Month: March 2020

Theresa May's chief Brexit adviser has insisted her under-fire Chequers plan is deliverable and "respects" both the UK's sovereignty and the EU's autonomy. Appearing before MPs, Oliver Robbins was urged to put the prime minister's blueprint for future relations with the EU after Brexit "out of its misery". Veteran Eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash said it was "completely impossible" to marry the UK and EU's underlying demands. But Mr Robbins insisted […]

The Scottish government has said it is seeking clarity from Westminster on whether it will be responsible for implementing the Irish Sea border. That border refers to new controls on GB to NI trade at the end of the Brexit transition period. A NI minister said his Scottish counterparts told him they would not accept new checks at Scottish ports. The EU has warned that if the UK does not […]

With an icy wind blowing behind it the fishing trawler Asbjoern 265 enters port in Skagen on the very northern tip of Denmark. It's Denmark's busiest fishing harbour. A flock of seagulls wheels overhead, raucous and hungry. Snowflakes drift in the air. Out to sea a line of white waves mark the turbulent waters where the currents of the North Sea and the Baltic collide. The Asbjoern is an impressive […]

Peugeot (PEUP.PA) could only export cars to Britain and invest in local plants if the British government helped to offset any potential tariffs imposed after the country’s exit from the European Union, Chief Executive Carlos Tavares said. Britain has already left the common market but has not yet finalised an agreement to ensure ongoing tariff-free trade with the European Union, a step which has led Peugeot, which owns the Vauxhall […]

Talks between Britain and the EU on a post-Brexit trade deal have got under way in Brussels, with officials on both sides agreeing not to shake hands because of the coronavirus outbreak. The two teams agreed to the step amid the continuing global spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Hand sanitisers and NHS advice have also been placed throughout the UK's mission in the Belgian capital. The number of […]

Given recent cross-channel provocations, it would hardly be surprising to learn that the French are quite happy to see the back of us. Boris Johnson last year referred to our nearest neighbours as “turds”, in a comment that had to be cut from a BBC documentary. French President Emmanuel Macron is playing tough on a new trade deal, has accused Leavers of lying and only just managed a friendly word on our departure. In […]