The Latest: UK, 3 non-EU nations ink ex-pat residency deal (on 11 Feb 2019)

LONDON (AP) - The Latest on Britain's plans to leave the European Union (all times local):

 Feb 11, 2019 12:32 PM EST

5:05 p.m.

The British government has agreed to allow citizens of Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein already living in Britain to remain after Brexit even if the country leaves the European Union without a deal.

The agreement finalized on Friday should remove the uncertainty a "hard" Brexit scenario posed for some 15,000 citizens of the three non-EU nations who live in Britain.

British PM Theresa May meets Norway's PM Erna Solberg outside 10 Downing Street in the summer of 2018 | Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images

The deal's reciprocal arrangement also clarifies plans for some 17,000 British citizens who reside in Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

Those countries aren't EU members, but belong to the much-smaller EEA EFTA group. EEA EFTA spokesman Thorfinnur Omarsson said Monday the agreement secured their citizens' rights in Britain "regardless of the outcome of negotiations between the EU and the U.K."

The four governments struck an initial agreement in December after British Prime Minister Theresa May reached a divorce deal with the EU that British lawmakers later rejected.

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4:35 p.m.

A Dutch consumer watchdog is urging companies that do business with Britain to register now for digital systems that are used to process import and export checks and to issue certificates, warning there could be a rush if there is a no-deal Brexit.

The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority said Monday that registration usually takes around two weeks, It warned the time frame "can rise significantly if many businesses register at the last minute because of a no-deal Brexit."

With British lawmakers yet to approve a divorce agreement with the European Union, it remains unclear which import and export regime will apply from the exit date now set for March 29.

Dutch business groups and authorities have long warned local companies to "hope for the best and prepare for the worst" ahead of Brexit.

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3:00 p.m.

Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel says the U.K. is a "disunited kingdom" where pro-Brexit politicians lack ideas and courage.

With the country's March 29 date for leaving the European Union closing in, Bettel said "a disunited kingdom is more a reality today than a United Kingdom."

His remarks to reporters came after talks with EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier.

For remaining EU members, Bettel says the ongoing uncertainty in London "puts us in a position where we don't know what is likely to happen tomorrow."

Bettel said: "The position of the Brexiteers today, to sum it up in one sentence is 'No. No, no and no." There aren't any alternative proposals from them."

Laughing as he spoke, he said: "It is, in fact, the same protagonists for Brexit and a no-deal who do not have the courage either to put the issue to a peoples' vote."

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2:40 p.m.

The European Union's Brexit negotiator is urging Prime Minister Theresa May to spell out how she plans to win over Parliament less than two months before Britain leaves.

Michel Barnier said Monday that he still doesn't see a "clear and stable majority" of support among British lawmakers for any Brexit plan, especially one that would also respect the EU's demands.

EU and U.K. officials are discussing what concessions the Europeans could make to help May push a deal through Parliament by Brexit day on March 29.

Barnier says that if "the United Kingdom wants to show greater ambition, we are also immediately ready... to be more ambitious" in a political declaration on their future ties.

But he insists the legally-binding divorce agreement between them can't be renegotiated.

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2 p.m.

In its last full-year as a member of the European Union, Britain recorded a record trade deficit with the bloc.

The Office for National Statistics said the country's trade in goods deficit with EU countries widened by 0.2 billion pounds in 2018 to a record 94.9 billion pounds ($122 billion).

That's a big number that is likely to concentrate minds on all sides of the Brexit discussions as Britain's March 29 date of departure nears.

The great worry is if Britain crashes out of the bloc without a trade deal that would put serious impediments including tariffs on EU-U.K. trade, which will damage both sides.

Seven of Britain's top 10 export markets are in the EU, with Germany second behind the United States. And seven of Britain's top 10 import markets are in the EU, with Germany on top of the pile.

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1:10 p.m.

Economists say a no-deal Brexit would affect more than 100,000 jobs in Germany that depend on trade with Britain, with the auto industry hardest hit.

The researchers at the Halle Institute for Economic Research said Monday they modelled what would happen if British imports from the European Union fell 25 percent due to lack of a negotiated trade arrangement.

Among the places with the most jobs at stake would be Wolfsburg in north-central Germany, where Volkswagen is headquartered, and the Dingolfing-Landau region in southern Bavaria, where BMW has manufacturing facilities. If Britain leaves the European Union without a trade deal, that would mean a 10 percent import duty on cars and car parts.

The authors cautioned the figures do not predict that many people would be laid off. German companies could put workers on shorter hours or find markets other than Britain.

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11:20 a.m.

Switzerland and Britain have finalized a deal to maintain their trade and economic ties as they are - whether or not Britain reaches a deal with the European Union over its exit from the 28-nation bloc.

The government of Switzerland, which is not an EU member, says the agreement "replicates the vast majority of the trade agreements with the EU that currently govern relations between Switzerland and the United Kingdom."

British International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and Swiss Federal Councilor Guy Parmelin, who heads the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, finalized the deal between their countries in Bern on Monday.

The accord follows a Swiss "Mind the Gap" strategy developed after British voters approved Brexit. It covers issues like free trade, public procurement, agriculture and the fight against fraud.

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10 a.m.

British Prime Minister Theresa May is seeking a compromise with opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn in hopes of securing a divorce deal with the European Union.

Justice Minister Rory Stewart told the BBC on Monday that differences between the two aren't as great as some suggest, but the government can't accept a customs union that would prevent Britain from negotiating trade deals with other countries. He says May's agreement can achieve "a great deal of what Jeremy Corbyn is interested in without taking away that option of having other trade deals."

Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, but Parliament has rejected May's divorce deal. EU leaders have rejected any changes to the legally binding withdrawal agreement.

The impasse risks a chaotic departure that would hurt the economy.

https://www.wboy.com/news/business/the-latest-nodeal-brexit-to-affect-100000-german-jobs/

Iceland's Pirates head for power on wave of public anger

A party that hangs a skull-and-crossbones flag at its HQ, and promises to clean up corruption, grant asylum to Edward Snowden and accept the bitcoin virtual currency, could be on course to form the next Icelandic government.

Thu Sep 29, 2016 | 4:39pm BST
By Stine Jacobsen | REYKJAVIK

Leader of the Pirate Party of Iceland Birgitta Jonsdottir, poses for a picture at the party's office in the Icelandic Parliament in Reykjavik, Iceland, May 25, 2016. REUTERS/Gwladys Fouche/File Photo

The Pirate Party has found a formula that has eluded many anti-establishment groups across Europe. It has tempered polarising policies like looser copyright enforcement rules and drug decriminalisation with pledges of economic stability that have won confidence among voters.

This has allowed it to ride a wave of public anger at perceived corruption among the political elite - the biggest election issue in a country where a 2008 banking collapse hit thousands of savers and government figures have been mired in an offshore tax furore following the Panama Papers leaks.

If the Pirates emerge as the biggest party in an Oct. 29 parliamentary election - as opinion polls suggest - they will deliver another defeat to Europe's mainstream politicians.

The rise to power of a party which started out less than four years ago as a protest movement against global copyright laws, and whose election campaign is partly crowdfunded, would create shockwaves felt far beyond this island of 336,000 people on the edge of the Arctic Circle.

"Across Europe ... increasingly many people think that the system that is supposed to look after them is not doing it anymore," Pirate leader Birgitta Jonsdottir, who is also a published poet, told Reuters.

"We know that we are new to this and it is important that we are extra careful and extra critical on ourselves to not take too much on. I really don't think that we are going to make a lot of ripples in the economy in the first term."

"That is one of the things where you have to trust in the experts," the 49-year-old added, referring to the ongoing lifting of capital control instituted by the central after the bank crisis.

'NO DRAMATIC THINGS'

The Pirates are benefiting from Iceland's fragmented political landscape where coalition government is the norm. Opinion polls show support for the party running at over 20 percent, slightly ahead of the Independence Party, which shares power with the Progressive Party.

The left-leaning party is part of a global anti-establishment typified by Britain's vote to leave the European Union. But their platform is far removed from the anti-immigration policies of the UK Independence Party, France's National Front and Germany's AfD, or the anti-austerity of Greece's Syriza.

Iceland's gross income per capita was almost $50,000 (£38,452) in 2015, according to the World Bank, well above the $34,435 EU average - though still 20 percent below a 2007 peak. Immigration levels are low compared with many other European countries.

Helped by a tourism boom, economic growth this year is expected to hit 4.3 percent and the latest data shows a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.1 percent.

There appears little appetite among the public or any party leader for economic radicalism. The Pirate Party has not set out detailed plans, but has made clear that it would not deviate far from current policies in the next government term.

"We will not be doing any dramatic things in this regard, we will carry on with the lifting of capital control. We are not going to make any dramatic changes in the financial sector," said Jonsdottir.

There is little sign of business or investor panic.

"Regarding the economic stability, looking at the long term, they can't do any worse than what has been done so far," said Jon Sigurdsson, chief executive of prosthetics maker Ossur, one of Iceland's biggest companies, referring to the banking crisis

"I think changes in politics is always good. The only thing I'm worried about is if you make changes too fast and reckless."

The krona currency is up around 12 percent against the dollar this year, seemingly unaffected by the rise of the Pirates. Moody's upgraded Iceland's government bond rating this month and also said it did not see a threat to prudent management of public finances should the Pirate Party be part of the next government.

'WE NEED CHANGE'

The party stands by longstanding policies such as granting citizenship to former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden and legalising trade and collection of bitcoins. It says it does not have a stance on Iceland's application for EU membership but says it would call a referendum on whether to continue with it.

But such issues have been eclipsed in the public consciousness by the party's anti-corruption campaign, which it has increasingly focused on its election drive.

Icelanders' faith in the political and financial elite was shaken after the financial crisis revealed that banks' debt had been allowed to surge to levels ten time the gross national product. Thousands of Icelanders fell into default.

Simmering anger over the crisis was further inflamed this year when several senior government politicians were named in the Panama Papers as having links to offshore tax havens - though there was no suggestion they did anything illegal.

The biggest protests in the country's history ultimately led to the resignation of Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson of the centre-right Progressive Party and the early elections coming up now.

Saethor Asgeirsson, who runs green power technology startup IceWind, said the political class had not woken up to the depth of public anger at perceived corruption.

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"The old guys don't understand what's going on. I think the Pirate Party understands much better," said Asgeirsson, dressed in work pants and a sweatshirt at his office in Reykjavik.

Those sentiments were echoed by student Valgerdur Bjarnadottir, who is in her 40s. "I'm fed up with all of the other politicians," she said at a café in the city centre.

But she said she still had doubts about the ability of inexperienced Pirate Party lawmakers to make a difference on corruption: "They just might not be tough enough."

PIRATE POET

Pirate Party support has spiked since the 2013 election when the party got 5 percent and three seats, peaking at around 40 percent after the publication of the Panama Papers in April.

As with its economic policies, the Pirate Party has not provided much detail on how it will clean up corruption, though it says it will allow fisheries quotas to be dictated by the market rather than the government, to prevent any cronyism.

The mainstream parties have pointed to their own success in rescuing the economy, and latched on to the Pirates' lack of policy detail.

"The Pirate Party are getting a lot of people not for what they are, but more for what they aren't, because they aren't established," said 25-year-old Aslaug Sigurbjoernsdottir, who is set to become the Independence Party's youngest female lawmaker.

If the Pirate Party - Piratar in Icelandic - become the biggest party, it would have the job of building a governing coalition. But leader Jonsdottir, who published her first book of verse when she was 22, would not become the next prime minister.

"Instead of accepting that powerful position, I would like to take that power inside parliament and offer to be the speaker of the house," she said.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iceland-election-idUKKCN11Z1RV

UK should join Nordic alliance of non-EU countries says Iceland’s president

ICELAND wants the UK to join a Nordic alliance of non-EU countries in the wake of Brexit to create a “super triangle” of nations.

By KATIE MANSFIELD

PUBLISHED: 16:17, Fri, Jul 1, 2016 | UPDATED: 16:36, Fri, Jul 1, 2016

Iceland President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson has suggested a post-Brexit Nordic alliance

After knocking England out of the Euros, Iceland is now keen to join forces to create a new union. 

President of Iceland Olafur Ragnar Grimsson said Brexit “is the most serious setback the leadership of the EU has seen for along time” as he called for a new alliance. 

Mr Grimmsson said: “First of all, it is now obvious that here in the North Atlantic will be a triangle of nations that all stand outside of the European Union: Greenland, Iceland, Great Britain, Faroe Islands and Norway.

“This key area in the North will be outside of the influence of the European Union.”

Iceland and Norway are part of the European Economic Area (EEA) and are allowed in the EU’s single market. 

Mr Grimmsson said Iceland’s role in the EEA will take on a new significance when talks for Brexit take place. 

He said: “Iceland and Norway will now, in a totally new way, become participants in negotiations that must take place between the EU and the United Kingdom, and the EU and member states of the EEA with this new triangle of countries in the North Atlantic.

“Our significance with regards to relations with our neighbours as well as the member states of the EU has undergone positive changes.”

In an ambitious statement Mr Grimmsson said Brexit will lead to a stronger relationship between nations in the North Atlantic outside the EU and the US and Canada. 

He said: “It is enlightening for anyone to look at a map or a globe and study this part of the world, the magnificent Greenland, the North Atlantic, Iceland, Norway, and then south to the British Isles. 

“And then consider, with regards to trade and international affairs between the United States and Europe, and Asia and Europe, the key position this area will enjoy in the 21st century.”

Tory grandee Ken Clarke suggested the possibility of a Nordic alliance before the historic vote on June 23. 

The former chancellor, who was against the referendum, said: “Would you agree that as a risk of uncertainty for a few months causing very considerable difficulty, would you consider the possible first step of joining the EEA which was designed in the first place for countries like Norway and Iceland where the great bulk of politicians wish to join the European Union but could not get past the ridiculous hurdle of a referendum in order to get there?"

"It would give some reassuring order and stability to our economy and might begin to attract a little investment and future prospects for our country."

Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg poured cold water on the idea saying to become a member of the EEA, Britain would need unanimous accord of all 27 member states, the European Parliament as well as the four European Free Trade Association countries.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/685377/UK-join-Nordic-alliance-non-EU-countries-Iceland-president-Brexit-EEA

The Norway option is far from just paying into the EU without having a say

"We would be like Norway. We would pay but have no say.”

This was the essence of the argument used by supporters of Remain to deter the British people from voting to leave the European Union, referring to Norway’s membership of the European Economic Area (EEA) through the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). But is Norway’s arrangement with the EU really that bad? The short answer is no.

Tuesday 28 June 2016 9:36am

Hjörtur J Guðmundsson

Hjörtur J Guðmundsson is an Icelandic historian and MA in International Relations with a focus on European, defence and security studies.

For more than 11 years, EU membership has been rejected in every
opinion poll published in Norway (Source: Getty)

"We would be like Norway. We would pay but have no say.”

This was the essence of the argument used by supporters of Remain to deter the British people from voting to leave the European Union, referring to Norway’s membership of the European Economic Area (EEA) through the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). But is Norway’s arrangement with the EU really that bad? The short answer is no.

Most obviously, whether you ask the UN or the OECD, Norway enjoys the highest standard of living in the world. If the Norwegians have not been on the top of such lists, the Swiss usually have. Even Iceland, despite the economic difficulties the country suffered over seven years ago, has outranked Britain and almost all other EU members on such terms. And the three countries have one particular thing in common: while Switzerland is not in the EEA, they are all members of EFTA and reject EU membership.

Those suggesting life outside the EU would be disastrous by pointing to Norway, Iceland and Switzerland must therefore explain why they are so prosperous. But the other argument used by Remain campaigners – that the EFTA/EEA countries must adopt all EU laws and pay a high “membership fee” to the EU budget for access to the Single Market, while being unable to influence the laws they must adopt – also demands a correction.

First, the EFTA/EEA countries have not adopted every EU law through the EEA Agreement. No study supports that claim. In fact, research by Iceland’s foreign ministry and the EFTA Secretariat in Brussels found the percentage to be more like 10 per cent. Moreover, EU laws don’t become active in the EFTA/EEA countries unless they’re first implemented by their domestic institutions.

Second, unlike EU members such as Britain, the EFTA/EEA countries sit in their own right at global tables where international rules are set. These rules, made by bodies like the World Trade Organisation (WTO), form a large part of the EU’s legislation and often require unanimity when first agreed (giving the likes of Norway an opportunity to influence them at source). EFTA/EEA countries have the chance to give their input at EU level too and they sit in the EEA Joint Committee, which decides which EU laws are incorporated into the EEA Agreement, meaning each EFTA/EEA country can veto the adoption of individual EU laws.

Third, there is no Single Market “membership fee” for EFTA/EEA countries. The three EFTA/EEA countries have, however, paid development grants (negotiated with the EU every five years) to EU countries in eastern and southern Europe and also voluntarily pay to participate in several EU programmes such as Erasmus. But there is no legal obligation for them to do this. Moreover, Iceland gets more money back from the EU in the form of grants.

How does this compare with Britain in the EU? Britain is represented by the EU at global bodies like the WTO, which set rules the EU must implement. Moreover, Britain is subject to nearly all EU legal acts, which become legally binding as soon as they are agreed by EU institutions, and the UK only has a veto over very limited and fast diminishing areas. Finally, despite having a seat at the EU table, Britain usually gets outvoted when it really matters.

What Britain pays to the EU budget is largely used to finance the day-to-day running of the EU, like agricultural subsidies (mainly to continental farmers), officials’ salaries and benefits, and the Brussels-Strasbourg travelling circus. Meanwhile, the EFTA/EEA countries fund specific development projects and programmes they choose to participate in. Moreover, unlike Iceland, for example, Britain pays more money to the EU than it gets back.

It’s also important that the EEA Agreement's scope is limited to the Single Market. Many very significant sectors are excluded, like foreign affairs, judicial and home affairs, economic and monetary issues, trade agreements, taxation, customs, borders (Schengen is not part of the EEA), fisheries and agriculture. For Britain, most of these sectors are subject to EU supranational authority.

Are the people of Norway, Iceland and Switzerland happy with their existence outside the EU? For more than 11 years, EU membership has been rejected inevery opinion poll published in Norway. The most recent one, at the end of last year, had an overwhelming 72 per cent against EU membership. Meanwhile, every opinion poll in Iceland for over six and a half years has had a solid majority against EU membership and the vast majority of the Swiss are happy with the bilateral agreements they negotiated with the EU after rejecting EEA participation in a 1992 referendum.

This isn’t to say that Britain will simply end up with a copy of Norway’s relationship now it has voted to leave. In fact, a series of bilateral treaties, the so-called Swiss model, may be better because it wouldn’t require the adoption of EU laws. Further, the UK will no doubt be able to secure a better arrangement than both countries, as even the Remain campaign admits.

But more importantly, by leaving and by being able to sign its own trade deals, Britain will secure a far better relationship with the rest of the world which, unlike the EU, is actually growing.

City A.M.'s opinion pages are a place for thought-provoking views and debate. These views are not necessarily shared by City A.M.

http://www.cityam.com/240684/the-norway-option-is-far-from-just-paying-into-the-eu-without-having-a-say

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