Eu

Westminster is in a flurry this afternoon over Donald Tusk’s comments at a press conference this morning with Leo Varadkar. The European Council president used the platform to declare that he had been pondering of late what that ‘special place in hell’ for ‘those who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan of how to carry it safely’ looked like. Tusk even went on to tweet out his comments – just in case anyone had missed the moment in the conference. Adding insult to injury the EU Council president has also been caught on mic laughing about the likely angry response from the British. Tusk is at least

Oh dear. It’s only Monday and already Theresa May’s week appears to have taken a turn for the worse. The Prime Minister’s plan to renegotiate the terms of the backstop has received a strongly-worded rebuke from the European Commission. MPs from the Commons Brexit committee were in Brussels this morning meeting with Martin Selmayr, the commission’s secretary general. Some of those present reported that they left the meeting believing the UK would be able to secure legally-binding concessions on the issue of the backstop. However, on seeing this account reported, Selmayr has taken to social media to put forward a different account of what took place. Jean-Claude Juncker’s close ally tweeted

A rather sinister tweet was sent out yesterday by the Home Office telling EU nationals that if they wanted to stay in Britain they’d best “apply” – not register – for the scheme if they “want to stay in the UK” after 31 December 2020. The tone was quite disgusting. And it raises the question as to whether, with the Home Secretary on holiday, his officials are about to launch into a “hostile environment” scheme in direct contradiction to his personal approach and UK government policy. Language matters. The phrase “hostile environment” summed up the horror of Home Office autopilot: a computer-says-no approach to immigration, with effects on human lives

Theresa May is desperately trying to convince both her European counterparts and her British colleagues that her Brexit plan is a goer. However, the Prime Minister has attracted criticism from across the pond – and this time it’s not from President Trump. Step forward Pamela Anderson. The former Baywatch start turned left wing activist tells Jacobin magazine about her hopes for a Lexit (left wing Brexit) – adding that her preferred rpute going forward is a Jeremy Corbyn government: ‘It is vital that the European Union is thoroughly and fundamentally reformed. Europe deserves a much better form of organized cooperation. And I would really support the UK attempting to create

Even before today’s announcement that the Brexit vote would be pulled, a number of media leaks indicated the EU’s plan in case of a parliamentary defeat. According to Reuters, the EU had been planning to concede a number of cosmetic changes. However, those changes would not be made to the withdrawal agreement, but only to the non-binding political declaration. As one EU diplomat said: ‘we could look at doing something cosmetic, relatively quickly. First, we would have to hear from May, see what they want’. Another EU diplomat, however, warned that ‘if she falls short of a hundred votes, it’s probably not doable.’ It now makes sense for the EU

I listen in despair to Brexiteers’ dismissals of pleas from business for a settlement that allows them to plan beyond March next year. On last Friday’s Any Questions?, Jürgen Maier — who runs the £5 billion manufacturing business that is German-owned Siemens UK, and who may be the most respected industrialist in the north of England — spoke persuasively (in the accent of his Leeds schooldays) about the ‘dramatic’ fall-off of business investment and potentially ‘catastrophic’ impact of a no-deal outcome. The response of Tory MP John Redwood was so condescending, essentially ‘well done for coming here and building a business but stop scaremongering’, that I wanted to pour a boiling kettle

We may or may not hear news soon of a settlement of the Irish border issue that will allow Brexit to proceed without the calamity of ‘no deal’. Word this week was that Irish taoiseach Leo Varadkar might offer a compromise ‘review mechanism’ for the ‘backstop’ which might otherwise leave the UK locked in a customs union — but like me, you’re probably none the wiser as to what that actually means. History will judge this episode as a disgraceful example of politicians bluffing in the face of tough choices rather than explaining complexities or acknowledging hard facts — set out, in this case, in a Northern Ireland Affairs select

Theresa May tried her best to persuade grumpy MPs that a Brexit deal was still in sight when she addressed the Commons this evening. With colleagues from across the Conservative party losing faith in No 10’s negotiating strategy, the Prime Minister insisted that ’95 per cent of the Withdrawal Agreement and its protocols are now settled’. The trouble is the remaining 5 per cent is the most difficult. As May herself admitted, the main sticking point is ‘a considerable one’: the Irish border. With the Brexit talks at an impasse over the terms of the Irish backstop – the arrangement the UK would fall back on to avoid a hard

The EU flags, glitter berets and bad taste posters are out in full force today as the People’s Vote march hits London. Among the big names expected to attend are Alastair Campbell (still trying to work out what makes this march different to the anti-Iraq one in terms of effectiveness) while Philip Lee – the one time junior minister – may join later. As for Hugh Grant, the pro-EU Notting Hill actor has unfortunately had to send his apologies. Grant is currently in France – but has promised to perform a solitary march from the French village he is holidaying in: Very sorry not to be in UK for #PeoplesVoteMarch.

The story of Britain and Ireland’s relationship has, all too often, been one of mutual incomprehension: 1066 and All That summed up the view on this side of St George’s Channel with the line that ‘Every time the English tried to solve the Irish question, the Irish changed the question.’ But Theresa May’s problem right now is that the Irish — and the European Union — won’t change the question and the only answers they’ll accept are unacceptable to Mrs May and her cabinet. To the astonishment of many, the Irish border has become the defining issue of Brexit. There is now a serious and growing risk that the issue