Boris Johnson admits set-back in securing a US trade deal
The Prime Minister issued a dire Brexit warning to Angela Merkel during a recent fiery phone call.Boris Johnson discussed the controversial Northern Ireland Protocol with the outgoing German Chancellor and is said to have told her matters will “get worse before they get better”.Officials on both sides are thought to be exploring the possibility of activating emergency legislation to unilaterally suspend the Protocol.
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Mujtaba Rahman, a former Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs at the European Commission and UK Treasury official, issued a stark update on Twitter.
Quote: : “I understand Boris Johnson told Merkel in a recent call that things on the Protocol will ‘get worse before they get better’.
“Most capitals I speak to no longer exclude the triggering of Article 16.Think that’s right.”
Brexit live: Boris Johnson has issued a warning to Angela Merkel (Image: GETTY)
Brexit live: Boris Johnson held talks with Angela Merkel (Image: GETTY)
On Thursday evening Brexit Minister Lord David Frost warned the Protocol, created to prevent a hard border, was still having a “negative effect on everyday life and business in Northern Ireland”.
He added: “The outstanding issues now need to be dealt with urgently.I and my team are in contact with the EU daily, but we need a full response to our July Command Paper soon.”
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Brexit Live: A timeline of key Brexit dates (Image: EXPRESS) Trending 6 hours ago 05:59 David Atkins ‘Get over it!’ Nawaz slaps down LBC caller who blames HGV shortage on Brexit voters
LBC host Maajid Nawaz unleashed on a caller who tried to blame the HGV driver shortage on Brexit voters as he pointed out the scarcity was down to a multitude of factors which could not have been predicted.
Maajid Nawaz clashed with LBC caller Tim who argued Brexit voters were to blame for the HGV driver shortage as he argued while there were different factors at play, Brexit was the only one that was deliberately voted on.
Mr Nawaz argued Brexit voters actually wanted domestic wages and labour to be prioritised after losing out because of globalisation.
Tim delivered a rebuttal and said Brexiteers had voted for people in the UK to see shortages of fuel to which the LBC presenter pointed out Labour voters for Tony Blair did not want him to invade Iraq and so it was a false comparison.
9 hours ago 03:48 David Atkins Bitter French newspaper mocks Brexit aftermath – ‘Labour shortages and missing products’
One of France’s biggest newspapers has published a front-page story, claiming the aftermath of Brexit has caused “disenchantment” in Britain.
It alleged UK supply chain problems, products missing in shops and the departure of EU workers were all caused by Britain’s exit from the bloc.
The claim was made by Libération, a centre-left paper, which ran a frontpage stating: “Brexit: the disenchantment of the aftermath.”
This was accompanied by an image of a toilet paper holder with just one sheet left, which has the word ‘Brexit’ superimposed on top of it.
Boris Johnson (Image: PA) 10 hours ago 01:59 David Atkins Brexit fishing row erupts as furious French vow to fight and ‘keep pressure on’ UK
A huge Brexit fishing row has exploded, with Emmanuel Macron’s closest aide raging “we’re at the end of our patience” as France vows to “keep the pressure” on the UK over granting licenses to its waters.]
The Ministry of the Sea in France has requested 169 authorisations for its fishermen looking to access the waters around Jersey.But France has been infuriated by what it claims is an extremely slow response from Britain for the granting of licenses since Brexit .
Despite the agreement between the UK and EU, which came into force on January 1, the access of European fishermen to British waters remains a subject of increased tension.
British authorities are now asking fishermen to prove their activity in these waters but for a number of smaller boats, particularly those without a satellite tracking system, collecting the supporting documents is more difficult.
12 hours ago 23:49 David Atkins Brexit U-turn as UK poised to ‘join EU Covid vaccine passport scheme’
Brexit looks unlikely to stop the UK signing up to the EU’s vaccine passport initiative, according to reports.
Sources in Westminster and in EU headquarters claim that the EU Digital Covid Certificate “should make travelling in Europe easier and cheaper for British tourists”.
This would “also enable the Government to quickly launch a domestic vaccine passport system” if required to tackle surging Covid cases in the next few months.
The Telegraph sources claim that “integration of the UK’s vaccine database into the EU system is at an advanced stage”.
David Atkins takes over reporting from Paul Withers
15 hours ago 21:02 Paul Withers German election POLL: Should Germany be worried about the end of Angela Merkel? The German election takes place this weekend and will see the end of Angela Merkel’s leadership after 16 years in power.
Mrs Merkel has overseen many crises in that time, and was an influential voice in Brexit talks between the UK and EU.
Should Germany be worried about the departure of Angela Merkel.
VOTE HERE.
Brexit LIVE: Angela Merkel is stepping down after nearly 16 years as German Chancellor (Image: GETTY) 18 hours ago 18:28 Paul Withers Furious French vow to fight and ‘keep pressure on’ UK over fishing licenses Emmanuel Macron’s closest aide has warned “we’re at the end of our patience” as France vows to “keep the pressure” on the UK over granting licenses to its waters.
The Ministry of the Sea in France has requested 169 authorisations be granted for those fishermen wanting to access the waters around Jersey.
But France has claimed the British are being unnecessarily slow in granting the licenses since Brexit.
Presently, provisional licenses have been granted for 177 vessels, which are due to expire on September 30.
Secretary of State for European Affairs Clément Beaune has launched a furious attack against the UK.
Brexit LIVE: Clement Beaune has launched a furious attack against the UK (Image: GETTY) 19 hours ago 16:59 Paul Withers Britain has 10 days to save Christmas amid shortages – retail warning The country’s retail sector has warned the Government must act within the next 10 days to resolve a shortage of truckers or else face major disruption in the lead-up to Christmas.
A surge in European natural gas prices and a post-Brexit shortage of HGV drivers has left the UK battling soaring energy prices and a potential food supply crisis.
Andrew Opie, director of food & sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, the retail industry’s lobby group., said: “Unless new drivers are found in the next 10 days, it is inevitable that we will see significant disruption in the run-up to Christmas.
“HGV drivers are the glue which hold our supply chains together,” Opie said.
“Without them, we are unable to move goods from farms to warehouses to shops.”
21 hours ago 15:10 Paul Withers Boris and Macron discuss Brexit in crunch phone call Boris Johnson and French President have used a phone call to discuss key elements impacting on the post-Brexit relationship between the UK and EU.
The main purpose of the call was to discuss the fallout from the cancellation of a lucrative submarine contract for France, as well as Britain forming a new military pact with the US and Australia.
But Downing Street also said the two leaders discussed the post-Brexit issues of fisheries licences and the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Brexit LIVE: Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron discussed the Protocol in a phone call (Image: GETTY) 22 hours ago 14:07 Luke Hawker US official dashes hopes of a Brexit trade deal with the UK
Hopes of a US/UK trade deal have been dashed by America’s top diplomat .
Ambassador Philip T.
Reeker, chargé d’affaires at the US embassy in London, said both sides should focus on existing deals and admitted a Brexit agreement with the UK should not be the “ be-all and end-all”.
He told Sky news: “I think the focus right now is on the trade that we do have.
“$220bn a year in goods and services, not to mention the $1.5trn in investment both ways that creates millions of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.”
He added: “I don’t think we should focus on so-called trade agreements as the be-all and end-all.”
Boris Johnson admits set-back in securing a US trade deal
23 hours ago 13:22 Luke Hawker EU ready to trigger Article 16 – ‘could happen at any time’
The EU is ready to trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol, according to reports.
A source told RTE: “The Commission is internally of the view that Article 16 could happen at any time, that it hasn’t gone way, that it’s a very serious possibility.”
Ursula von der Leyen is the President of the European Commission (Image: GETTY) yesterday 12:09 Luke Hawker Andrew Adonis calls on Brexit to be reversed
Labour Peer Lord Andrew Adonis has blamed Brexit on the supply issues in the UK and called on the UK to rejoin the European Union.
He tweeted: “ Did anyone vote for fuel rationing, food shortages & empty supermarkets in 2016?
“Was that ‘taking back control?’ The sooner Brexit is reversed the bette r.”
Did anyone vote for fuel rationing, food shortages & empty supermarkets in 2016? Was that u201ctaking back controlu201d?
The sooner Brexit is reversed the better
u2014 Andrew Adonis (@Andrew_Adonis) September 24, 2021 yesterday 10:52 Luke Hawker Brexit Britain agrees multibillion-pound plan to build new UK nuclear power plant
Brexit Britain is on the path to another win after ministers backed a multibillion-pound plan to build another large-scale nuclear power plant in Wales.
The facility should reduce pressure on electricity supplies and help the UK reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, a target that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set.The Government has now entered into discussions with American nuclear reactor manufacturer Westinghouse about a proposal to develop a new plant in Anglesey.
yesterday 09:34 Luke Hawker Anneliese Dodds hits out at Brexit over HGV driver issues
Labour Party chair Anneliese Dodds said the Government’s handling of Brexit was partly to blame for adding extra pressure on the HGV sector.
Speaking to Sky News, she said: “There are shortages of HGV drivers in other countries.
“I have to say, however, that there have been big failures in planning for this situation and the additional red tape that has been created, which was not inevitable, it was not an inevitable result of Brexit in many cases, but that hasn’t been tackled by Government.”
The UK has a shortage of HGV drivers (Image: GETTY) yesterday 08:57 Luke Hawker Transport Secretary says Brexit not to blame of lorry drivers shortages
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said Brexit is not to blame for the shortage of lorry drivers in the UK
He told Sky News: “I’ve seen people point to Brexit as if it is the culprit here.In fact, they are wrong.
“Not only are there very large and even larger shortages in other EU countries like Poland and Germany, which clearly can’t be to do with Brexit , but actually because of Brexit I’ve been able to change the law and alter the way our driving tests operate in a way I could not have done if we were still part of the EU.
“So, Brexit actually has provided part of the solution of giving more slots available for HGV tests and there are a lot more – twice as many – tests available now than before the pandemic, a large proportion of those we’ve only been able to do because we are no longer in the EU.”
yesterday 08:09 Luke Hawker Boris in tense phone call with Merkel over Brexit
Mujtaba Rahman, a former Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs at the European Commission and UK Treasury official, tweeted: “ I understand Boris Johnson told Merkel in a recent call that things on the Protocol will ‘get worse before they get better’.
“Most capitals I speak to no longer exclude the triggering of Article 16.Think that’s right.”
I understand @BorisJohnson told Merkel in a recent call that things on the Protocol will “get worse before they get better”
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Most capitals I speak to no longer exclude the triggering of Article 16.Think that’s right https://t.co/DFBlUEke8L
u2014 Mujtaba Rahman (@Mij_Europe) September 23, 2021 yesterday 07:36 Luke Hawker Frost calls for urgency from EU in Brexit talks
Brexit Minister Lord David Frost has called on the EU to “ urgently” address issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol.
He tweeted: “The Protocol is clearly having a continued negative effect on everyday life & business in Northern Ireland.
“The outstanding issues now need to be dealt with urgently.
“I and my team are in contact with the EU daily, but we need a full response to our July Command Paper soon.”
David Frost has called on the EU to take action (Image: GETTY) Related articles Alastair Campbell Rejoiner glee as he blames UK fuel crisis on Brexit Brexit Spartans toast victory over Theresa May in EU breakaway banquet Boris Johnson to delay Irish Sea tunnel until after HS2.
