Brexit: New Era, New Dawn

[No Smoking]

Happy New Year. The long awaited Brexit day has arrived.

BBC News: Thursday 31 December 2020;
Brexit: New era for UK as it completes separation from European Union

A new era has begun for the United Kingdom after it completed its formal separation from the European Union.

The UK stopped following EU rules at 23:00 GMT, as replacement arrangements for travel, trade, immigration and security co-operation came into force.

Boris Johnson said the UK had "freedom in our hands" and the ability to do things "differently and better" now the long Brexit process was over.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the UK remained a "friend and ally".

UK ministers have warned there will be some disruption in the coming days and weeks, as new rules bed in and British firms trading with the continent come to terms with the changes.

Officials have insisted new border systems are "ready to go" amid fears of hold-ups at ports.

The UK officially left the 27-member political and economic bloc on 31 January, three and half years after the UK public voted to leave in the 2016 Brexit referendum.

But it has stuck to the EU's trading rules for the past 11 months while the two sides negotiated their future economic partnership.

After trade talks went down to the wire, a landmark treaty was finally agreed on Christmas Eve. It became law in the UK on Wednesday after it was approved by Parliament.

Under the new arrangements, which came into force at 24.00 CET, UK manufacturers will have tariff-free access to the EU's internal market, meaning there will be no import taxes on goods crossing between Britain and the continent.

But it does mean more paperwork for businesses and people travelling to EU countries while there is still uncertainty about what it will happen to banking and services, which are a major part of the UK economy.

Read More at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-55502781

NS Comment: Time for the EU and UK to flesh out the new realities in their respective domains.

[No Smoking]

BBC News: Monday 11 January 2021;
UK driver has ham sandwiches confiscated at Dutch border

A Dutch TV network has filmed border officials confiscating ham sandwiches and other foods from drivers arriving in the Netherlands from the UK, under post-Brexit rules.

The officials were shown explaining import regulations imposed since the UK formalised its separation from the EU.

Under EU rules, travellers from outside the bloc are banned from bringing in meat and dairy products.

The rules appeared to bemuse one driver.

"Since Brexit, you are no longer allowed to bring certain foods to Europe, like meat, fruit, vegetables, fish, that kind of stuff," a Dutch border official told the driver in footage broadcast by TV network NPO 1.

In one scene, a border official asked the driver whether several of his tin-foil wrapped sandwiches had meat in them.

When the driver said they did, the border official said: "Okay, so we take them all."

Surprised, the driver then asked the officials if he could keep the bread, to which one replied: "No, everything will be confiscated - welcome to the Brexit, sir. I'm sorry."

The UK's departure means big changes for business - with the UK and EU forming two separate markets - the end of free movement, and new regulations, including those governing the import of personal goods.

Read More at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55622331

NS Comment: No doubt it must be stated in the 1200 pages rule-book, but it will take a few months for everyone to understand and manage the bits that apply to them.

[No Smoking]

BBC News: Friday 29 January 2021;
EU vaccine export row: Bloc 'must clarify intentions' over NI move - PM

The EU must "urgently clarify its intentions" after it brought in export controls on Covid vaccines to Northern Ireland, Boris Johnson has said.

The PM said the bloc must explain what it plans to do to ensure it honours its commitments to Northern Ireland.

It comes amid an escalating row between the EU and vaccine producer AstraZeneca over delivery shortfalls.

The EU said the move was "justified" to avert problems caused by a lack of vaccine supply2.

The BBC's Europe editor Katya Adler said EU sources have told her that the European Commission was going to backtrack on its decision and would not suspend part of the Northern Ireland protocol.

The source told our correspondent that "suggesting to do that was misjudgement and an error".

On Friday, the bloc invoked Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol which allows parts of the deal to be unilaterally overridden.

In the new regulation, the European Commission stated: "This is justified as a safeguard measure pursuant to Article 16 of that Protocol in order to avert serious societal difficulties due to a lack of supply threatening to disturb the orderly implementation of the vaccination campaigns in the Member States."

The EU's move should not directly disadvantage Northern Ireland, which gets its vaccine supplies through the UK procurement system.

The EU's actions have been criticised by a string of politicians, with Northern Ireland's First Minister Arlene Forster describing it as "an incredible act of hostility" that places a "hard border" between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Read More at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55865539

NS Comment: Shock! Horror!! EU Commission lost its cool and started taking rash actions. EU has only approved AstraZeneca vaccine today amid supply row, yet it is complaining of missing out on supplies.