Month: February 2020

New immigration rules would make a “major recruitment crisis” worse and lead to a “severe” shortage of carers, Care Forum Wales has warned. Chairman Mario Kreft said pay levels would have to rise significantly to attract “home-grown” staff. The Welsh government said the plans showed an “alarming lack of understanding” […]

The UK Government is pursuing a “dangerous, damaging and isolationist” path on Brexit, according to Scotland’s Constitutional Relations Secretary. Mike Russell said the Scottish Government is stepping up its “defence” against Westminster’s plans as it exits the EU. Boris Johnson’s administration is set to deliver a “hard, uncompromising, extreme Brexit, […]

EU leaders made no headway on Thursday in fractious talks on a joint 2021-27 budget that was left with a 75 billion euro (62.9 billion pounds) hole after Britain’s departure at a time when they face costly new challenges from climate change to migration. The joint budget is the most […]

EU leaders are meeting in Brussels this week to discuss the bloc’s future budget plans. These negotiations are always challenging, tending to pit net payers against net beneficiaries. There are proposals from the European Commission and the Parliament that some countries think involve spending too much. This time, the talks […]

China is ready to restart preparatory work with British officials on a future trade deal after a feasibility study was quietly paused last year during the Brexit deadlock, a top diplomat has said. Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese ambassador to London, said it may take time before the two sides have […]

A demand for the return of “unlawfully removed cultural objects” has been included in the EU’s negotiating mandate for trade talks with the UK – prompting claims Britain will be held to ransom over the Elgin Marbles. The British Museum has long refused to return the 2,500-year-old artefacts to Greece, […]