Brexit
Romanian MEP demands EU investigation into UK profiling claims
A Romanian MEP has called on the European Commission to intervene following the release of data suggesting that UK border officials could be conducting racial profiling against Romanian and other east Europeans states.
EU exodus from UK continues, new data finds
The number of EU nationals living in the UK dropped by 200,000 in 2020, the year that the UK left the bloc, according to data published on Friday (17 September) by the UK’s Office of National Statistics.
UK delays full post-Brexit border checks from EU
Britain on Tuesday (14 September) said it would push back its implementation of full post-Brexit borders checks on goods from the European Union, as the pandemic, red tape and new immigration rules fuel supply problems.
UK announces new delays to Irish goods checks
The UK government has set out plans to delay border checks on goods until January 2022, as it intensifies its attempts to push the European Commission towards renegotiating the terms of the Northern Ireland protocol.
UK migrant plan stokes tensions with France
Britain and France locked horns on Thursday (9 September) over reported plans by London to turn back boats carrying migrants across the Channel, triggering alarm and anger in Paris.
Scotland’s leader vows independence referendum by end of 2023
Scotland's power-sharing government on Tuesday (7 September) pledged to hold a new referendum on independence by the end of 2023, despite strong opposition from London.
UK extends grace periods on Northern Ireland goods checks, again
The UK and the European Union are again on collision course over the Northern Ireland protocol after Boris Johnson’s government announced on Monday (6 September) that it would again unilaterally extend grace periods on goods checks.
EU-UK protocol row creating ‘cold mistrust’, says Frost
The impasse over the Northern Ireland protocol risks creating a “cold mistrust” in EU–UK relations, the UK’s Brexit minister has said, with grace periods on a range of products weeks away from expiring.
UK pub giant Wetherspoon reports beer shortages
British pub chain JD Wetherspoon on Wednesday (1 September) reported beer supply problems as driver shortages linked to Brexit and the pandemic have affected deliveries to major restaurant and supermarket chains.
UK government banks on domestic workforce as struggling food sector calls for new visas
The UK food sector has called for a new COVID-19 recovery visa to address workforce shortages, but the government has been non-committal, stressing instead it aims not to rely on labour from abroad.
The Brief – No country or bloc is an island
The crisis in Afghanistan may be prompting the EU to have a crisis of confidence and bout of self–examination about its role in the world, but it is not the only one. The same can be said of Britain. Twenty...
UK government rejects call for new visas to ease post-Brexit truck driver shortage
Britain's government has rejected calls from retail and logistics companies to temporarily ease post-Brexit immigration rules which they say are contributing to a shortage of truck drivers and acute supply chain disruption.
UK mulls easing post-Brexit immigration rules to end truck driver shortage
British ministers will consider easing post-Brexit immigration rules to help end a shortage of truck drivers amid mounting pressure from supermarket chains, The Times newspaper reported.
As shakes and chicken go off the menu, firms urge UK to act
Britain's leading employers are pushing the government to urgently increase funding to retrain workers and allow Europeans back into key sectors as supply chains buckle under the weight of COVID-19 and Brexit.
‘We will not let you down’ on Brexit, Macron tells Ireland
Britain and the European Union can sensibly solve issues over Northern Ireland's post-Brexit trading arrangements with the right political will, Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin said after meeting French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday (26 August).
UK launches global data plans to become a ‘technological superpower’
The UK government announced plans on Thursday (26 August) for international data partnerships and a more innovation-friendly privacy law, which could collide with the EU data protection standards and jeopardise data flows between London and mainland Europe.
UK’s hopes of boosting hydrogen trade hobbled by Brexit
The UK hydrogen strategy, unveiled last week (17 August), has many similarities with the EU’s own blueprint presented one year before, analysts say. Some consider that the UK is likely to become a rule-taker at the end of the day.
First post-Brexit protected food not in conflict with existing EU geographical indication
There is no overlap between the first post-Brexit geographical indication under the new UK's framework and an existing one registered in the EU in 2003, EU and UK officials confirmed.
Record number of migrants cross Channel to UK in single day
A record number of migrants crossed the Channel From France on a single day this week, the British government said on Thursday (5 August), pushing annual figures well beyond last year's numbers.
England to drop quarantine rule for fully jabbed arrivals from France
The UK government said late Wednesday (4 August) it will ease English entry rules requiring arrivals from France to quarantine even if they are fully vaccinated, following its latest review of travel curbs.
The Brief – It takes EU to tango
As EU officials prepare for their holidays, they have an extra reason to pack their bags faster than usual; to avoid the siren call of British politicians haranguing them to reopen parts of the Brexit settlement. It would be easy,...
Von der Leyen rejects UK bid to reopen Irish protocol
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday (22 July) insisted that the EU would not reopen the controversial Northern Ireland protocol, a key part of the Brexit agreement with the UK, just a day after Boris Johnson’s published a paper setting out its plans to renegotiate it.
EU rejects UK demand for new post-Brexit deal on Northern Ireland
Britain demanded on Wednesday (21 July) that the European Union agree to rewrite a deal overseeing problematic post-Brexit trade involving Northern Ireland just a year after it was agreed with the bloc, a call immediately rejected by Brussels.