Yeah cos the Americans never encouraged the raising of funds for a terrorist organisation. Neither did they permit guns, drugs, cash and people to pass unhindered through their borders in the name of the Great struggle. Tell em to F*** Off
We would be completely safe from the threat of chlorine washed chicken, hormone fed beef, and GM crops, if you were leading the trade negotiations.
Erm. No but maybe I wouldn't have lost close friends due to the constant fundraising in Boston and NY by slimy Paddy Yanks in bars saying "A dollar buys a bullet. A dollar kills a squaddie".
My point is America are the last people to have any input into Northern Ireland because for decades they directly funded the violence, permitted the funding and often tacitly approved the end result.
Biden should shut his f****** mouth on the whole issue or else go back in time and patrol the cruds around XMG
Sorry for the rant but it's very close to home.
As for the food issue Tony perhaps it doesn't really matter, I've eaten that much s*** during my life it all tastes the same buddy.
My comment was obviously an attempt at a bit of humour.
I wont comment further.
Sorry for not seeing the humour, it's actually quite funny when you view it in that context.
‘Hammer blow' in fight to save steel jobs from cheap imports
G7 summit: No 10 denies PM feels ‘ganged up on’ as EU leaders tell him to honour his side of Brexit deal
Boris Johnson brands Covid surge 'serious, serious concern' ahead of… Loki: Everything we know about the new Marvel series
Downing Street has denied that Boris Johnson feels “ganged up on” at the G7 summit in Cornwall, after a succession of EU leaders delivered a blunt message that he must deliver on his Brexit promises.
The only thing driving the "average" price up is the rip off £1.39 -£1.45 per litre charged by motorway and other self styled service stations.
Keep it real, better out.
This illustrates how stupid, and ill informed many people are.
Brexiteers are getting roasted for complaining about the ‘unelected’ EU attending the G7 …
As world leaders begin the second day of talks at the G7 summit in Cornwall, Brexiteers are angry that European Union (EU) representatives Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel – presidents of the European Commission and Council respectively – have a seat at the table.
While the EU is not one of the seven countries (that’s the UK, France, Italy, Canada, US, Germany and Japan), the trading bloc has been invited as a guest alongside leaders from Australia, India, South Korea and South Africa to discuss issues such as the coronavirus pandemic and climate change. The United Nations have been invited in a similar capacity.
Despite the prime minister inviting these extra countries to “intensify cooperation between the world’s democratic and technologically advanced nations”, Leave voters are still upset that the EU presidents are walking on the sandy coast of Cornwall.
Thankfully, there are people on Twitter to take down some of their arguments, and we’ve rounded up some of the best ones below.
The Worlds greatest democracies.........and the #EU
Unlit Uplands @unlit_uplands · 15h Actually they were both elected by the European Parliament. Which at the time included British MEPs.
Making a return from the 2016 referendum debate, people are still arguing that the presidents are unelected, which isn’t exactly true.
As the European Parliament website states: “Member states nominate a candidate for the post [of president of the European Commission, but] … Parliament needs to approve the new Commission president by an absolute majority (half of the existing MEPs plus one).”
Meanwhile, the European Council president is elected by its members, who are leaders of the member countries.
While we may not be the ones casting the votes in either instance, the people who are, are people whom we’ve voted for – either directly (in the case of MEPs), or indirectly (in terms of the UK prime minister, as we vote for constituency MPs). At this point, the ‘unelected’ argument gets a little bit hazy.
2. Okay, but if you’re really upset about unelected officials, then what about the Queen?
Paul Dreczko #FBPE 🇵🇱 🇪🇺 @Paul_D1963 · 13h Brexiteers are now moaning about Ursula von der Leyen being at the #G7Summit2021 because she is not elected. They are happy for the Queen and Prince Charles to be in Cornwall though?
People angry about Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel’s attendance may have forgotten that the Queen, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall held a royal reception for the world leaders on Friday, and they are simply born into the Royal Family.
If someone’s going to have a go about the EU being represented by ‘unelected bureaucrats’, then they should really look a little closer to home.
3. The Eden Project would not have existed without EU funding
UK is with EU @ukiswitheu · 23h #G7 were hosted at the Eden Project
£26 million of the £56 million used to fund the Eden Project came from the EU
Without the EU, there would be no Eden project or the 400 jobs it created
Oh, and that royal reception took place at the Eden Project, by the way – an initiative which was funded in part by the European Union.
According to the project’s official website, £37.5 million was given to them by the Millennium Commission, while other funders included the Southwest Regional Development Agency and the EU. Around £50 million was contributed between them, with more than half (£26 million) from the EU towards capital funding.
4. They’ve been invited to the G7 for decades
John Ogden @John_Ogden · 11 Jun The president of the European Commission has attended G7 for 40 years.
So of course, today’s G7 meeting is greeted by angry brexiteers asking incredulously why the thing that’s happened for the last 40 years is happening again.
For the 40th consecutive year
John Redwood @johnredwood · 11 Jun The EU at the G7 can be represented by Germany, France and Italy, three voices. So why does the EU also get to send two EU Presidents as well to give them a majority?
Sometimes one wonders if people are only taking issue with the EU after we’ve left the bloc, as the European Union has been invited along to the G7 since 1977 without the furore we’re currently seeing from Brexiteers.
The EU’s first time attending the summit was also at a point when the UK was hosting. Then-Commission president Roy Jenkins attended what was the third G7 summit, taking place in London.
If the EU can attend decades of summits without an issue, then their invitation to come along to this year’s G7 shouldn’t be a problem.
5. If we’re unhappy with the EU being invited along, we could just leave the G7 too
Nick🇬🇧🇪🇺 @nicktolhurst · 11h EU representatives have been present at G7 meetings for 3 decades now.
If you don’t like it the UK could always just leave the G7 too.
After all, look how easy that was to do last time, right?
We’re not sure if G6 has quite the same ring to it, though, or if we can put up with another exhausting political campaign to leave a multi-national body. We don’t think Brenda from Bristol could put up with it either.
So perhaps the best solution is to let them all crack on – it’s not like they’re discussing important international policies or anything
EU countries agree Covid vaccine scheme - excluding Britons
EU countries have agreed to ease summer travel restrictions that will allow fully vaccinated tourists to avoid tests or quarantines – but not British holidaymakers.
People who have been fully vaccinated for 14 days should be able to travel freely from one EU country to another, according to a proposal approved by ambassadors from the 27 members.
Restrictions for other travellers should be based on the degree to which the country they are coming from has coronavirus infections under control.
Macron takes swipe at Johnson and wants border fixed ‘calmly and professionally’
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, took a parting swipe at Boris Johnson as he left the G7 summit in Cornwall, insisting the prime minister was “well aware” of the provisions he signed up to in his Northern Ireland Protocol and must now implement them “seriously, calmly and professionally”.
In a stinging riposte to the prime minister’s demands for flexibility from Brussels, Mr Macron told reporters that it was not for the EU to sort out the “incoherences” of the Brexit deal that Mr Johnson had demanded, negotiated and agreed to.
And he said that respect for the UK’s sovereignty, including Northern Ireland’s position as an integral part of the country, cannot come at the cost of a lack of respect for the EU’s single market.
Boris Johnson scored an own goal over Brexit at G7 despite favourable conditions
Serendipitous that the UK was the host nation in its year of Brexit - this the perfect setting to prove global Britain was more than just an empty slogan at a moment when western democracies wanted to turn the page on the bad tempered years of Donald Trump and make the summit work.
And yet, it became an opportunity missed - with the prime minister managing over the course of the weekend to score an own goal over Brexit.
Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski makes Commons apology for bullying parliamentary staff by calling them 'useless snowflakes' - after claiming he was under pressure from angry Brexit voters who targeted him because he is so tall
A disciplinary panel imposed the sanction on Daniel Kawczynski this morning after a review heard he had called staff 'useless' and labelled one a member of 'the snowflake generation'.
'The PM should be here, I'm sorry if his dinner would have been affected': Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle lashes Boris Johnson AGAIN for 'disrespecting' the House by announcing lockdown changes to the media rather than MPs
Sir Lindsay Hoyle has blasted Boris Johnson for setting out his lockdown decision at a press conference instead of to MPs as he accused the PM of 'running roughshod' over Parliament.
Fishing fury: New Brexit deal means 1,600 EU boats can plunder British water for 2021
A draft version of a UK-EU fishing agreement for this year, seen by the Daily Telegraph, states London and Brussels have "exceptionally agreed not to apply tonnage limits" for non-quota species until next year.
Rather they will "closely monitor and exchange" data on fish being caught in order to help draw up future plans.
Labour's shadow environment secretary, Luke Pollard, strongly condemned the move.
He commented: "The Government has sold out our fishers.
Michel Barnier tells Boris Johnson to ‘respect his signature’ on Brexit deal and warns UK reputation could be damaged
Britain's reputation is in danger of being damaged if it breaks its word on Brexit, the EU's former chief negotiator has warned.
Speaking to French radio on Monday Michel Barnier urged Boris Johnson to "respect his signature".
It comes after the the UK unilaterally overrode parts of the withdrawal agreement negotiated with Mr Barnier's team to better suit British businesses.
Unionists and companies in Northern Ireland say the Northern Ireland protocol and the new checks it introduces that make trade with Great Britain more difficult is damaging to their interests.
Mr Barnier, who retired from the European Commission earlier this year, told France Info radio: “The United Kingdom needs to pay attention to its reputation.
UK and Australia ‘agree broad terms’ of post-Brexit trade deal
Downing Street did not deny the reports and, if confirmed, the agreement would be the first trade deal negotiated from scratch since the UK’s exit from the European Union.
Industry leaders have raised concerns over possible compromises on food standards, while farmers fear they could be undercut by cut-price imports.
A split in the Cabinet also appeared between International Trade Secretary Liz Truss and Environment Secretary George Eustice, who has concerns about the impact on farmers.
Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove also harbours fears a deal could fuel demands for Scottish and Welsh independence.
UK and Australia agree post-Brexit free trade deal
British farmers fear concessions allowing tariff-free, quota-free imports of Australian beef, lamb and sugar would seriously damage the domestic agriculture sector. They are also worried about welfare standards in Australia, including the use of hormones by some beef producers.
In Australia, meanwhile, farmers have warned that proposals to exempt British backpackers from having to do farm work when renewing their visas would exacerbate labour shortages, blighting the sector. But Australian farmers have raised objections about a British demand to remove a requirement that UK backpackers work at least 88 days on farms to extend working holiday visas.
“On the other hand, this deal sets a precedent for later, likely more complicated, deals the UK negotiates. Any concessions granted now to Australia will form a baseline for the start of future negotiations with the US, EU etc.”
Australian Agricultural Company, the country’s biggest beef exporter, has predicted a tenfold rise in beef exports to the UK if the zero-tariff deal was agreed.
1. Why does the EU have to make things so difficult for the British Isles (for want of a better term) in relation to Northern Ireland? When we were in the EU, there were no similar restrictions imposed to the parts of the British Isles that were not in the EU, such as The Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. Similarly, the Canary Islands seem to have all sorts of exemptions, allowing them to be in or out of the EU whenever it suits. It's almost as though the EU is being sulky and vindictive.
2. The various bits about petrol prices in this thread. There are only 3 significant oil exporters/producers in the Continent of Europe. Russia, Norway, and the UK. None of which are in the EU. Being in or out of the EU is irrelevant to pricing. The simple reasons why petrol is expensive in this country are because of the taxes we impose and the pandemic.
Amazingly, both Tesco, and Sainsburys source all their sausages locally for all their NI stores, neither company import any.
Here's 11 things you need to know about the UK-EU ‘Sausage War’: 1. It involves almost no sausages. Very few travel from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. A lot go the other way but aren’t involved in this ‘war’. 2. It isn’t a war. It’s a dispute about chilled meats. Sausages just make the best headlines. 3. The problem is the Brexit deal signed by the government (yes, this government) which kept NI in the single market while the rest of the UK left. 4. To avoid doing checks on goods entering the EU along the sensitive border in Ireland, the deal said they would be done between GB and NI instead. 5. Delays were agreed on some of the more disruptive checks on supermarket lorries and chilled meat products. 6. At the time a very senior Irish government source told me those checks might then never have to start. 7. The delay on checks for supermarket lorries was supposed to end in March but the UK decided to extend it without agreement from the EU. 8. That really annoyed the EU. 9. The delay on checks for chilled meats is due to end this month. 10. The UK say the EU is being too strict about the implementing the deal. Anyway, Europe is hardly going to be flooded with chilled meats through Northern Ireland. 11. The EU says they’re trying to be helpful, but if Boris Johnson doesn’t like the deal he shouldn’t have signed it. Et voila. It’s the Sausage War.
Brexit sausage war as Tories attack EU banger ban - that they allowed to happen The spat over sausage trade with Northern Ireland risks dragging in US President Joe Biden - as the UK brands the EU's rules "nonsensical" while the EU warns of "swift, firm" retaliation
The meaty impasse was already clear last year - because Tory ministers first agreed to put Northern Ireland under some EU rules, then agreed their post-Brexit trade deal without resolving the issue.
Now that the deadline is creeping up and rhetoric is mounting, UK ministers have piled blame on the EU over the "nonsensical" policy.
With crunch talks due today, UK ministers are reportedly considering extending the grace period unilaterally - something they've already done for other trade with Northern Ireland.
That prompted a furious response today from European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic, who warned of retaliation.
He wrote in the Telegraph: "If the UK takes further unilateral action over the coming weeks, the EU will not be shy in reacting swiftly, firmly and resolutely to ensure that the UK abides by its international law obligations."
Hitting back, Environment Secretary George Eustice said the banger ban was "nonsensical" and "I've no idea" why it exists.
1. Why does the EU have to make things so difficult for the British Isles (for want of a better term) in relation to Northern Ireland? When we were in the EU, there were no similar restrictions imposed to the parts of the British Isles that were not in the EU, such as The Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. Similarly, the Canary Islands seem to have all sorts of exemptions, allowing them to be in or out of the EU whenever it suits. It's almost as though the EU is being sulky and vindictive.
2. The various bits about petrol prices in this thread. There are only 3 significant oil exporters/producers in the Continent of Europe. Russia, Norway, and the UK. None of which are in the EU. Being in or out of the EU is irrelevant to pricing. The simple reasons why petrol is expensive in this country are because of the taxes we impose and the pandemic.
On the second point, @TheEdge949 was claiming that cheaper petrol was a Brexit benefit. Yet according to the RAC that is not the case, and as you quite rightly say, it is irrelevant anyway.
On the first point people in this country never seem to tire of blaming the EU for anything that is bad or goes wrong.
The NI problems are created by Brexit, rather than the protocol. Although the protocol is an agreement that we signed only a matter of months ago. Yet here you are criticising the EU for insisting that we implement the rules that have been agreed. Boris wants the penny and the bun. We had a very clear choice of close alignment, or new rules. We chose the new rules, but now we dont like them. The EU have offered to eliminate 80% of the border checks if we were prepared to align more closely. We didnt want that, and we dont like the rules that we have agreed to either.
It is unfortunate that we have a PM that lives in cloud cuckoo land.
Boris invented the NI protocol when he binned the backstop. We havent even implemented all the rules yet, as we are still in the grace period. The number of problems are likely to increase as we diverge from EU rules, and the grace periods end.
Boris billed the situation in NI as the best of both worlds.
We created a customs border in the Irish Sea. A customs border is usually somewhere where checks are carried out. In fact what would be the point of having a customs border if no checks were carried out.
We seem to be trivialising the debate by saying it is about sausages, when really it isnt.
How can you just blame one side, when there was an agreement? All the EU seem to want is for us to implement the rules that we have agreed to.
It is not as simple as you would wish.
I agree that Boris knew fine well that his "solution" for Northern Ireland was little different from May's deal. Better polished, better packaged to fool from afar, but still a ****.
Thing is-what option did he have? The UK population voted to leave, and then voted Boris in big time to affirm rejection of the Customs Union. Politically, given the options open to him, he had no realistic alternative.
Whereas the EU had far more options. They could have shown the flexibility shown to the Canary Islands, to Liechtenstein, to Scandinavia, to Monaco. They could have come up with a solution that helped Ireland and Northern Ireland. One that suited its Members. Instead of what they did choose-the option that suited the institution of the EU.
The Irish Sea border was created by BOTH the EU and the UK. And demonstrates why, politically, I trust the EU exactly as much as this Government.
This seems to be a very fair summary.
All you need to know about the Northern Ireland sausage war
In November 2020, Boris Johnson declared that nothing could stop "the Great British sausage from making it to Belfast". This was in response to reports that the protocol on Ireland-Northern Ireland, the agreement governing the trading relationship between Northern Ireland and the EU, would effectively ban sausages from being imported to Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK. Now, talks on how to solve this dispute are making little progress ahead of a key deadline, stoking fears of a "sausage war".
To understand why trade in sausages could be affected, one must first understand the rationale of the protocol. When the UK decided to leave the EU customs union and internal market, it also accepted a return to border checks on goods traded between the UK and the EU. These checks are required, for example, to collect customs duties (taxes on imports) and to ensure that goods comply with domestic rules.
The return of border checks on traded goods presented a particular problem for Northern Ireland. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement – the international treaty underpinning the peace process in Northern Ireland – was framed by both the EU and the UK as requiring that there should not be a return to a hard border within the island of Ireland. To avoid such a border after Brexit, Northern Ireland needs to comply with EU customs and internal market law.
There is therefore no need to carry out regulatory compliance checks on goods traded between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, as they comply with the same rules. By contrast, goods imported into Northern Ireland from outside of the EU, (including, now, Great Britain), are subject to a number of formalities, procedures and checks. For imports from the rest of the UK, these checks occur at the Irish Sea customs border.
But what about the sausages? EU food safety regulations allow only frozen meats to enter the single market – prohibiting the import of chilled meat products, such as sausages and minced meat. Such a ban does not apply to meat products traded within the EU, since all member states are subject to common regulatory standards which are continuously monitored and enforced by EU institutions, as well as domestic and EU courts. However, this does not apply to third countries. The reason for this is that even if a third country adopts rules that are identical to those of the EU (e.g., the UK), the EU cannot simply assume that these rules are effectively complied with and enforced to the EU's standards.
These restrictions therefore apply to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. And since Northern Ireland is subject to EU laws in this area, the same prohibitions should apply to chilled meat products imported from Great Britain.
However, in December 2020 the EU and the UK agreed on a grace period, starting on January 1 and ending July 1 2021, during which chilled meat products from the rest of the UK could access the Northern Ireland market subject to certain conditions.
It is therefore partially true to claim, as Boris Johnson did, that nothing could stop the Great British sausage from making it to Belfast – but only on a temporary basis.
Now that the grace period is nearing its end, politicians are, once again, faced with the uncomfortable reality of the choices made in the context of Brexit. Leaving the internal market and recapturing the power to set standards and regulations on goods inevitably means increased barriers on trade with the EU.
What happens next? Politicians on both sides have floated a number of potential solutions. The EU would like the UK to align itself to its food, plant and animal safety rules. The UK, on the other hand, would prefer both sides to agree to recognise the equivalence of each other's standards whilst maintaining the ability to deviate.
As things stand, chilled meat products from the rest of the UK would be barred from accessing the Northern Ireland market from July 2021 onwards. The UK has offered to unilaterally extend the grace period – but an extension would clearly be in breach of the legally-binding commitments the UK has made under the protocol.
The EU could react by taking legal action at the European Court of Justice. Should the UK be found to be acting illegally, the UK could find itself at the end of significant financial sanctions which could take the form of a lump sum or penalty payments.
As things stand, chilled meat products from the rest of the UK would be barred from accessing the Northern Ireland market from July 2021 onwards
And if the UK did not then comply within six months, the EU would have the right to retaliate by suspending other post-Brexit trade commitments. In effect, this means that the EU could reimpose barriers to trade, such as tariffs and tariff rate quotas, on UK imports.
In other words, the UK could pay a hefty price for its failure to comply with the protocol. But, in reality, such price would pale in comparison to the further instability it would cause in Northern Ireland and the potential damage inflicted on the peace process.
What is needed, then, is for solutions to be found in a spirit of honesty and good faith. There must be a recognition that these barriers to trade are not, as some have claimed, "bonkers", but rather the consequences of the trade relationship that the UK has willingly sought to achieve with the EU in a post-Brexit world. The very existence of grace periods is an acknowledgement that both the UK and the EU understood these consequences from the outset.The Conversation
Billy Melo Araujo is a Senior Lecturer in EU and International Economic Law at Queen's University Belfast. This article was originally published by The Conversation.
1. Why does the EU have to make things so difficult for the British Isles (for want of a better term) in relation to Northern Ireland? When we were in the EU, there were no similar restrictions imposed to the parts of the British Isles that were not in the EU, such as The Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. Similarly, the Canary Islands seem to have all sorts of exemptions, allowing them to be in or out of the EU whenever it suits. It's almost as though the EU is being sulky and vindictive.
2. The various bits about petrol prices in this thread. There are only 3 significant oil exporters/producers in the Continent of Europe. Russia, Norway, and the UK. None of which are in the EU. Being in or out of the EU is irrelevant to pricing. The simple reasons why petrol is expensive in this country are because of the taxes we impose and the pandemic.
Exactly the same figure as the cut in the Foreign Aid budget. Except over 15 years.
Brexit news - live: Boris Johnson hails Australia deal that will ‘grow the economy by just 0.02%’
Boris Johnson has said the UK and Australia’s post-Brexit trade deal shows “global Britain at its best”, despite predictions that it will only boost the economy by 0.02 per cent over the coming 15 years.
Comments
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/hammer-blow-in-fight-to-save-steel-jobs-from-cheap-imports/ar-AAKY4LR?ocid=msedgntp
Boris Johnson brands Covid surge 'serious, serious concern' ahead of…
Loki: Everything we know about the new Marvel series
Downing Street has denied that Boris Johnson feels “ganged up on” at the G7 summit in Cornwall, after a succession of EU leaders delivered a blunt message that he must deliver on his Brexit promises.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/g7-summit-no-10-denies-pm-feels-ganged-up-on-as-eu-leaders-tell-him-to-honour-his-side-of-brexit-deal/ar-AAKYaU9?ocid=msedgntp
Brexiteers are getting roasted for complaining about the ‘unelected’ EU attending the G7
…
As world leaders begin the second day of talks at the G7 summit in Cornwall, Brexiteers are angry that European Union (EU) representatives Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel – presidents of the European Commission and Council respectively – have a seat at the table.
While the EU is not one of the seven countries (that’s the UK, France, Italy, Canada, US, Germany and Japan), the trading bloc has been invited as a guest alongside leaders from Australia, India, South Korea and South Africa to discuss issues such as the coronavirus pandemic and climate change. The United Nations have been invited in a similar capacity.
Despite the prime minister inviting these extra countries to “intensify cooperation between the world’s democratic and technologically advanced nations”, Leave voters are still upset that the EU presidents are walking on the sandy coast of Cornwall.
Thankfully, there are people on Twitter to take down some of their arguments, and we’ve rounded up some of the best ones below.
1. They were elected, actually…
JonnyBerlin
@newjonnyberlin
·
11 Jun
#G7
The Worlds greatest democracies.........and the #EU
Unlit Uplands
@unlit_uplands
·
15h
Actually they were both elected by the European Parliament. Which at the time included British MEPs.
Making a return from the 2016 referendum debate, people are still arguing that the presidents are unelected, which isn’t exactly true.
As the European Parliament website states: “Member states nominate a candidate for the post [of president of the European Commission, but] … Parliament needs to approve the new Commission president by an absolute majority (half of the existing MEPs plus one).”
Meanwhile, the European Council president is elected by its members, who are leaders of the member countries.
While we may not be the ones casting the votes in either instance, the people who are, are people whom we’ve voted for – either directly (in the case of MEPs), or indirectly (in terms of the UK prime minister, as we vote for constituency MPs). At this point, the ‘unelected’ argument gets a little bit hazy.
2. Okay, but if you’re really upset about unelected officials, then what about the Queen?
Paul Dreczko #FBPE 🇵🇱 🇪🇺
@Paul_D1963
·
13h
Brexiteers are now moaning about Ursula von der Leyen being at the #G7Summit2021 because she is not elected. They are happy for the Queen and Prince Charles to be in Cornwall though?
People angry about Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel’s attendance may have forgotten that the Queen, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall held a royal reception for the world leaders on Friday, and they are simply born into the Royal Family.
If someone’s going to have a go about the EU being represented by ‘unelected bureaucrats’, then they should really look a little closer to home.
3. The Eden Project would not have existed without EU funding
UK is with EU
@ukiswitheu
·
23h
#G7 were hosted at the Eden Project
£26 million of the £56 million used to fund the Eden Project came from the EU
Without the EU, there would be no Eden project or the 400 jobs it created
Oh, and that royal reception took place at the Eden Project, by the way – an initiative which was funded in part by the European Union.
According to the project’s official website, £37.5 million was given to them by the Millennium Commission, while other funders included the Southwest Regional Development Agency and the EU. Around £50 million was contributed between them, with more than half (£26 million) from the EU towards capital funding.
4. They’ve been invited to the G7 for decades
John Ogden
@John_Ogden
·
11 Jun
The president of the European Commission has attended G7 for 40 years.
So of course, today’s G7 meeting is greeted by angry brexiteers asking incredulously why the thing that’s happened for the last 40 years is happening again.
For the 40th consecutive year
John Redwood
@johnredwood
· 11 Jun
The EU at the G7 can be represented by Germany, France and Italy, three voices. So why does the EU also get to send two EU Presidents as well to give them a majority?
Sometimes one wonders if people are only taking issue with the EU after we’ve left the bloc, as the European Union has been invited along to the G7 since 1977 without the furore we’re currently seeing from Brexiteers.
The EU’s first time attending the summit was also at a point when the UK was hosting. Then-Commission president Roy Jenkins attended what was the third G7 summit, taking place in London.
If the EU can attend decades of summits without an issue, then their invitation to come along to this year’s G7 shouldn’t be a problem.
5. If we’re unhappy with the EU being invited along, we could just leave the G7 too
Nick🇬🇧🇪🇺
@nicktolhurst
·
11h
EU representatives have been present at G7 meetings for 3 decades now.
If you don’t like it the UK could always just leave the G7 too.
After all, look how easy that was to do last time, right?
We’re not sure if G6 has quite the same ring to it, though, or if we can put up with another exhausting political campaign to leave a multi-national body. We don’t think Brenda from Bristol could put up with it either.
So perhaps the best solution is to let them all crack on – it’s not like they’re discussing important international policies or anything
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/brexiteers-are-getting-roasted-for-complaining-about-the-unelected-eu-attending-the-g7/ar-AAKYGSV?ocid=msedgntp
EU countries have agreed to ease summer travel restrictions that will allow fully vaccinated tourists to avoid tests or quarantines – but not British holidaymakers.
People who have been fully vaccinated for 14 days should be able to travel freely from one EU country to another, according to a proposal approved by ambassadors from the 27 members.
Restrictions for other travellers should be based on the degree to which the country they are coming from has coronavirus infections under control.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/travel/news/eu-countries-agree-covid-vaccine-scheme-excluding-britons/ar-AAKXr3v?ocid=msedgntp
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, took a parting swipe at Boris Johnson as he left the G7 summit in Cornwall, insisting the prime minister was “well aware” of the provisions he signed up to in his Northern Ireland Protocol and must now implement them “seriously, calmly and professionally”.
In a stinging riposte to the prime minister’s demands for flexibility from Brussels, Mr Macron told reporters that it was not for the EU to sort out the “incoherences” of the Brexit deal that Mr Johnson had demanded, negotiated and agreed to.
And he said that respect for the UK’s sovereignty, including Northern Ireland’s position as an integral part of the country, cannot come at the cost of a lack of respect for the EU’s single market.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/macron-takes-swipe-at-johnson-and-wants-border-fixed-calmly-and-professionally/ar-AAL016H?ocid=msedgntp
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/newslondon/biden-s-candid-message-to-johnson-on-northern-ireland-brexit-row/ar-AAL0lma?ocid=msedgntp
Serendipitous that the UK was the host nation in its year of Brexit - this the perfect setting to prove global Britain was more than just an empty slogan at a moment when western democracies wanted to turn the page on the bad tempered years of Donald Trump and make the summit work.
And yet, it became an opportunity missed - with the prime minister managing over the course of the weekend to score an own goal over Brexit.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/boris-johnson-scored-an-own-goal-over-brexit-at-g7-despite-favourable-conditions/ar-AAL07JY?ocid=msedgntp
A disciplinary panel imposed the sanction on Daniel Kawczynski this morning after a review heard he had called staff 'useless' and labelled one a member of 'the snowflake generation'.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9684173/Tory-MP-Daniel-Kawczynski-ordered-apologise-Commons.html
Sir Lindsay Hoyle has blasted Boris Johnson for setting out his lockdown decision at a press conference instead of to MPs as he accused the PM of 'running roughshod' over Parliament.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9685231/Sir-Lindsay-Hoyle-blasts-Boris-Johnson-Covid-rules-announcement.html
Boris Johnson made the quip at the gathering in Cornwall amid a rumbling row over Northern Ireland's Brexit rules.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9683769/Boris-Johnson-trolled-Macron-jibe-vintage-wine.html
A draft version of a UK-EU fishing agreement for this year, seen by the Daily Telegraph, states London and Brussels have "exceptionally agreed not to apply tonnage limits" for non-quota species until next year.
Rather they will "closely monitor and exchange" data on fish being caught in order to help draw up future plans.
Labour's shadow environment secretary, Luke Pollard, strongly condemned the move.
He commented: "The Government has sold out our fishers.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/brexit/fishing-fury-new-brexit-deal-means-1-600-eu-boats-can-plunder-british-water-for-2021/ar-AAKY7TV?ocid=msedgntp
Britain's reputation is in danger of being damaged if it breaks its word on Brexit, the EU's former chief negotiator has warned.
Speaking to French radio on Monday Michel Barnier urged Boris Johnson to "respect his signature".
It comes after the the UK unilaterally overrode parts of the withdrawal agreement negotiated with Mr Barnier's team to better suit British businesses.
Unionists and companies in Northern Ireland say the Northern Ireland protocol and the new checks it introduces that make trade with Great Britain more difficult is damaging to their interests.
Mr Barnier, who retired from the European Commission earlier this year, told France Info radio: “The United Kingdom needs to pay attention to its reputation.
“I want Mr Johnson to respect his signature."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/michel-barnier-tells-boris-johnson-to-respect-his-signature-on-brexit-deal-and-warns-uk-reputation-could-be-damaged/ar-AAL1PiV?ocid=msedgntp
Downing Street did not deny the reports and, if confirmed, the agreement would be the first trade deal negotiated from scratch since the UK’s exit from the European Union.
Industry leaders have raised concerns over possible compromises on food standards, while farmers fear they could be undercut by cut-price imports.
A split in the Cabinet also appeared between International Trade Secretary Liz Truss and Environment Secretary George Eustice, who has concerns about the impact on farmers.
Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove also harbours fears a deal could fuel demands for Scottish and Welsh independence.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/newslondon/uk-and-australia-agree-broad-terms-of-post-brexit-trade-deal/ar-AAL2DZ7?ocid=msedgntp
British farmers fear concessions allowing tariff-free, quota-free imports of Australian beef, lamb and sugar would seriously damage the domestic agriculture sector. They are also worried about welfare standards in Australia, including the use of hormones by some beef producers.
In Australia, meanwhile, farmers have warned that proposals to exempt British backpackers from having to do farm work when renewing their visas would exacerbate labour shortages, blighting the sector.
But Australian farmers have raised objections about a British demand to remove a requirement that UK backpackers work at least 88 days on farms to extend working holiday visas.
“On the other hand, this deal sets a precedent for later, likely more complicated, deals the UK negotiates. Any concessions granted now to Australia will form a baseline for the start of future negotiations with the US, EU etc.”
Australian Agricultural Company, the country’s biggest beef exporter, has predicted a tenfold rise in beef exports to the UK if the zero-tariff deal was agreed.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/brexit/uk-and-australia-agree-post-brexit-free-trade-deal/ar-AAL3app?ocid=msedgntp
Here's 11 things you need to know about the UK-EU ‘Sausage War’:
1. It involves almost no sausages. Very few travel from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. A lot go the other way but aren’t involved in this ‘war’.
2. It isn’t a war. It’s a dispute about chilled meats. Sausages just make the best headlines.
3. The problem is the Brexit deal signed by the government (yes, this government) which kept NI in the single market while the rest of the UK left.
4. To avoid doing checks on goods entering the EU along the sensitive border in Ireland, the deal said they would be done between GB and NI instead.
5. Delays were agreed on some of the more disruptive checks on supermarket lorries and chilled meat products.
6. At the time a very senior Irish government source told me those checks might then never have to start.
7. The delay on checks for supermarket lorries was supposed to end in March but the UK decided to extend it without agreement from the EU.
8. That really annoyed the EU.
9. The delay on checks for chilled meats is due to end this month.
10. The UK say the EU is being too strict about the implementing the deal. Anyway, Europe is hardly going to be flooded with chilled meats through Northern Ireland.
11. The EU says they’re trying to be helpful, but if Boris Johnson doesn’t like the deal he shouldn’t have signed it.
Et voila. It’s the Sausage War.
https://www.itv.com/news/2021-06-09/brexit-11-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-uk-eu-sausage-war
The spat over sausage trade with Northern Ireland risks dragging in US President Joe Biden - as the UK brands the EU's rules "nonsensical" while the EU warns of "swift, firm" retaliation
The meaty impasse was already clear last year - because Tory ministers first agreed to put Northern Ireland under some EU rules, then agreed their post-Brexit trade deal without resolving the issue.
Now that the deadline is creeping up and rhetoric is mounting, UK ministers have piled blame on the EU over the "nonsensical" policy.
With crunch talks due today, UK ministers are reportedly considering extending the grace period unilaterally - something they've already done for other trade with Northern Ireland.
That prompted a furious response today from European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic, who warned of retaliation.
He wrote in the Telegraph: "If the UK takes further unilateral action over the coming weeks, the EU will not be shy in reacting swiftly, firmly and resolutely to ensure that the UK abides by its international law obligations."
Hitting back, Environment Secretary George Eustice said the banger ban was "nonsensical" and "I've no idea" why it exists.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/brexit-sausage-war-tories-attack-24270698
All you need to know about the Northern Ireland sausage war
In November 2020, Boris Johnson declared that nothing could stop "the Great British sausage from making it to Belfast". This was in response to reports that the protocol on Ireland-Northern Ireland, the agreement governing the trading relationship between Northern Ireland and the EU, would effectively ban sausages from being imported to Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK. Now, talks on how to solve this dispute are making little progress ahead of a key deadline, stoking fears of a "sausage war".
To understand why trade in sausages could be affected, one must first understand the rationale of the protocol. When the UK decided to leave the EU customs union and internal market, it also accepted a return to border checks on goods traded between the UK and the EU. These checks are required, for example, to collect customs duties (taxes on imports) and to ensure that goods comply with domestic rules.
The return of border checks on traded goods presented a particular problem for Northern Ireland. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement – the international treaty underpinning the peace process in Northern Ireland – was framed by both the EU and the UK as requiring that there should not be a return to a hard border within the island of Ireland. To avoid such a border after Brexit, Northern Ireland needs to comply with EU customs and internal market law.
There is therefore no need to carry out regulatory compliance checks on goods traded between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, as they comply with the same rules. By contrast, goods imported into Northern Ireland from outside of the EU, (including, now, Great Britain), are subject to a number of formalities, procedures and checks. For imports from the rest of the UK, these checks occur at the Irish Sea customs border.
But what about the sausages?
EU food safety regulations allow only frozen meats to enter the single market – prohibiting the import of chilled meat products, such as sausages and minced meat. Such a ban does not apply to meat products traded within the EU, since all member states are subject to common regulatory standards which are continuously monitored and enforced by EU institutions, as well as domestic and EU courts. However, this does not apply to third countries. The reason for this is that even if a third country adopts rules that are identical to those of the EU (e.g., the UK), the EU cannot simply assume that these rules are effectively complied with and enforced to the EU's standards.
These restrictions therefore apply to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. And since Northern Ireland is subject to EU laws in this area, the same prohibitions should apply to chilled meat products imported from Great Britain.
However, in December 2020 the EU and the UK agreed on a grace period, starting on January 1 and ending July 1 2021, during which chilled meat products from the rest of the UK could access the Northern Ireland market subject to certain conditions.
It is therefore partially true to claim, as Boris Johnson did, that nothing could stop the Great British sausage from making it to Belfast – but only on a temporary basis.
Now that the grace period is nearing its end, politicians are, once again, faced with the uncomfortable reality of the choices made in the context of Brexit. Leaving the internal market and recapturing the power to set standards and regulations on goods inevitably means increased barriers on trade with the EU.
What happens next?
Politicians on both sides have floated a number of potential solutions. The EU would like the UK to align itself to its food, plant and animal safety rules. The UK, on the other hand, would prefer both sides to agree to recognise the equivalence of each other's standards whilst maintaining the ability to deviate.
As things stand, chilled meat products from the rest of the UK would be barred from accessing the Northern Ireland market from July 2021 onwards. The UK has offered to unilaterally extend the grace period – but an extension would clearly be in breach of the legally-binding commitments the UK has made under the protocol.
The EU could react by taking legal action at the European Court of Justice. Should the UK be found to be acting illegally, the UK could find itself at the end of significant financial sanctions which could take the form of a lump sum or penalty payments.
As things stand, chilled meat products from the rest of the UK would be barred from accessing the Northern Ireland market from July 2021 onwards
And if the UK did not then comply within six months, the EU would have the right to retaliate by suspending other post-Brexit trade commitments. In effect, this means that the EU could reimpose barriers to trade, such as tariffs and tariff rate quotas, on UK imports.
In other words, the UK could pay a hefty price for its failure to comply with the protocol. But, in reality, such price would pale in comparison to the further instability it would cause in Northern Ireland and the potential damage inflicted on the peace process.
What is needed, then, is for solutions to be found in a spirit of honesty and good faith. There must be a recognition that these barriers to trade are not, as some have claimed, "bonkers", but rather the consequences of the trade relationship that the UK has willingly sought to achieve with the EU in a post-Brexit world. The very existence of grace periods is an acknowledgement that both the UK and the EU understood these consequences from the outset.The Conversation
Billy Melo Araujo is a Senior Lecturer in EU and International Economic Law at Queen's University Belfast. This article was originally published by The Conversation.
https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2021/0614/1227938-sausages-brexit-northern-ireland-protocol-uk-eu-boris-johnson-trade-war/
Except over 15 years.
Brexit news - live: Boris Johnson hails Australia deal that will ‘grow the economy by just 0.02%’
Boris Johnson has said the UK and Australia’s post-Brexit trade deal shows “global Britain at its best”, despite predictions that it will only boost the economy by 0.02 per cent over the coming 15 years.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/brexit-news-live-boris-johnson-hails-australia-deal-that-will-grow-the-economy-by-just-0-02/ar-AAL3iRa?ocid=msedgntp