Brexit
Belgium, UK agree to strengthen immigration cooperation amid Channel crisis
Belgium and Britain said on Tuesday (30 November) they will cooperate more closely to fight illegal migration, days after France snubbed Britain and said it needed to get serious before talks on the matter could resume.
France to offer Johnson EU deal on migrants
France's Prime Minister Jean Castex is preparing to write to British counterpart Boris Johnson with proposals for a new post-Brexit deal on migration with the EU after the disaster in the Channel last week, a minister announced.
Surveillance plane to be deployed over Channel to monitor migrants
The EU's border agency is to deploy a plane 24-hours-a-day over the Channel coast to monitor migrant crossings, France announced Sunday (28 November) after pushing its European partners for help in cracking down on people-smuggling.
Migrant boat row deepens as France slams ‘not serious’ Johnson
The row between the UK and France over boats carrying migrants in the Channel escalated on Friday (26 November) after France withdrew an invitation to Home Secretary Priti Patel to attend a summit in Calais and discuss how to respond to a migration crisis on the Channel.
Furious Macron scraps UK migrant talks after ‘unacceptable’ letter
France on Friday (26 November) scrapped planned talks with the UK about migrant crossings after an "unacceptable" letter from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, pushing relations to new lows after 27 people died in the Channel.
EU urges ‘big move’ from Britain to break post-Brexit stalemate
European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič urged Britain on Sunday (21 November) to make a "big move" to break months of deadlock over post-Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland that has threatened a trade war.
Time to build on ‘momentum’ on N.Ireland protocol, say EU and UK
EU and UK officials stressed on Friday (19 November) the need to build on new 'momentum' in the talks on the controversial Northern Ireland protocol, after a week in which the threat of a trade war appeared to recede.
Macron: On migration, the British ‘oscillate between partnership and provocation’
France must reinforce cooperation with Britain on the thorny question of migrant Channel crossings, French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday (18 November), accusing London of "oscillating between partnership and provocation".
EU and UK edge towards N. Ireland protocol deal as rhetoric softens
The UK and the European Union appear to be edging closer to a compromise on the Northern Ireland protocol, after a week of softening rhetoric from both sides.
Most Brits would rejoin EU if new vote held, survey shows
Five years on from the Brexit referendum and nearly two years after leaving the bloc, most Britons would vote to rejoin the EU if a plebiscite were held, according to a new survey released on Friday (12 November).
UK has no plans to suspend NI protocol, says Frost
UK Brexit minister David Frost played down on Wednesday (10 November) the prospects of London suspending the Northern Ireland protocol in the coming days, saying that it was “not inevitable” that the UK will trigger Article 16 of its Brexit deal with the EU.
Conditions met to suspend Irish protocol, says Unionist leader
The leader of the largest unionist party in Northern Ireland on Monday 8 November hinted that the UK should suspend the Northern Ireland protocol as it undermines the Good Friday peace agreement.
EU must ‘immediately’ accept UK into Horizon Europe, say bloc’s research leaders
The European Commission must immediately finalise the United Kingdom’s involvement in the €95.5 billion Horizon Europe research and innovation programme or else risk a “major weakening” of Europe’s “research strength and competitiveness”, a joint statement by the EU’s research and innovation community has warned.
France postpones fishing row sanctions on Britain
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday (1 November) he was postponing planned trade sanctions on Britain so that negotiators from both sides could work on new proposals to defuse their dispute over post-Brexit fishing rights.
UK vows action if French ‘don’t back down’ in fishing row
Britain warned France on Monday (1 November) it will take action if Paris does not withdraw "unreasonable" threats to impose trade measures in an increasingly acrimonious row over post-Brexit fishing rights.
EU–UK talks make slow progress as UK prepares to suspend protocol
EU–UK talks aimed at overhauling the Northern Ireland Protocol are far from resolved, officials conceded, as the UK prepares for the fallout from suspending it.
The Brief, powered by Facebook — Who needs Nelson or Napoleon when you can have Brexit?
With a British trawler seized by France, and Royal Navy boats poised to enter the Channel, we could be in 1805, not 2021. Who needs Nelson and Napoleon when you can have Brexit?
France threatens harbour ban on UK ships from next week as fishing row deepens
France will ban UK fishing boats from its harbours from next week as part of a series of tough sanctions on Britain unless London moves to resolve a long-running dispute over licences for French fishing vessels.
Britain calls for 800 foreign butchers to avoid pig cull
Britain will offer six-month emergency visas to 800 foreign butchers to avoid a mass pig cull, after farmers complained that an exodus of workers from abattoirs and meat processors had left the pork sector fighting for survival.
EU offers deal on British trade to Northern Ireland but leaves Court role unchanged
The European Union offered the UK on Wednesday (13 October) a package of measures aimed at brokering a compromise to the long–running dispute over trade to Northern Ireland but without meeting London's demands on the role of the European Court of Justice.
EU to unveil measures to ease British goods flow to Northern Ireland
The European Commission will on Wednesday (13 October) put to Britain a package of measures to ease the transit of goods to Northern Ireland, while stopping short of the overhaul London is demanding of post-Brexit trading rules for the province.
Overhauling Irish protocol is ‘prerequisite’ to return to ‘normal’ relations, says UK minister
UK Brexit minister David Frost warned on Tuesday (12 September) that overhauling the Northern Ireland protocol was a “prerequisite” for repairing the current “fractious” relations between the UK and Brussels.
Protocol row reopens Unionist fears of another Northern Ireland sell–out
Sell–out, betrayal and sacrifice are all key words in the lexicon of Northern Irish politics for both the nationalist and unionist communities, and those in between. Brexit, and the Northern Ireland protocol, in particular, have brought them back into popular use.