EU RULING AGAINST IRELAND WILL BOOST CHANCES OF IREXIT

EU law having primacy over laws made by Ireland’s lawmakers. Irexit is looking more appealing to all sides…

 August 30 2016 @ 09:37

The European Commission is expected to levy a judgment against Apple soon that could total in the billions of euros. 

This is as a result of Apple domiciling in Ireland and benefiting from its competitive tax regime. 

Essentially the Commission is seeking to undermine Ireland’s low tax policy which attracts multi-nationals to the Western periphery of Europe. As one minister told the Irish Times: “They are trying to make us tax Apple for stuff that doesn’t happen here. It’s nonsense.” They come for the tax regime and find a young, highly-educated workforce with a can-do attitude….

“We don’t believe we gave any state aid to Apple,” Eoghan Murphy, junior finance minister, told broadcaster RTE, “It’s in the national interest that we defend our international reputation in this regard.” Precisely. 

The bloated high tax states are going to attempt to hobble low tax Ireland with the handicaps that they have given to enterprises in their own countries. Most mainstream politicians of all parties are committed to Ireland being, in the words of the Taoiseach Enda Kenny, “the best little place to do business in the world”. 

The Commission is undermining that competitive advantage. The right-of-centre pro-business parties are going to fight this ruling, the left-of-centre parties were angry earlier this summer because the Commission overruled the Dáil (parliament) on water charges – forcing the state to charge for water supply which was hitherto delivered free to homes. 

EU law having primacy over laws made by Ireland’s lawmakers. Irexit is looking more appealing to all sides…

Ireland’s contribution to the EU is rising by €380 million this year because its GDP is surging as the economy rebounds. Ireland is a net contributor to the EU budget after decades of being a net beneficiary. 

Ireland’s EU burden share will increase post-Brexit as the EU loses the second biggest net-contributor. This will change the debate, particularly as Dublin watches Ireland’s biggest trading partner Britain continue to thrive outside the EU…

https://order-order.com/2016/08/30/eu-ruling-against-ireland-will-boost-chances-of-irexit/





IRELAND ASSERTS TAX SOVEREIGNTY IN EUROPEAN COMMISSION LEGAL BATTLE

Ireland’s Finance Ministry is not holding back in the battle with the European Commission. In a legal briefing over the Apple Tax case the Irish government argues that:

• The Commission has misunderstood the relevant facts and Irish law
• The Commission has misapplied State Aid law
• The Commission wrongly invokes novel legal rules
• The Commission has exceeded its powers and interfered with national tax sovereignty

There is no doubt that the Commission is trying to use State Aid laws to thwart Ireland’s competitive tax regime over which the EU has no competence. 

Ironically if Ireland loses it gets a windfall of €13 billion in taxes (about €2,600 per person). That is enough to wipe out the budget deficit for a couple of years…

Nevertheless it is a fight that Ireland wants to win. Post-Brexit Ireland wants to be seen as corporate America’s best friend in the EU. Ireland is looking to a high-tech future across the Atlantic…

https://order-order.com/2016/12/19/ireland-asserts-tax-sovereignty-in-europen-commission-legal-battle/

IRELAND NEEDS TO CONSIDER LEAVING EU - MUST READ

Irexit is becoming more of a mainstream idea in Ireland.

July 3 2017 @ 11:44

Irexit is becoming more of a mainstream idea in Ireland. UK think-tank Policy Exchange has this morning published a paper by Ray Bassett, an experienced Irish diplomat who retired as an ambassador last year. The Irish Diplomatic Service has for decades been in awe of and subservient to the EU. 

Now the reality of Brexit is making even some diplomats question this fundamental tenet of Irish foreign policy in the face of increased hostility from the European Commission. The financial crisis of 2008 confirmed that a small country on the Western periphery of Europe will never be a priority of the European Central Bank. 

Membership of the Eurozone has cost Ireland dearly for little benefit, most of Ireland’s external trade is in sterling and dollars…

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WATCH: Irish diplomat questions Ireland's EU membership after Brexit, calls for #Irexit to ensure Anglo-Irish partnership stays strong.

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Bassett warns that whatever the outcome of the Brexit negotiations, “there will be a price to pay. For Ireland, there is really no upside to Brexit,” he says. “The question to be raised is what price is Ireland willing to pay to stand in solidarity with the remaining 26 EU countries?”

The paper argues sitting on the sidelines and allowing the EU to negotiate for Ireland is untenable. The first duty of the EU negotiators is to act on behalf of the EU as an institution. This is prioritised in their European Council approved guidelines. 

However the type of deal that Ireland’s interests requires, including free trade with the UK, is directly in contradiction with the EU negotiators’ mandate that anything relating to Ireland and her border which emerges from the Brexit negotiations must “maintain the integrity the Union’s Legal Order” – with no exceptions to the customs union. 

Bassett argues therefore that Ireland must give serious consideration to Irexit.

Irish politicians are by nature transactional, for decades Ireland was a net beneficiary of EU largesse, she is now a new contributor, a situation which will worsen after Brexit takes billions out of the EU budget. 

It’s like the Eurovision Song Contest – Ireland used to be a regular winner, now Eastern Europe has joined, they rarely win.

The Irish political establishment is extremely wary of Irexit and will want to see signs that Britain has first made a success of Brexit. Once the UK concludes a free-trade deal with the US the pressure on Ireland – which would be geographically in the middle of a North Atlantic Free Trade Area yet not a member – will become immense. 

The illogical situation of being in a currency and trading bloc when most of your trade is not in the bloc or the currency will make Irexit inevitable… 

https://order-order.com/2017/07/03/ireland-needs-to-consider-leaving-eu/

ANOTHER BREXIT NEGOTIATING VICTORY

The Government has just published the terms of reference on the UK-EU future relationship negotiations. 

Journalists’ attention was initially drawn to the new timetable detailing how phase one will play out.  11 different teams on both sides, carrying out 11 different simultaneous negotiations.

February 28 2020 @ 17:00
One further detail took a while to emerge: not only are Brexit negotiations to take place in Britain for the first time, the negotiations will take place in English. 

Interpretation to and from French will have to be paid for by those who need it...

https://order-order.com/2020/02/28/another-brexit-negotiating-victory/

BANKS TELL BRUSSELS: BUTT OUT OF BREXIT BRINKMANSHIP

European banks call on Brussels to not play hardball

 February 27 2020 @ 16:31



The European Banking Federation, which represents 3,500 banks across Europe, has called on the EU not to play hardball with the UK in a way that could harm their markets. 

Hoping to end the political gameplaying that was seen during exit negotiations, the federation has aligned itself with the position of the City of London, showing an unwillingness to move operations out of London. 

Neither party wants to mess up their relationship. European banks appreciate access to the City just as much – if not more so – as the City enjoys EU market access…


https://order-order.com/2020/02/27/banks-tell-brussels-butt-brexit-brinkmanship/


BLOOMBERG THINKS BANKERS BLUFFING ABOUT BREXODUS

 March 1 2017 @ 09:57

Remember that mass exodus from the City of London that was supposed to happen after the vote to Leave? In October British Bankers’ Association boss Anthony Browne predicted major banks would relocate in the first few months of 2017. The Observer reported:

“Britain’s biggest banks are preparing to relocate out of the UK in the first few months of 2017 amid growing fears over the impending Brexit negotiations, while smaller banks are making plans to get out before Christmas.”

At the time Guido offered Browne a £1,000 bet that not one leading bank will give up its UK banking licence next year to relocate to the EU.

As we enter March, even the City’s Remain-campaign-funding house journal Bloomberg is wondering “Are banks bluffing?”. Today they quote several City bosses who believe talk of an exodus is bluster. Jason Kennedy, CEO of finance recruitment firm Kennedy Group says:

“[The banks] are a bit like dogs backed into a corner and barking — it’s just noise. This is all about applying as much pressure as possible on the government to get the best deal. What have the banks have got to lose? Scream the house down and see what happens.”

“Barclays is planning to move only 150 jobs from London, if any”, Bloomberg reports, quoting their CEO Jes Staley:

“We don’t believe Brexit will result in a significant move of people away from London.”

A “senior bank executive” believes “The banks are bluffing” and HSBC won’t move as many people as they have been threatening. And “One European banking boss quipped that the only way France would be top of his list would be if you turned it upside down”. Guido’s bet is still open to any takers…

https://order-order.com/2017/03/01/bloomberg-thinks-bankers-bluffing-about-brexodus/

Jeremy Corbyn will put us back to square one and risk decade of 'hard graft' by British people, Boris Johnson warns

A decade of “hard graft” by the British people to repair the economy is on the line in this week’s election, Boris Johnson warns in today’s Evening Standard.

• JOE MURPHY AND SOPHIA SLEIGH 
• 10 Dec 2019  39 minutes ago

Jeremy Corbyn delivers a speech as he visits Nelson Library ( Getty Images )

As official figures show the economy flatlining, the Prime Minister says Thursday’s ballot will decide if the country goes forward into growth by resolving Brexit or “back to square one” and a fresh spending crisis under Jeremy Corbyn.

The stakes were revealed by the Office for National Statistics, which said the UK performed below City expectations by failing to grow in October. The three months to October were also stagnant.

With the general election just two days away, Mr Johnson uses his article to argue that a “fragile” coalition led by the Left-wing Labour leader would inflict “profound” damage on economic confidence and hit families with taxes on everything from pay to holidays.

Boris Johnson during a visit to Gardiner Bros in Hardwicke (PA)

“That’s the true cost of Corbyn and it would take our economy back to square one,” he writes.

“All the hard graft of the last decade, necessary to recover from the last time Labour left the economy in a mess, would be reversed overnight.”

He argued that Mr Corbyn’s promise to potential coalition partner, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, of two referendums — on Brexit and Scottish independence — would “prolong the uncertainty and gridlock of the past three and a half years” and chill hopes of an economic revival when Brexit is settled.

“The damage to economic confidence would be profound — as would the impact of Corbyn’s fiscal policy,” Mr Johnson writes.

“There would be new taxes on workers, families, businesses, property, holidays, cars — everyone and everything will be in their sights.”

Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn at an event in Bolton (AFP via Getty Images)

Labour’s plans for a record spending spree would demolish the great national effort to rebuild the public finances after the 2008 crash under Gordon Brown, Mr Johnson claims.

He says Labour would have no choice but to “jack up taxes” to meet a bill that Tories calculate to be £1.2 trillion, or £2,400 for every taxpayer. 

Independent commentators have challenged the costing, saying they include questionable assumptions and also policies that Labour has openly discussed but not included in their manifesto for the next five years.

Mr Johnson adds: “There is a way to avoid this nightmare before Christmas. If, instead, there is a Conservative majority government, we can smash through the gridlock and get this country moving again.

"We can put the constitutional wrangling to bed and focus on the things that matter to people.”

Prime Minister and Conservative leader Boris Johnson (Getty Images)

Mr Johnson was taking his battlebus to the West Midlands, another area rich in marginal seats, to answer questions from staff at a Staffordshire plant.

Mr Corbyn visited Blackrod in Bolton on the first of a number of campaign stops across the north-west today.

The Labour leader was trying to keep the spotlight on the controversy over how Jack Williment-Barr, four, had to sleep on the floor while being treated for suspected pneumonia at an NHS hospital in Leeds. 

“It’s an example of what’s happening in our NHS. And it is obviously awful for that little boy and the family, the way they were treated,” argued Mr Corbyn.

Challenged on BBC Breakfast if he was making political capital out of the issue, Mr Corbyn insisted: “It does say something about our NHS when...all research shows there’s a very large number of hospitals where patients are at risk because of staff shortages, because of a lack of equipment, because of poor maintenance of hospital buildings. It is a serious issue. It is a political issue, how we fund the NHS.”

The socialist, 70, was also challenged about a report in The Times that claimed he was considered too frail to be PM by some Whitehall officials.

“I’m very healthy, very fit and very active and I’ve travelled more than any other party leader in this election,” he replied.  He added: “And I eat porridge every morning — if that’s a help. It’s good for you because it’s slow-burning energy.”

Labour was embarrassed this morning when the Guido Fawkes website obtained a recording of shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth apparently talking candidly with a friend about the party’s “dire” prospects in the election.

Mr Ashworth claimed on the Victoria Derbyshire Show that he was talking to a Tory activist friend in the recording, and dismissed it as “banter”.

The remarks made by Mr Ashworth in the recording included saying the civil service machine would “pretty quickly move to safeguard security” if Mr Corbyn entered Number 10.

In the recording he is asked about the prospects for Labour nationally and he replies that it was “dire” due to the combination of “Corbyn and Brexit”. He goes on to say it is “abysmal out there” and that people “can’t stand Corbyn and they think Labour’s blocked Brexit”.

Jonathan Ashworth, the Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (REUTERS)

He is also asked “how long would it take Labour to get its act back together and get rid of Corbyn” if the Tories win a majority. Mr Ashworth replies: “That’s the thing that’s on our minds…I think things can change quickly. I think things change more quickly anyway now.”

Mr Ashworth told the BBC: “I was joshing around with my mate. We’re having banter with each other, we’re joking around.

"No, I don’t mean it because I’m joking around with my mate because he’s a Tory... If you leak it to Guido Fawkes of course it makes me look like a right plonker but it’s not what I mean when I’m winding up a friend — I’m trying to sort of pull his leg a bit.”

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell, responding to the ONS data, said: “We can look forward to five more years of economic failure and stagnation if the Conservatives win the election.”

SNP leader Ms Sturgeon confirmed in an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that she was ready to prop up a Labour government headed by Mr Corbyn.

“We would offer support to a minority Labour government, the conditions for that we’ve set out very clearly in our manifesto.”

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/jeremy-corbyn-boris-johnson-general-election-a4309626.html

Parody: BREXIT, Actually

This is a parody. A parody by the Prime Minister and it works. Probably the best ad of the campaign…

December 9, 2019 at 10:00 pm

https://order-order.com/2019/12/09/brexit-actually/

WE SEND THE EU £398 MILLION A WEEK

WE SEND THE EU £398 MILLION A WEEK

October 31, 2019 at 3:42 pm

On the day we were meant to leave the EU, new figures published by the ONS show Britain’s gross contributions to the EU have increased to a whopping £398 million-per-week. When excluding VAT & GNI adjustments, this is up by 8.5% from 2017 to 2018 (exclude VAT & GNI adjustments). Boris and Cummings have their new campaign slogan…

https://order-order.com/2019/10/31/send-eu-398-million-week/

PHIL HAMMOND: CURB YOUR ANALYSIS

PHIL HAMMOND: CURB YOUR ANALYSIS

The ‘Cleverer than Thou’ former Chancellor toured Television and Radio studios during the Tory leadership election to lecture everyone about how much he understands EU politics. 

He earnestly told everyone who would listen that; a renegotiation was impossible, the backstop could not be removed, the EU would offer no concessions, and even that there would be no Commission to negotiate with in the first place. 

Guido thought he would remind everyone just how prescient the Remainers were…

https://order-order.com/2019/10/21/phil-hammond-curb-analysis/

LABOUR'S BREXIT HYPOCRITES REVEALED

LABOUR MPS WITH MOST LEAVE VOTERS

Guido has compiled a handy list of the over 100 MPs elected for the Labour Party in 2017 from Leave-voting constituencies. 

They all:

• voted for a referendum to take place, then
• voted to activate Article 50, and then
• stood on a manifesto promising to deliver what their constituents voted for. 

Now many look set to block the implementation of the result of the referendum they endorsed. Find out who the biggest hypocrites are on Guido’s handy list…

October 18, 2019 at 3:23 pm

Labour Hypocrites? : Who Refuses to Implement the Result

Who Refuses to Implement the Result

https://order-order.com/2019/10/18/labour-mps-leave-voters/