A former Australian ambassador to the EU has accused Brussels of making “completely unreasonable demands of Britain” and warns the UK to exercise “extreme caution” in any future trading relationship with China because the country was “a thug and a shocking bully” which had decided to make an example of Australia after the country called for a global inquiry into the origins of the Covid-19 virus.
Mark Higgie, a senior political adviser to Tony Abbott, the former Australian prime minister, served as ambassador in Brussels between 2014 and 2017. In a wide-ranging and, at times, scathing interview with the Planet Normal podcast (listen on the audio player above), Higgie says he believes there will be a last-minute trade deal between the UK and the EU, but he warns Britain not to compromise on the question of sovereignty. “I think that would really be a big mistake”. According to Higgie, now a senior fellow at the Danube Institute conservative think-tank, the EU is
Dec 15, 2020 12:30 GMTOpinions
The Bank of England is set to leave its policy unchanged in its last meeting of 2020.
Vaccine hopes and satisfactory economic data will likely result in a pound-positive message.
Only a substantial message of upcoming negative rates could sink sterling.
Will the Bank of England rest in London while negotiators frantically discuss Brexit in Brussels?
There is little the BOE can do – especially after it boosted its bond-buying scheme by £150 billion in its last meeting. Will BOE Governor Andrew Bailey end a turbulent year with a whimper? Not so fast.
While the “Old Lady” is set to leave its policy unchanged and does not release its quarterly report at this juncture, its
Divisions over fishing risk sinking close Brexit trade deal, Brussels warns
Boris Johnson says there is every hope of a deal, as Ursula von der Leyen says fishing is now the biggest obstacle to agreement
The European Commission president said talks with Britain were on their last mile .
Credit: AFP
UK-EU divisions over fishing are jeopardising a Brexit trade deal, which is “so close”, the European Commission president warned on Wednesday.
Ursula von der Leyen said that talks over access to UK waters for EU fishermen from January 1 was now the biggest obstacle to agreeing the zero-tariff, zero-quota deal before the end of year deadline.
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SINCE BRITAIN left the European Union in January, the two sides have continued to trade just as they did when Britain was a member. This period ends on December 31st, with or without a deal on the future terms of commerce and as time ticks away without agreement, the risk of no-deal rises. What would be the consequences?
Even if there is a last-gasp deal, it will be “thin”, at best similar to the free-trade agreement (FTA) between Canada and the EU. The British government’s own modelling suggests that under such an accord, Britain’s GDP will be 5% lower in 15 years than it would have been had the country stayed in the EU. With no deal, the cost rises to 8%. Other forecasts are similarly gloomy. The independent Office of Budget Responsibility reckons that no-deal will cut next year’s GDP by an additional 2%, on top of the costs from shifting to an FTA.
| UPDATED: 09:35, Mon, Dec 14, 2020
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Boris Johnson on Sunday agreed with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to go the extra mile to reach a Brexit deal before the end of the transition period on December 31. Despite the two leaders keeping the negotiations from collapsing, businesses have warned they still lack the certainty they need to properly prepare for life outside the European Union. Chamber of British Industry (CBI) director-general Tony Danker urged the Prime Minister to stick with the talks to help the UK avoid the economic risks a no deal scenario could cau