Showing posts with label No Deal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label No Deal. Show all posts

Friday, 25 December 2020

BBC - Brexit: What you need to know about the UK leaving the EU

While you were settling in to enjoy Christmas Eve, the UK and European Union finally agreed a deal that will define their future relationship.

25 December 2020

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EU beanie hat, seen from behindIMAGE COPYRIGHTPA MEDIA

While you were settling in to enjoy Christmas Eve, the UK and European Union finally agreed a deal that will define their future relationship.

Ever since the UK left the the EU on 31 January, both sides have been talking about what the new rules should be.

The negotiations went to the wire, as the current arrangement ends on 31 December.

What do we know about the deal?

The deal contains new rules for how the UK and EU will live, work and trade together. But we don't know a lot of the detail yet because the full document - expected to be well over 1,000 pages long - has not been released.

What we do know is that it means:

  • No taxes on each other's goods when they cross borders (known as tariffs)
  • No limits on the amount of things which can be traded (known as quotas)

European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen said competition rules - designed to prevent one side gaining an unfair advantage - "will be fair and remain so".

She said the UK and EU will "continue co-operating in all areas of mutual interest, including things like climate change, energy, security and transport".

We also know the UK will not be taking part in the Erasmus exchange programme for students.

Why did the deal take so long?

Because so much was at stake.

The EU is the UK's nearest and biggest trading partner, The UK government says the deal covers trade that was worth £668bn in 2019.

While the UK was in the EU, companies could buy and sell goods across EU borders without paying tariffs.

Without the deal, businesses would have had to start paying these taxes, which would have added to their costs.

No deal would have also meant even more border checks, which could have caused delays for lorries transporting products.

What happens next?

Even though the deal has been agreed, it still needs to be made law.

For that to happen it must be looked at and approved by both the UK and European parliaments.

As it's been left so late, the European Parliament won't have time to sign it off before the end of the year. That shouldn't stop the deal coming into force on 1 January, but it will take longer before it's officially rubber-stamped.

The UK government says it will summon MPs back on 30 December to vote on the deal. However, there wouldn't be time to debate and look at the details closely.

And in one sentence?

Both sides are relieved there is a deal, but people and businesses don't have much time to prepare for the changes starting on 1 January.

What are the EU and Brexit?

The EU is made up of 27 European countries.

EU citizens are free to live and work in other EU countries, and firms in those countries can buy and sell each other's goods without checks or extra taxes at borders.

The UK was the first country to leave the EU and this was known as Brexit - British exit.

Brexit happened because a public vote - or referendum - was held in June 2016, to decide whether the UK should be in the EU.

Leave won by 52% to 48%.

What Brexit words mean

The last few years have seen many words and phrases enter our lives. We haven't used them here, but politicians do use them. Here's what some of them mean:

Transition period: The 11-month period following the UK's exit from the EU (finishing at the end of 2020), during which time the UK has followed EU rules, to allow leaders to make a deal

Free trade agreement: This is what the EU and the UK have now agreed - a deal between countries that encourages trade by getting rid of barriers like taxes on goods

WTO rules: If countries don't have free trade agreements, they must trade according to rules set by a global body called the World Trade Organization (WTO), which can mean taxes on goods

UK map showing which parts of the country voted for and against Brexit

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More on this story


https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32810887

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Sunday, 13 December 2020

BBC: EU-UK post-Brexit trade talks - to 13 December 2020


  8. Brexit will be 'new beginnings for old friends'

    Video content

    Video caption: Ursula von der Leyen: Brexit will be 'new beginnings for old friends'

    EC President Ursula von der Leyen says "positions remain apart" as Brexit negotiations continue.

  12. Is the EU treating the UK differently?

    Video content

    Video caption: Brexit: Is the EU treating the UK differently?

    With no agreement on a Brexit trade deal, Ros Atkins takes a look at what the UK and EU are demanding.

  13. PM: UK should make 'proper preparations' for no deal

    Video content

    Video caption: Boris Johnson on preparing UK for no EU trade deal

    Boris Johnson says there’s a “strong possibility” the UK will not reach a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU.

  14. Starmer tells Johnson: Get the deal

    Video content

    Video caption: Keir Starmer on UK and EU reaching a trade deal

    Getting a trade deal between the UK and the EU is “clearly in the national interest”, says the Labour leader.

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Brexit talks 'unlikely' to go beyond Sunday - Raab

Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen

The EU has set out the measures it would take if no trade deal is agreed with the UK.

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Brexit bill in 'ping-pong' as MPs reject changes

Lorries in Folkestone

MPs and peers are at loggerheads over plans to regulate trade between the four nations of the UK.

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'Conditions have to be fair' for UK single market access

Ursula von der Leyen says a "fine balance of fairness" has not been achieved in negotiations so far.


Britons could be barred from EU entry on 1 January

passport

EU pandemic rules and Brexit may restrict travellers from entering the European Union.

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Mordaunt: It is clear we remain far apart

The UK is "working tirelessly" for a trade with the EU but "we cannot accept a deal at any cost" says Penny Mordaunt.


'Large gaps' remain after crucial Brexit talks

Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Brussels, Belgium, for a dinner with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen where they will try to reach a breakthrough on a post-Brexit trade deal.

Sunday becomes the new deadline for a decision on trade talks, after the PM and EU chief meet in Brussels.

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Brexit: What is a level playing field?

By Chris Morris

Reality Check correspondent, BBC News

Containers at Tilbury port

What are people talking about when they refer to a level playing field and what has it to do with Brexit?

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  5. The environment secretary is told he will "need to be ready" to make sure exports can continue into France.

  1. The UK cannot accept the European Court of Justice as the final arbiter of post-Brexit legal disputes, says a former Conservative Party leader.

  4. Brexit: Is It Oven Ready?

  1. With just weeks to go till the Brexit transition period ends, David Aaronovitch and The Briefing Room team explore Britain’s readiness for 2021.

  1. Former Speaker Baroness Boothroyd criticises the government's UK Internal Market Bill.

The Archbishop of Canterbury says he “regrets" the former Archbishop of York not sitting in the House of Lords.

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  3. Businesses warned of Brexit disruption in new year

    Businesses in Cumbria are being warned to expect some disruption to trade with Europe in January, whether or not there is a deal, and even if they don't themselves do import or export business.

    Lorries at Port of Cover
    Copyright: Reuters

    The county's chamber of commerce cites government reports, which say that queues of 7,000 trucks are possible on the approach to Channel ports leading to delays of up to two days, as new sets of customs checks and inspections of goods such as meat are brought in.

    The chamber's chief executive, Rob Johnston said:"Our concern now is for businesses that don’t import or export themselves but rely on imported goods or components."

    He said all companies should check with suppliers to see if they needed to stock up ahead of the end of the Brexit transitional year on 31 December, and the chamber had updated its advice.

    Quote Message: A deal would mean tariff-free and quota-free trade, which is highly desirable, but many of the changes to processes and documentation apply regardless of whether there’s a deal."

  4. PM: 'EU has abandoned the idea of free-trade deal'

    Video content

    Video caption: Boris Johnson on EU talks and no deal Brexit

    The prime minister says it is time to "get ready” for trading arrangements with the EU to be "more like Australia's" from 1 January.

  1. The prime minister says it is up to the EU to avoid a no-deal scenario after the Brexit transition period.

  1. It says the Internal Markets Bill is a breach of the good faith agreement in the Brexit withdrawal agreement.

Talks in Brussels about implementing the UK-EU exit deal are described as “constructive” by Michael Gove.


'Many difficult issues remain' to reach trade deal

Video content

  1. The UK position in trade talk negotiations is still "far apart from what the EU can accept", says the European Commission vice-president.

  1. Michel Barnier says the European Commission “will remain calm, respectful and determined” in trade talks.

  1. The Labour leader says he is "not surprised" by Amal Clooney's decision to resign her role as special envoy on media freedom.

  1. The EU Commission declines to directly react to Boris Johnson’s claim it was not acting in “good faith” in talks with the UK over a possible trade deal.

  1. Boris Johnson says he does not believe the EU is negotiating a trade deal with the UK in good faith.

  1. EU Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen has said the Brexit withdrawal agreement took three years of work.

  1. Brandon Lewis says he gave the “correct” answer when he was asked if the Internal Market Bill would break international law.

































For older articles, see the link below:

https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/c4vm89lx8e8t/eu-uk-post-brexit-trade-talks

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