Tag: Boris Johnson

UK-EU Post-Brexit Talks: There’s Just 30% Chance of Clinching Trade Deal, British Media Says

– September 4, 2020

In late July, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier blamed Britain for failing to show a “due level of engagement” in the post-Brexit trade talks between Brussels and London.

Senior UK government officials were quoted by The Times as saying on Friday that there is only 30% to 40% chance that Britain and the EU will conclude a trade agreement before the end of this year.

The officials pointed to the current impasse in the talks over state aid rules-related issues.

The British government has repeatedly refused to comply with state aid rules, insisting that Brexit’s essence stipulates the UK alone deciding its own regulations.

Also adding pessimism over the EU-UK trade deal is UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s recent proposal aimed at British fishermen doubling the volume of their catch from the country’s coastal waters.

Brussels responded by rejecting the proposal which it claimed would result in the loss of one in three fishing boats in Europe.

The British officials’ reported prediction comes a few weeks after EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier voiced his disappointment and concern about the latest round of post-Brexit talks between Brussels and London, saying that “the British negotiators have not shown any real willingness to move forward”.

Barnier added that in order to get a deal, Britain should come with “clear and constructive proposals” during the next round of talks scheduled for 7 September in London.

At the same time, the EU chief negotiator said that some progress on technical issues had been made during the talks which must be concluded to have the full legal text be ready by October.

The two sides currently remain at odds over the post-Brexit trade talks as Barnier and his UK counterpart David Frost blame each other for the stalemate.

https://sputniknews.com

Boris Johnson leaves intensive care, remains under observation

REUTERS – April 9, 2020

Prime Minister Boris Johnson left intensive care on Thursday evening as he continues to recover from COVID-19, but he remains under close observation in hospital, his office said on Thursday.

Johnson, 55, was admitted to St Thomas’ Hospital on Sunday evening with a persistent high temperature and cough, and was rushed to intensive care on Monday where he spent three nights receiving treatment.

“The prime minister has been moved this evening from intensive care back to the ward, where he will receive close monitoring during the early phase of his recovery,” a spokesman from his office said in an emailed statement.

“He is in extremely good spirits.”

Johnson was the first world leader to be hospitalized with the coronavirus, forcing him to hand control of the world’s fifth-largest economy to foreign minister Dominic Raab just as Britain’s outbreak approaches its most deadly peak.

Raab tweeted that the improvement in Johnson’s condition was “the news we all wanted to hear.” U.S. President Donald Trump described it as “great news.”

https://www.jpost.com

‘Can No Longer Afford NATO?’ Twitter Aboil as Johnson Vows Historic Overhaul of Post-Brexit Defence

Sputnik News – February 26, 2020

Boris Johnson has ordered a major overhaul of Britain’s defence sector as part of a government review to determine the county’s post-Brexit course and ensure the nation is prepared for any potential threats, the BBC reported.

For the first time in decades, it will also cover the UK’s overseas operations, including aid cash.

Whitehall hopes insights from internal and external experts will challenge “traditional Whitehall assumptions”, regarding the diplomatic service, use of technology, tackling organized crime, etc.

Announcing the review, Boris said last night: “We must do more to adapt. We will be judged by how we respond to the opportunities ahead”, noting the UK could not “rest on our laurels”.

“As the world changes we must move with it – harnessing new technologies and ways of thinking to ensure British foreign policy is rooted firmly in our national interests, now and in the decades ahead”, the prime minister explained.

The government says it is set to “utilise expertise from both inside and outside government for the review, ensuring the UK’s best foreign policy minds are feeding into its conclusions and offering constructive challenges to traditional Whitehall assumptions and thinking”.

The UK’s last comprehensive security and defence review was completed in late 2015, before Britain voted to leave the EU. The new one, first announced by Johnson during his election as the “biggest since the Cold War” is expected to be outlined in a formal statement later on.

https://sputniknews.com

EU Parliament Clears Brexit; UK Set to Leave Friday

Newsmax – January 29, 2020

The European Union grudgingly let go of the United Kingdom with a final vote Wednesday at the E.U.’s Parliament that ended the Brexit divorce battle and set the scene for tough trade negotiations in the year ahead.

In an emotion-charged session at the session in Brussels, lawmakers from all 28 E.U. countries expressed their love and sadness, while some, notably from Britain’s Brexit Party, their joy.

Some even cried and many held hands during a mournful rendition of the Auld Lang Syne farewell song that contrasted sharply with hard-headed exhortations that Britain won’t find it easy in the talks that will follow the country’s official departure on Friday.

“We will always love you and we will never be far,” said E.U. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Britain will leave the E.U. after 47 years of membership. It is the first country to leave and for many in Europe its official departure at 11 p.m. London time on Friday is a moment of enormous sadness and reduces the number in the bloc to 27.

With just two days to go until Brexit day, the legislature overwhelmingly approved Britain’s departure terms from the E.U. — 621 to 49 in favor of the Brexit deal that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson negotiated with the other 27 E.U. leaders in the fall of last year. The deal’s passage follows last week’s backing by the U.K.’s Parliament.

The Parliament’s chief Brexit official, Guy Verhofstadt, said that “this vote is not an adieu,” adding that it is “only an au revoir.”

https://www.newsmax.com

UK: Boris Johnson’s deal ‘crosses the Brexit finish line’

DW – January 23, 2020

The UK moved a step closer to its January 31 exit date from the European Union on Thursday when Queen Elizabeth II gave her formal assent to Brexit legislation ratified by British lawmakers the day prior.

Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, Nigel Evans, declared the Withdrawal Agreement Act had received the royal approval, meaning there are no more significant obstacles prior to next week’s departure.

Two top EU officials in Brussels are expected to sign the separation treaty on Friday.

“At times it felt like we would never cross the Brexit finish line, but we’ve done it,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said after the bill passed in Parliament on Wednesday.

“Now we can put the rancor and division of the past three years behind us and focus on delivering a bright, exciting future,” he added.

Earlier that day, the lower house of Parliament, the House of Commons, overturned changes the upper house, the House of Lords, had made to the legislation, including a clause to ensure protections for child refugees after Brexit.

The Lords could have sought to reinstate the changes, but decided not to, allowing the legislation to clear its final parliamentary hurdle in the UK. There will be a consent vote in the EU parliament on January 29.

https://www.dw.com