Bill promised “within days” following Article 50 judgement
In response to the Supreme Court judgement that the government must seek parliament’s approval before it can trigger Article 50, David Davis, the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, told the House of Commons that the government would introduce a “straightforward Bill…within days…to give the Government the power to invoke Article 50.” Davis stopped short of committing to a white paper, promising instead to provide as much information as possible on the government’s thinking “subject to not undermining our position." The bill is expected to be published on Thursday.
On the issue of the devolved administrations, Davis said, “The Supreme Court has ruled clearly in the Government's favour on roles of devolved legislatures in invoking Article 50,” but said the judgement “in no way diminishes our commitment to work closely with the people and administrations of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as we move forward with our withdrawal from the European Union." Separately, the SNP’s international affairs spokesman and former leader Alex Salmond vowed that the party would propose as many as 50 amendments to the government’s bill and urged ministers “to sit with the Joint Ministerial Committee and not just casually acknowledge, but constructively engage.” Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister and leader of the SNP, also said that the judgement raised "fundamental issues above and beyond that of EU membership,” with reference to the prospect of a second independence referendum for Scotland.
Following the judgement, Henry Newman, Open Europe’s Director, argued that “the prime minister’s Brexit timetable will not be significantly affected” by the judgement, as accelerating the triggering of Article 50 “would simply start the two-year countdown clock further before this year’s crucial French and German elections,” while Stephen Booth, Director of Policy and Research, featured on the BBC’s Daily Politics programme. Open Europe’s Senior Policy Analyst Vincenzo Scarpetta appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast yesterday discussing the significance of the ruling and its possible implications.
Sources: Open Europe Intelligence: Supreme Court judgement, Supreme Court: Press Summary, Supreme Court: Judgement, BBC: Daily Politics, BBC 5 Live: Breakfast, The Press Association
European Commission says UK can discuss but not conclude non-EU trade deals
Reuters quotes European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans as saying that Britain can discuss but not seal bilateral trade deals while it remains a member of the EU. High Representative of the Union Federica Mogherini had previously said that “As long as a Member State is a Member State, there are no negotiations bilaterally on any trade agreement with third parties,” a view echoed by Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. Nevertheless, Timmermans said, “It’s a very simple legal situation… Everybody can talk to everyone, but you can only sign a trade agreement with a third country once you have left the EU.”
Sources: Reuters, European Union External Action Service: Remarks
Czech Interior Minister suggests his country should negotiate “independently” with UK
The Daily Telegraph reports that Czech Interior Minister Milan Chovanec told Czech TV, “We should undertake an independent initiative with Great Britain and not wait for what Europe does. We don’t know how long the talks would take or if we would even see [a deal] achieved.” He added, “I hope we will negotiate on our own. We do not know if there will be a final European agreement on this and we must defend the interests of Czech citizens.”
Source: The Daily Telegraph
European Parliament approves CETA as EU Trade Commissioner warns Trump’s trade strategy is “doomed to fail”
The European Parliament’s International Trade Committee has approved the EU-Canada trade deal (CETA). The rapporteur Artis Pabriks said, “By approving CETA today we take a significant step forward. In the face of rising protectionism and populism, Parliament is able and willing to act on behalf of European citizens…Ratifying this agreement with Canada will enable trade to continue to bring wealth to both shores of our transatlantic friendship. The duty of our governments is to ensure that each and every one of us benefits from this wealth.” CETA will now be put to a vote by Parliament as a whole at the February plenary session. If Parliament approves the CETA deal, it could apply provisionally from as early as April 2017. CETA will also need to be ratified by national and regional parliaments.
Separately EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström has said, “Those who in the 21st century think that we can become great again by rebuilding borders, re-imposing trade barriers, restricting people’s freedom to move – they are doomed to fail…The election of Donald Trump seems likely to put our EU-US negotiations firmly in the freezer.”
Sources: European Parliament: CETA: Trade Committee MEPs back EU-Canada agreement, The Press Association
Citigroup says it is looking to move broker-dealer function from UK to EU
James Cowles, the US bank Citigroup’s chief executive for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), has said the bank was looking to set up a new broker-dealer outside the UK by establishing a new EU entity or by bulking up one of its existing locations within the EU and will make a final decision on the location in the first half of the year. “We will be making a decision in the first half of this year, it’s a decision that every bank has to make in the first six months of this year,” he said. “Our issue is with our broker-dealer, which is located in the UK, and will lose, presumably, passporting rights. So what we’re doing now is looking across Europe and we’re saying: Where do we want to establish a new broker-dealer?” Open Europe’s Senior Policy Analyst Vincenzo Scarpetta is quoted by The Guardian as saying, “The UK has over one million people employed in finance. The whole city of Frankfurt, by comparison, has 725,000 inhabitants. So there are only a few global centres where the industry can really go.”
Sources: The Press Association, The Guardian
European Investment Bank holds open prospect of continued UK membership
The Financial Times reports that the European Investment Bank, in which Britain is a 16% shareholder, has said it may change its rules to allow Britain to remain a shareholder after Brexit. Only EU member states can be EIB shareholders but Werner Hoyer, president of the EIB, said, “If there is – at the end of the day – an option to change that statutorily and allow a former member of the EU to remain a shareholder of the bank it is completely open…We should not exclude any possibility. Don’t prevent or pre-empt. We are committed to doing business in the UK and the UK will remain a shareholder for at least the next two years.”
Source: The Financial Times
Campaign group to argue Parliament must approve UK withdrawal from EEA
The “Single Market Justice” campaign (SMJ) will argue in the High Court on February 3 that Parliament must provide separate approval for the withdrawal from the European Economic Area (EEA). The SMJ group said in a statement, “The Article 50 judgment has set a precedent that Parliament has the authority to vote on triggering Article 127, the treaty that would take us out of the single market….We are in the single market separately from the EU. Parliament voted to take us into it, so it must also vote to take us out.” The Department for Exiting the European Union has said in a statement, “Once the UK leaves the EU, the EEA Agreement will automatically cease to apply to the UK.”
Source: The Press Association
Martin Schulz to challenge Angela Merkel for German Chancellorship
German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel has said he will not challenge German Chancellor Angela Merkel for the German chancellorship. “If I stood in the elections, I would fail and so would the SPD,” Gabriel said in an interview. Gabriel will instead put forward former European Parliament President Martin Schulz to take his place as SPD party chairman and candidate for chancellor.
Sources: Stern, Deutsche Welle
Dutch Prime Minister advises immigrants to “behave normally or go away”
The Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has used a national newspaper advertisement to urge immigrants who do not respect the “significance of Dutch values” to “behave normally or go away.” Rutte suggests that “Discomfort will increase if people misuse our freedom, especially since they came to this country to enjoy those freedoms… I understand that people think: if you reject our country fundamentally, I’d rather see you go. I have the same feeling.” The intervention comes ahead of Dutch elections in March and as polling puts Geert Wilders’ right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV) in contention with Rutte’s VVD liberal party.
Sources: Politico, The Times
May visit heralds “future relationships” between UK and Turkey after Brexit
Following the announcement that Theresa May will visit Turkey this week, a spokesman said, “We are a close friend of Turkey… The visit will reflect the fact that Turkey is an indispensable partner and a close ally for the UK on many issues of global importance, including trade, security and defence,” adding, “We will be looking at future relationships which we may be looking to explore with Turkey once we have left the EU.”
Source: The Press Association
Leading MEP demands Brexit role for European Parliament
Manfred Weber MEP, chair of the centre-right European People’s Party in the European Parliament, said, “We, the European parliament, think that in the next two years we have to be informed and updated on the state of play and that means parliament has to sit on the table as negotiations are going on.” On the UK’s negotiating objectives, Weber said, “Some call it single market membership, some call it a free trade agreement. It has the same result at the end for our economies. That will not happen… Parliament will be a very difficult partner for the British side.”
Source: The Guardian
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