With the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement signed and Brexit now becoming an increasingly settled fact, the areas of potential divergence between the UK and the EU are becoming clearer. The strategy appears to be to identify those areas in which the UK already enjoys a competitive edge over its rivals and then work out … Continue Reading
In 1962 the then US Secretary of State Dean Acheson famously commented that the UK had ‘lost an Empire and not yet found a role’. EU membership appeared to have created that role – as the US/EU hinge US. But Brexit brings that period to an end, forcing the UK to once again define its … Continue Reading
The EU-UK Trade & Cooperation Agreement (‘TCA’), signed at the end of last year did not cover financial services. Commentators had been sanguine about the potential impact on the City of London as a global financial centre. Figures showing that only 7,500 jobs had been re-located to the EU (out of the approximately 1.1 million … Continue Reading
The Troubles, which began in 1968 and lasted until the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) in 1998, left more than 3,500 people dead. The GFA brought in a new power-sharing structure for government of N Ireland, required the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons and established a number of joint committees between the UK, N and S Ireland … Continue Reading
During the Cameron-Clegg Coalition government between 2010 and 2015, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, led determined efforts to create a UK-China ‘Golden Era’ of diplomatic and economic relations. This culminated in the full State Visit of the Chinese Premier to the UK in 2015. Vote Leave viewed a closer trading relationship with China … Continue Reading
As the Brexit Deal settles down and the UK becomes used to being a Third Country in relation to the EU, it is worth taking a moment to reflect on the damage that Brexit may have done to the United Kingdom. This is particularly evident in N Ireland and Scotland – both of which voted … Continue Reading
With the Covid news from the UK (good – vaccine rollout; and bad – high cases and deaths), the impact of the Brexit Deal has been somewhat masked. This note summarises some of the most noticeable of those impacts. Red Tape & Border Delays Cross-Channel trade was slower than normal in the first two weeks … Continue Reading
The deadline has already passed for any UK-EU Agreement to be reached in time for translation and consideration by the European Parliament before the end of the Parliamentary term on 16th of December. In a gesture of conciliation, the parliament has indicated it may be prepared to convene on 28 December. However, as the pressure … Continue Reading
Briefings from both the EU and UK sides have been more positive over the last few days, with the Commission President briefing on 20 November that most major issues were now agreed. That adds to the impression that a Deal is close to being signed off (even if some members of the UK’s Cabinet have … Continue Reading
Foreign Direct Investment Regulation The EU Regulation on Foreign Direct Investment (2019/452) (the “EU FDI Regulation”) will enter into force fully on October 11, 2020. Most notably, on this date, a cooperation and information sharing mechanism among Member States and the European Commission in respect of foreign direct investment (“FDI”) that has an “EU-dimension” will … Continue Reading
Last week marked a hand-over from the technical Brexit negotiations back to the negotiators’ political masters. After four rounds of talks on the future EU-UK relationship, it appears that the UK and the EU are increasingly talking past each other. With both sides seeming to accept that the transition period will finish at the end … Continue Reading
