The European Commission and the British government let out an audible sigh of relief on reaching a deal on Brexit divorce terms.
Yet numerous questions remain over Friday last week’s initial agreement, even before the talks enter a new phase at a Brussels summit that begins on Thursday.
The terms agreed on Friday cleared the way for Britain and the remaining 27 EU countries to move on to a second phase of talks on issues including their trade relationship.
Photo: EPA
However, European Chief Negotiator for the UK Exiting the EU Michel Barnier said that even regarding the issues wrapped up in Friday’s deal, “there is still work to be done on it to consolidate and clarify it.”
British Secretary of State for Exiting the EU David Davis on Sunday further muddied the waters by saying that London will not honor financial commitments agreed in Brussels without a trade deal — directly contradicting earlier comments by British Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond.
“No deal means that we won’t be paying the money,” Davis told the BBC. “It is conditional on getting an implementation period, it is conditional on a trade outcome.”
The preamble to the 15-page divorce deal agreed by British Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker illustrates its precarious nature.
“Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed,” the introduction to the text says.
Elements of the deal still open to question are the thorny issue of the Irish border post-Brexit, the sum of money Britain must pay on leaving and the protection of expats’ rights.
The deal is clear on guaranteeing the post-Brexit rights of Britons already living in the bloc and of their EU counterparts based in Britain, with family members able to claim residence.
However, there is no mention of future spouses.
“We demand before we can give green light to the withdrawal agreement, that ... the future free movement and residence of UK citizens will also be guaranteed and this in all 27 member states,” said Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the liberals group in the European Parliament.
Regarding citizens’ rights, the divorce bill text indicates Britain would bring forward a bill to incorporate them into British law.
However, it is not clear what would happen if Westminster one day repeals that bill.
“Any change by UK parliament to citizens’ rights will be very visible and can only happen via express repeal of treaty,” tweeted Stefaan de Rynck, a member of the EU negotiating team.
There is also ambiguity over the exact size of the financial divorce settlement, despite an agreed methodology to determine how deep Britain must delve into its pockets.
“We cannot calculate exactly the sums in question — all these figures will fluctuate,” Barnier said.
Unofficial EU estimations are in the order of 60 billion euros (US$70 billion). Britain puts the sum at between 40 billion euros and 45 billion euros.
The issue of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland almost scuppered the deal.
There were concerns in the North that Britain was headed for a deal entailing a hard border separating it from the rest of the UK.
Britain has said that if need be it would propose “specific solutions to address the unique circumstances of the island of Ireland.”
These include alignment with the Internal Market and the Customs Union rules, while respecting the terms of the 1998 Northern Ireland peace agreement.
However, “the language on ‘full alignment’ means different things to different people,” Jonathan Powell, chief of staff to former British prime minister Tony Blair, told the Financial Times.
“A series of contradictory undertakings have been given and a new separate strand of negotiation on Ireland opened in the next stage,” he said.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number