Brexit Debate

[SteveH]

The UK is to rejoin the EU's flagship scientific research scheme, Horizon, the government has announced.

UK-based scientists and institutions will be able to apply for money from the ?81bn (?95bn) fund from today.

Associate membership had been agreed as part of the Brexit trade deal when the UK formally left the EU in 2020.

However, the UK has been excluded from the scheme for the past three years because of a disagreement over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66737714

[SteveH]

Brexit: 'Call us' on trade, says German finance minister Christian Lindner

The German finance minister has extended a surprise invite to the UK to take "new steps" on post-Brexit trade relations with the European Union (EU).

In a BBC interview, Christian Lindner said: "If you want to intensify your trade relationship with the EU - call us!"

A government spokesperson said the UK was open to "new opportunities" across the globe.

Mr Lindner also said the German economy and energy supplies remain strong.

He is the leader of the German liberals, part of the ruling coalition led by the centre-left SPD of Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

During the discussion on the margins of the IMF and World Bank's annual meetings in Marrakech, Mr Lindner said that the UK had a "standing invitation" on future talks aimed at reducing trade barriers, or "obstacles in daily business life" that had arisen.

"In the daily life of German corporates, there are new obstacles since Brexit... I don't think [the] United Kingdom is benefiting from Brexit," he told BBC News.

"We really appreciate the United Kingdom and its values, its people... and I would really, really appreciate it if we can intensify [the trade relationship] again," he added.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67105143

One in three newly registered vehicles in the UK is a German export. In total, 950,000 of the 3 million newly registered cars in the UK are German exports (2016). One in five new cars exported from Germany goes to the UK (20% of German exports).

[Ian]

Mr Lindner also said the German economy and energy supplies remain strong.

In fact our inflation rate is the highest and overall wealth is the worst of the developed economies. Yet another factor that we can thank Johnson for.

[SteveH]

Post-Brexit controls on food, plant and animal imports to Britain from the EU have come into force.

Health certificates will now be required on EU goods ranging from cut flowers, to fresh produce including meat, fruit and vegetables.

Some industry bodies raised concerns the rules could cause delays and push up costs, but others said they would help UK farmers be more competitive.

The government said its border model would "minimise burdens for traders".

The UK left the EU exactly four years ago, but it has taken some time for the government to implement new trade rules - legally required under the Brexit agreement - for goods travelling from the EU to the UK.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68126880

[SteveH]

The UK is starting talks on a new co-operation treaty with Germany, as the Labour government looks to "reset" relations with Europe.

Sir Keir Starmer, who is in Berlin for meetings with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said the deal was part of a bid to "turn a corner on Brexit".

Downing Street said the agreement would cover areas such as energy security, technology, defence and illegal migration.

It added it would also cover access to each other's markets and trade across the North Sea.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg3pxz4334o

[SteveH]

Construction work has finally started on a border control post in north Wales which will carry out post-Brexit checks on goods from the Republic of Ireland.

The facility at Holyhead should be operational sometime in 2025, four years after the UK left the EU.

When the UK left in 2021, goods from Great Britain going to the EU were immediately subject to customs and regulatory processes.

But the UK government was not ready to apply controls on EU goods and the introduction of those controls has been delayed on several occasions.

EU agrifood products arriving at English Channel ports started being checked earlier in 2024.

Products from the Republic of Ireland have not been checked due to a lack of facilities at Great Britain's west coast ports.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c74jdj2x0w4o

[SteveH]

Brexit red tape on British businesses has caused goods trade between the UK and EU to slump and the problem is getting worse, a study has warned.

Many smaller UK producers have given up exporting small amounts to the EU after facing more rules and regulations, a report by Aston University Business School found.

Between 2021 and 2023, the study found UK goods exports to the EU fell 27% and imported goods by 32% compared with what it predicts would have happened without Brexit.

The report does not include the service sector, which has performed better than many experts had expected since Brexit.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd988p00z1no

[SteveH]

The UK government is hiring a new negotiator to help deliver a “reset” of relations with Europe.

The job posting says the role will lead the government's relationship with the European Union and negotiations with the EU "on key UK interests", with mentions of trade, security and border policy.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has committed to a “reset” of relations between the UK and EU, and previously said he would seek a better deal on trade than the one negotiated by Boris Johnson in late 2020.

However, the prime minister has said that resetting does not mean reversing Brexit..........https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjw0xngdj2jo

[SteveH]

The European Union's new trade chief responsible for post-Brexit negotiations has told the BBC that a "pan-European [customs] area is something we could consider" as part of "reset" discussions between the UK and EU.

Maros Sefcovic referred to the idea of Britain joining the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention (PEM).

These are common rules that allow parts, ingredients and materials for manufacturing supply chains to be sourced from across dozens of countries in and around Europe and North Africa to be used in tariff-free trade.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq5g48yx0dvo

[SteveH]

Sir Keir Starmer is heading to Brussels to join a gathering of European Union leaders – the first time a British prime minister has done so since Brexit.

Starmer is heading over the English Channel for talks focused on defence and security co-operation and will also meet Nato secretary general Mark Rutte.

The trip is part of what he calls a "reset" between the UK and the European Union............

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0e4rv2rw4eo

[Hugo]

It's a step in the right direction and I hope something positive comes out of it.   United we stand,  divided we fall couldn't be more appropriate with Russia's aggresion to the east and the uncertainty of the Trump administration to the West of us

[SteveH]

Update...........

The UK is "not choosing between the US and the EU", Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said after President Donald Trump threatened the European Union with trade tariffs.

Over the weekend, Trump announced 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico - which have both since been paused - and said he would take similar action against the EU but suggested a deal could be "worked out" with the UK.

Asked if he would be willing to water down attempts to forge closer ties with the EU in exchange for keeping the US on side, Sir Keir said both relationships were important to the UK.................... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3e1wnvkzeyo

[SteveH]

Efforts to keep potentially disease-ridden meat out of the UK are being undermined by post-Brexit border checks, a senior health official has said.

The boss of the Dover Port Health Authority said illegal meat, which has not been through proper health checks, was now available on "most high streets" in the UK.

European outbreaks of deadly animal diseases in recent months have left health authorities, Whitehall officials and many in the farming industry worried about the threat they pose to the UK.

But the government has insisted the checks work and it will never "waver in its duty to support the UK's biosecurity".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cglydk3d7wko

[SteveH]

A bit of a tenuous link on this thread...........probable more Points to Ponder 

A government decision to scrap tariffs on Chinese e-bikes coming into the UK has been described as a "kick in the teeth for British manufacturing".

Border taxes were imposed on Chinese e-bikes following Brexit, keeping the UK in line with the EU, but the Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has accepted a recommendation to lift them on non-folding e-bikes from Friday.

The Trade Remedies Authority, the body responsible for reviewing tariffs, said the move allowing cheaper Chinese imports could save consumers £200.

But UK-based companies have called the decision "strange" saying it's a blow at a "very scary time" for the industry.

They previously manufactured their bikes in China, before moving operations to a factory in Poland, and then shifting manufacturing to the UK following Brexit.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c75z9925lelo

PS
US President Donald Trump has suspended tariffs on small packages from China, after his sudden order ending duty-free treatment for shipments worth less than $800 (£645) left the US postal service and other agencies scrambling to comply...https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y7edy35pvo

 

[SteveH]

Has Sir Keir Starmer picked a fight with a bat tunnel that - in time - he will eventually discover he just can't win?

For the last six months, the prime minister has singled out the most hated construction site in Britain for criticism - a kilometre-long, £100m shed to protect bats in Buckinghamshire from the high speed trains of the future.

Sir Keir regularly thunders that this is the emblem of a broken planning system. His chancellor says such things will never happen again. But is their joint political sonar advanced enough to avoid a collision in the coming months?

HS2 will continue to build this bat tunnel, due to be complete in 2027, come what may. A compromise plan - that would see developers pay into a single government-controlled pot - has left experts and industry figures unimpressed, saying it would not stop another bat tunnel.

The experts also warn that they struggle to see how the government prevents future absurd and costly structures without repealing nature and habitat laws we inherited from the EU............. https://news.sky.com/story/keir-starmer-has-declared-war-on-100m-hs2-bat-shed-but-has-he-got-a-solution-13306908


I noticed the RSPB joined in on this discussion. ... they are not unbiased........ perhaps they might like to contribute............

I am all for helping wildlife projects, but I have felt for some time that a few of the major animal charities are more money orientated

The willingness of government to give money to RSPB on request is starting to raise questions
https://www.c4pmc.co.uk/post/the-willingness-of-government-to-give-money-to-rspb-on-request-is-starting-to-raise-questions

Why the UK Government’s ‘growth-at-any-cost’ is misguided
In an article for The Times RSPB Chief Executive Beccy Speight warned against attacking nature. 
https://www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/news/growth-at-any-cost-is-misguided

The RSPB have spent millions of public money on the Lake Vyrnwy reserve, yet wildlife has plummeted
Last year the RSPB’s income stood at £142.6 million. That amount was made up from a combination of the members subscriptions (£55.1m), grants and public funding.

Which makes it all the more bewildering that Mark Thomas, the RSPB’s investigation chief, felt during his live Hen Harrier day performance with the erudite Megan McCubbin that the most important thing people could do to help endangered bird species in the UK was….donate more money to the RSPB. Evidently £142.6 million is not enough to do the job properly. .....

That’s a lot money, I think everyone can agree and little wonder that the RSPB can continue to spend so lavishly.

Whether it is spending over a million pounds buying up every available lethal animal trap to kill stoats in the Orkney Islands or using public money to protect a new nature reserve in Scotland that was already protected by European Union Laws, it would seem that value for money is not something Martin Harper and the rest of the RSPB leadership seem to worry much about. .....
https://www.c4pmc.co.uk/post/the-rspb-have-spent-millions-of-public-money-on-the-lake-vyrnwy-reserve-yet-wildlife-has-plummeted