Canadian Finance Minister expects EU-Canada deal to form basis of UK-Canada trade deal
Canada's Finance Minister Bill Morneau said yesterday that a post-Brexit trade deal between Canada and Britain would likely use the long-delayed EU-Canada agreement (CETA) as its basis. “Our expectation is that Britain will ratify the CETA deal and be part of that deal with Canada,” he said. Asked whether the CETA deal would automatically result in a Canada-Britain free trade deal on the same terms after Brexit, Morneau said: “We're going to respect the agreement that the UK has with Europe ... and stand ready to work together after that's concluded.” He said that UK-EU talks “will precede any discussion with Canada...we believe that our discussion with the UK will be a positive one...and will be founded on the basis of CETA.”
Sources: The Sun, Reuters, Reuters 2
Dutch Finance Minister: Brexit negotiations will take “a lot longer than two years”
Dutch Finance Minister and Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem said in London yesterday, “Negotiations are hugely complex… They are going to take a lot longer than two years. Since the outcome of the British referendum, the UK and the continent are regarding each other with some suspicion… It is a lose-lose situation which we can only manage as well as possible.” He added, “People make jokes about the UK not having a Brexit plan, but many Europeans didn’t have a plan either.”
Source: Business Insider
Barclays CEO has faith in London’s post-Brexit “gravitational pull” for finance as Khan hails Google investment
Jes Staley, Barclays chief executive, told the Financial Times Banking Summit, “The users of capital find the providers of capital, not the other way around, and the providers of capital, by and large, are resident in London and New York. I don’t think London will lose its gravitational pull in terms of management of capital in any reasonable timeframe.”
Separately, London Mayor Sadiq Khan welcomed Google’s decision to open a new headquarters in London housing a total of 7,000 staff and to create 3,000 jobs by 2020. Khan said, “This is a vote of confidence in our great city – creating high-skilled jobs, supporting growth and demonstrating that London is open to business, new investment and talent from around the globe.”
Meanwhile, The Financial Times reports that the Autumn Statement’s official forecast will next week show the UK faces a £100bn shortfall in the public finances over five years, but this will not prevent Chancellor Philip Hammond from finding room for some tax cuts to help what officials in Whitehall call “Jams”, meaning families who are “just about managing”
Sources: The Daily Telegraph, The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Financial Times 2
New poll: 90% want free-trade, 70% want immigration limits, but UK public are split if forced to choose
A report by the National Centre for Social Research finds that 90% of UK voters want free-trade with the EU to continue after Brexit, including 94% of Remain supporters and 90% of Leave supporters, while 70% want limits to EU migration, including 55% of Remain supporters and 85% of Leave supporters. However, when asked whether they would support a deal that allowed people to freely come to the UK from the EU to live and work in return for allowing UK firms to trade freely with the EU, respondents split 49% in favour and 51% against, with 70% of Remain supporters in favour and 70% of Leave supporters against.
Source: Report - NatCen Social Research - What UK Thinks: EU project
UK unemployment reaches 11-year low, with “little impact so far” from Brexit
Yesterday the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released data confirming that unemployment has fallen to 4.8%, down 0.5 points on third quarter last year. ONS statistician David Freeman commented, “Unemployment is at its lowest for more than 10 years and the employment rate remains at a record high. Nonetheless, there are signs that the labour market might be cooling, with employment growth slowing.” The data also shows that the number of EU workers in the UK increased over the last three months by 221,000. Freeman said, “That limited evidence suggests the referendum outcome and subsequent devaluation of sterling has had little impact so far on the number of EU workers in the UK labour force.” Open Europe’s Stephen Booth appeared on LBC Radio arguing that businesses’ continued demand for labour after the Brexit vote was an encouraging sign for the economy.
Sources: The Financial Times, BBC News
EU plans new security checks and €5 fee for non-EU citizens entering Schengen zone
The European Commission yesterday announced proposals which would oblige people from non-EU countries planning to enter the EU’s border free Schengen zone to complete an online form providing basic personal data prior to travel. The European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) would allow the information provided to be checked against databases, including those held by Interpol and Europol, before notifying intended travellers as to whether they will be permitted to enter the Schengen zone. First Vice President Frans Timmermans said, “Securing our borders and protecting our citizens is our first priority. ETIAS will close an information gap by cross-checking visa-exempt applicants’ information against all our other systems,” adding, “At the same time, the future ETIAS will be easy, quick, cheap and effective.”
Sources: European Commission: Security Union: A European Travel Information and Authorisation System - Questions and Answers, EurActiv, The Guardian
German Deputy Finance Minister says EU budget could “shrink” when UK leaves EU
German deputy Finance Minister Jens Spahn has warned that the EU Budget “will shrink initially” as a result of Brexit. Spahn said, “If the EU shrinks, and there are fewer funds available, the EU budget needs to be shrunk accordingly. There certainly is no automatic mechanism that other countries fill in for one country that decides to leave.” He added, “The U.K. will be represented within the institutions as long as it is still a member of the European Union.”
Source: Politico
Commission decides against budget deficit sanctions for Spain and Portugal
The European Commission said yesterday it will not suspend EU funds for Spain and Portugal next year following their breach of EU budget rules, as it also called for looser fiscal policy across the eurozone. “The Commission considers that there is a case for a significantly more positive fiscal stance for the euro area,” it said in a statement, adding that a fiscal easing would support the European Central Bank’s monetary policy.
Source: Reuters
Emmanuel Macron announces his bid for French Presidency
Former Socialist French economy minister Emmanuel Macron yesterday confirmed his decision to stand in the 2017 French presidential elections as an independent candidate, saying “I am ready, that’s why I am a candidate for the presidency.” His announcement comes four days before the first round of the French centre-right primaries.
Source: Le Figaro
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