Year: 2020

The UK government says Gibraltar cannot independently negotiate a passport-free travel deal with the EU after Brexit. On Friday, Chief Minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo said joining the EU's Schengen zone could be advantageous for the tiny UK territory. All but six EU member states are in Schengen, enabling citizens to travel passport-free across borders in the EU. A UK government spokesperson said Gibraltar's arrangements would be part of UK-EU […]

The UK's post-Brexit immigration system will put "people before passports", Boris Johnson has said. Speaking at the UK-Africa Investment Summit, the PM said immigration would become "fairer... treating people the same wherever they come from". Freedom of movement between the UK and EU is expected to end after the Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020. The government says it will introduce an Australian-style points based system by January 2021. Under this […]

The EU has revealed it might not be ready to start negotiating a free trade deal with Britain until March. Eric Mamer, chief spokesman for the European Commission, made the comments at a media briefing in Brussels. It raises further doubts about the prospects of the two sides coming to an agreement before the end of the Brexit transition period in December. Mr Mamer, when asked about the time frame […]

An appeal to raise £500,000 by the weekend has been launched to ensure Big Ben chimes when the UK leaves the EU at 23:00 GMT on 31 January. The famous bell has only rung a few times since renovations began in 2017. The PM's spokesman highlighted "potential difficulties" in using money raised from public donations. But the Brexit Party's Richard Tice said it would be "pretty feeble if we can't […]

The taoiseach Leo Varadkar has called for "a level playing field" in the Brexit negotiations. The Irish prime minister said there must be a common minimum standard so the UK could not "undercut" the EU. He said the next step is to negotiate a free trade agreement between the UK and EU. Mr Varadkar spoke as the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen visited Ireland for the first time […]

It’s a grim winter’s day in Berlin, and the political climate matches the weather. Everywhere Angela Merkel looks there are storm clouds, as the values she has upheld all her career come under sustained attack. At the start of a new decade, Europe’s premier stateswoman suddenly seems to be on the wrong side of history. Shortly, the UK will leave the EU. A volatile US president is snubbing allies and going it […]