than feared after Brexit.Mr Johnson made clear far fewer bankers had moved to rival European cities such as Amsterdam and Frankfurt than City giants had originally threatened in 2020.

He added: The City of London is crucial not just for our country but for the whole of Europe and for this hemisphere.

If you want to raise money around Europe, if you want to finance your merger or whatever it is, London is still the place to come and always, always will be.

Mr Johnson also branded industry claims that the UK Government was focusing a bigger amount of energy on fishing which generatesless for the British economythan finance after Brexit as nonsense.

The Prime Ministers intervention comes as the EUs head of financial services hinted at a possible extension to Euro clearing permissions.

Temporary permission for London clearers to serve EU customers ends in June 2022.

However, Mairead McGuinness said the European Union was minded to avoid a cliff-edge situation and avoid market instability.

She added: We have to make sure that there is no instability in the short-term, but we also have to look at our long-term interests.

A Brussels source said the bloc was due to grant Britain a temporary extension but indicated clearing may have to move to the continent over a "transition" period.

READ MORE:Biden sends new Brexit warning over Article 16 threat for hated deal

They made clear that doing nothing in the face of the limited shift in clearing to date would damage "EU credibility."

The Bank of England and Treasury have recently put increasing pressure on the bloc to grant an extension with senior officials warning the EU risks damaging the UKs financial system" if they prize part of the 80trillion clearing market away from the British capital.

Treasury chiefs also expect the EU to cave due to banking industry pressure after NatWest bank chairman Howard Davies said some banks could move their clearing operations to New York if no extension was granted.

It comes after London Metal Exchange (LME) told customers in Europe to draw up contingency plans in case the European Union does not grant an extension on clearing.

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The LME, which trades and clears metals contracts, said it would work closely with members to ensure an efficient transfer of clearing or closing out of existing positions to minimise potential disruption.

In a memo posted on their website, they added: Given that we have been forewarned of the position, it is important that we take swift steps to mitigate the potential implications of this and ensure that alternative arrangements can be put in place in good time.

A European Commission spokesperson said the focus is on reducing "excessive reliance" on market infrastructure outside the bloc to create an open, strong and resilient EU financial system.

They added: "In particular, the goal is not to move or take business away from London but rather to build our own infrastructures.

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EU poised to cave on City of London demand in Brexit victory for Boris Johnson - Daily Express

Figures from the live music industry have hit back at the UK government for another non-announcement of spin and misinformation, while arguing that little-to-no progress is being made to solve the Brexit touring fiasco.

Criticism continues after the government jeopardised the future of touring for UK artists when theBrexitdeal secured with the EU failed tonegotiate visa-free travel and Europe-wide work permits for musicians and crew.

Problems remain 10 months on when it comes to new rules and red tape, creating huge costs to future live music tours of the continent for both musicians and crew which could create a glass ceiling that prevents rising and developing talentfrom being able to afford to do so.

New Brexit rules have also seen a massive amount of jobs and taxable income lost to the EU due to it making touring nigh-on impossible for road crew. Cabotage rules currently mean that trucks travelling from the UK are only allowed to make one stop in an EU state before having just seven days to make a maximum of two more before returning home.

Back in August, the government announced that short term visa-free travel without work permits will be allowed for musicians and performers in 19 European countries, while talks are ongoing with the remaining nations. This led to a huge backlash from the industry, who accused the government of spin and meaningless posturing given that these rules were already in place pre-Brexit, while no real negotiations had been made to solve the major issues. All of this is compounded by todays report that one in three jobs in music were lost during the pandemic.

There is now more anger following another announcement, with the government claiming victory over 20 EU states after adding Romania to the list.

DCMS had promised to clarify everything after all the spin of last time, and now theyve just decided to come out with yet more spin, Ian Smith of the #CarryOnTouring campaign and ukeartswork told NME. This time, all theyve done is change it from 19 to 20 countries after I told them that Romania had an allowance.

It does not at all address the fact that nothing whatsoever has been done proactively in terms of creating any dialogue for bilateral agreements. Theyve merely repeated again what is true for all third country nationals across the world. It is not specific to the UK or UK creatives. These are the rules that have applied for years to all third country nationals. Confusion remains over rules for road crew. They havent lifted a finger in terms of anything in this so called announcement.

Musicians protesting against Brexit in 2019 (Picture: Richard Baker/Getty Images)

Calling on the government to actually engage to create meaningful solutions for creatives and support staff, Smith accused them of only presenting partial truths and leaving artists and their staff with a confusing and dangerous situation.

What the government fails to mention when they talk about visa-free touring is that in some countries, such as the Czech Republic, its only seven days in any one year that youre allowed to work free. Its 14 days in Sweden, 30 days in Poland, six out of 13 weeks in Benelux, he said.

They also dont mention that in Belgium there are three different authorities, each giving different work permit allowances. They dont mention that in Germany and France theyre up to 90 days in any one year, they dont mention that in each and every country where there is visa and permit-free touring you have to report to the local authority if you are working there.

Smith continued: By excluding that information they fall back on to the old excuse of, Well, were not here to give information for other governments. Theyre putting people at risk of going overseas and being fined. In France, all customs infractions are criminal offences not civil. The HMRC and government are giving out partial information and being diplomatic with the truth about whats happening on the ground with duplicate lists instead of Carnets which only work for the UK border.

The XX perform live during a concert at the Astra Club on January 22, 2010 in Berlin, Germany.(Picture: Jakubaszek/Getty Images)

Ultimately, Smith said that nothing in the Brexit touring situation has changed since the industry was landed with a no deal back in January, and that the government continue to only relay what figures from the live music scene have been telling them all along. He argued that more bilateral talks, better information and a transitional fund were needed to help artists and their crew tour in Europe, as well as working to help with transport costs and moving merchandise between countries.

The only benefit is that its given us all the chance to work out what we cant do, Smith added. The government have managed to do something that has never been done before which is manage to ally managers, labels, artists, crew and people from across our industry to really talk to each other.

Thats never really happened before. In that sense, we are all united and totally committed to finding solutions to the terrible situation that were all in.

Radiohead performs live during a concert at the Kindl Buehne Wuhlheide on September 29, 2012 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Jakubaszek/Redferns via Getty Images)

This summer sawthe launch of the #LetTheMusicMove campaign, with the likes ofWolf Alice,IDLES,Poppy AjudhaandRadiohead among the 200 artists calling upon the UK government to urgently take action to resolve the No Deal that has landed upon British music. The campaign was headed by the Featured Artists Coalition, whose CEO David Martin toldNME that the governments latest release was another exercise is obfuscation.

Having admitted that the previous announcement regarding EU touring was misleading, its now clear that there is a sustained campaign underway to spin the messaging that is being distributed to the music industry, said Martin. This wont work.

Governments time would be better spent working on solutions to help us, rather than perpetuating the problems we continue to face by publishing incomplete and inaccurate information.

Yannis Philippakis from Foals performs at L Olympia on February 3, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by David Wolff Patrick/Redferns)

One artist who has been left angry and baffled by the governments actions is Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis, who told NME: I just dont understand what theyve been playing at.

I think our government should have done so much more to try to protect and foster the future of music and culture in the UK, he said. Its one of the most important facets of Britain, is our tradition in the arts. Whether youre in a punk band, a theatre troupe or a ballet, weve all just been screwed.

It just shows the disdain that the Conservatives have for the arts. Nothing matters for them except tax cuts and corruption which weirdly in the UK is called cronyism. Lets just call it what it is its rampant, rife corruption. I feel pretty livid about the situation.

Regarding the previous announcement around visa-free touring, Yannis said: There are loads of stings in that tail and theyve just put out a spin PR release. Its still really problematic. If youre a young band thats starting out and trying to make your way, whos got the ability to be dealing with that on a logistical or financial level? Its a poisoned chalice, and theyve presented it like a glass of champagne.

He added:Im hoping that theres still work to be done that can improve the situation and this isnt the brute truth forever, but it still doesnt change how inept and uncaring our own politicians have been.

Arctic Monkeys performing at Melkweg (The Max), Amsterdam in 2006 (Picture: Rob Verhorst/Redferns)

Responding to the latest backlash to their announcement, a DCMS government spokesperson admitted that specific requirements for many Member States are not always clearly identifiable and that they were working to add further information and clarity to their website as they continue to engage extensively with the sector to help them in understanding the rules and develop their own guidance.

We want our creative professionals to tour abroad easily, a government spokesperson told NME. We have worked at pace and spoken to every EU Member State about the importance of touring, and 20 EU Member States have confirmed they offer visa and work permit free routes for performers and other creative professionals. This includes most of the biggest touring markets, including France, Germany, and the Netherlands.

We are now working with the remaining countries to encourage them to match the UKs generous arrangements, which allow creative professionals to tour here easily.

Earlier this month, a number of figures from the music industry spoke to NME about how new visa rules, as well as prohibitive costs and admin rules, meant that many UK artists could no longer afford to tour in Spain cutting off one of the biggest markets for UK talent.

Rising post-punk bandsSquidandBlack Country, New Road are among those to have recently pulled out of Spanish shows without any hint of rescheduling their respective tours as promoters Primavera Sound noted.

Discussions remain ongoing for visa touring provisions with Spain, Croatia, Greece, Portugal, Bulgaria, Malta and Cyprus.

Amidmonths of inaction, the government has often been accused of treating the 6billion music sectorlike an afterthought in Brexit negotiations, compared to the 1.2billion fishing industry.

A recent poll found thatthe majority of UK voters wanted the government to be doing more to solve the post-Brexit touring fiascofor musicians and crew, after over280,000 people signed a petitioncalling for visa-free touring through the EU to be established for artists and crew.

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UK government accused of more spin and misinformation and no progress over Brexit touring mess - NME

Northern Irelands art market is facing post-Brexit confusion, while new asset seizure powers (which encompass art) are being introduced to support criminal investigations into unexplained wealth.

The UK National Committee of the Blue Shield, a voluntary body that aims to protect cultural heritage, raised concerns in May, when the UK began to repeal the EUs Import of Cultural Goods Regulations (2019), but not Northern Ireland (NI). While the repeal has largely been welcomed by the art trade, given its onerous obligations to ensure artefacts are not illicitly exported from their origin country, experts say the move could assist antiquities trafficking.

Checks for artefacts moving from the rest of the UK into Northern Ireland would need to be carried out by the UK Border Authorities for Northern Ireland, says Fionnuala Rogers, the president of the UK National Committee of the Blue Shield. But, despite the risk highlighted as to NI becoming a gateway to Europe for illicit cultural property, the UK government continues to maintain that they wont change the way import checks are handled, relying instead on intelligence.

Rogers adds: It also seems that no consideration has been given as to how Northern Ireland will operate checks on goods coming from outside the EU and whether this will be left to Northern Ireland to implement or whether the UK will carry the burden.

A House of Lords debate in June brought little clarity. How have we got to a situation where one of the most complicated issues aboutthe pursuit of cultural goods is different in one territory of the UKfrom the rest? asked Lord Stevenson of Balmacara.

Unconnected to Brexit, a rollout of updated seizure powers and revised guidance to assist NI enforcement agencies came into force this summer. Designed to enable unexplained wealth to be used as a tool in criminal investigations, the guidance details the use of powers attached to the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002) and the Criminal Finances Act (2017).

In the rest of the UK, these powers have seen multiple seizures, including: the reported confiscation of 1m worth of paintings by the Scottish artist Peter Howson in 2009 during a investigation into the drugs dealer William ONeil; more than 2.4m of art and antiques seized by officers investigating Stephen Jellis, convicted for fraud and money laundering in Northampton in 2017; and the 2019 freezing of assets of gold tycoon James Stunt, including a sizeable art collection (some of which is allegedly fake).

Lord Dodds of Duncairn was clear on the significance of these powers, stating in the House of Lords that the measures will unlock better outcomes against organised criminality, protect our economy and reduce harm in those communities that are particularly affected by organised crime gangs and paramilitarism.

On another note, Northern Irelands confused economic situation is also causing great instability for artists. In August, the chairman of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Liam Hannaway, called for immediate support for the sector, to tackle the financial insecurity for those working in the creative industries.

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Northern Ireland's art market mired in post-Brexit confusion - Art Newspaper