An EU agreement with Britain on relations after Brexit could serve as a model for ties with other countries that want to be as close as possible to the bloc but are not yet ready to join, such as Ukraine and Turkey, Germany&#39;s foreign minister said.

Britain secured the go-ahead from Brussels to start talks on its future relationship with the EU earlier this month, with London saying it aspires to a closer relationship as a former member than that of any other third country.

In an interview with the Funke newspaper group published on Tuesday, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said such a deal could offer a solution to the puzzle of how the bloc of 27 can manage its ties with two other large non-members.

&quot;I can&#39;t imagine Turkey or Ukraine becoming EU members in the next few years,&quot; he said. &quot;If we get a smart agreement with Britain regulating relations with Europe after Brexit, that could be a model for other countries - Ukraine and also Turkey.&quot;

Turkey, a candidate for EU membership for decades, already has a customs union with the EU which allows the trade of most goods without tariffs.

One possibility would be to offer Ankara a &quot;new, closer form of the customs union&quot;, Gabriel said, although he also said such a project would have to wait for changes in Turkey&#39;s political environment.

Thousands of people, including German citizens, have been detained in Turkey as part of a government crackdown since a failed coup in 2016.

An agreement between the EU and Ukraine on a &quot;deep and comprehensive free trade area&quot; formally came into force in September, aimed at allowing free trade of goods, services and capital, and visa-free travel for people for short stays.

Ukraine&#39;s desire for closer ties with the EU was one of the driving forces behind a popular revolt that toppled a pro-Russian president in 2014, leading Moscow to seize Ukraine&#39;s Crimea peninsula and back pro-Russian separatists in a still-unresolved conflict in the east of the country.

Gabriel&#39;s Social Democratic Party (SPD) is preparing for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel`s conservatives on governing together for another four years.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said such a deal could offer a solution to the puzzle of how the bloc of 27 can manage its ties with two other large non-members.

An EU agreement with Britain on relations after Brexit could serve as a model for ties with other countries that want to be as close as possible to the bloc but are not yet ready to join, such as Ukraine and Turkey, Germany's foreign minister said. Britain secured the go-ahead from Brussels to start talks on its future relationship with the EU earlier this month, with London saying it aspires to a closer relationship as a former member than that of any other third country. In an interview with the Funke newspaper group published on Tuesday, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said such a deal could offer a solution to the puzzle of how the bloc of 27 can manage its ties with two other large non-members. "I can't imagine Turkey or Ukraine becoming EU members in the next few years," he said. "If we get a smart agreement with Britain regulating relations with Europe after Brexit, that could be a model for other countries - Ukraine and also Turkey." Turkey, a candidate for EU membership for decades, already has a customs union with the EU which allows the trade of most goods without tariffs. One possibility would be to offer Ankara a "new, closer form of the customs union", Gabriel said, although he also said such a project would have to wait for changes in Turkey's political environment. Thousands of people, including German citizens, have been detained in Turkey as part of a government crackdown since a failed coup in 2016. An agreement between the EU and Ukraine on a "deep and comprehensive free trade area" formally came into force in September, aimed at allowing free trade of goods, services and capital, and visa-free travel for people for short stays. Ukraine's desire for closer ties with the EU was one of the driving forces behind a popular revolt that toppled a pro-Russian president in 2014, leading Moscow to seize Ukraine's Crimea peninsula and back pro-Russian separatists in a still-unresolved conflict in the east of the country. Gabriel's Social Democratic Party (SPD) is preparing for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel`s conservatives on governing together for another four years.

Brexit deal could be template for EU ties to Ukraine, Turkey: German foreign minister

From the hammer blow of Brexit to turbulence in Catalonia, new forms of nationalism are testing the relevance and unity of the European Union, analysts say.

The crisis in Spain served as a stark reminder of the fault lines that run through Europe, with a country&#39;s central government battling a region whose leaders want to break away.

In Britain, the cry for sovereignty brought 17.4 million people to the polls to vote for Brexit in June 2016.

Campaigners also played on anger about having to fund the EU -- arguing that it imposed bureaucratic rules from afar and prevented the country from engaging with the rest of the world.

In Catalonia, emotional arguments dating back to the Franco dictatorship combined with economic issues to fuel calls for independence.

&quot;The nationalists understood that in developed and prosperous regions, you can no longer simply appeal to the idea of historic oppression&quot;, said Bruno Yammine, a Belgium-based historian.

&quot;Economic arguments have now legitimised cultural and ethnic nationalism, especially by renouncing fiscal solidarity with poorer regions&quot;, he added.

The &quot;Brexiteers&quot; argued that money currently being paid by London to the EU would be better spent on the public health service, despite their financial figures being hotly disputed.

In Barcelona, &quot;there was the idea of a Catalonia that could be an international platform within the framework of the EU, a North American style of the platform that could bring additional growth&quot;, said Andres de Blas Guerrero, a political scientist at Spain&#39;s National University of Distance Education.

Other sentiments seized on by populist nationalists include the threat of immigration to national identity and a rejection of elites.

For Renaud Thillaye, European Affairs analyst at Flint Global in London, a management consultancy, the success of nationalism is linked &quot;on the one hand to corruption and the discrediting of traditional parties, and the thirst for more local democracy.

&quot;On the other hand, there is a need for cultural anchoring around a common language and heritage at a time when everything is moving very fast and the artificial character of nation-states is all the more apparent&quot;.

Against this backdrop, nationalists have been able to paint supra-national bodies such as the EU as instruments of globalisation, which they blame for reinforcing the domestic wealth gap and testing national solidarity.

Thillaye said the EU wants to avoid the proliferation of states at all costs and is doing everything possible to discourage independence movements, whether it be in Scotland, Catalonia or Corsica, who may at one point have seen the EU as an ally in their fight against the central state.

&nbsp;

In Catalonia, emotional arguments dating back to the Franco dictatorship combined with economic issues to fuel calls for independence

From the hammer blow of Brexit to turbulence in Catalonia, new forms of nationalism are testing the relevance and unity of the European Union, analysts say. The crisis in Spain served as a stark reminder of the fault lines that run through Europe, with a country's central government battling a region whose leaders want to break away. In Britain, the cry for sovereignty brought 17.4 million people to the polls to vote for Brexit in June 2016. Campaigners also played on anger about having to fund the EU -- arguing that it imposed bureaucratic rules from afar and prevented the country from engaging with the rest of the world. In Catalonia, emotional arguments dating back to the Franco dictatorship combined with economic issues to fuel calls for independence. "The nationalists understood that in developed and prosperous regions, you can no longer simply appeal to the idea of historic oppression", said Bruno Yammine, a Belgium-based historian. "Economic arguments have now legitimised cultural and ethnic nationalism, especially by renouncing fiscal solidarity with poorer regions", he added. The "Brexiteers" argued that money currently being paid by London to the EU would be better spent on the public health service, despite their financial figures being hotly disputed. In Barcelona, "there was the idea of a Catalonia that could be an international platform within the framework of the EU, a North American style of the platform that could bring additional growth", said Andres de Blas Guerrero, a political scientist at Spain's National University of Distance Education. Other sentiments seized on by populist nationalists include the threat of immigration to national identity and a rejection of elites. For Renaud Thillaye, European Affairs analyst at Flint Global in London, a management consultancy, the success of nationalism is linked "on the one hand to corruption and the discrediting of traditional parties, and the thirst for more local democracy. "On the other hand, there is a need for cultural anchoring around a common language and heritage at a time when everything is moving very fast and the artificial character of nation-states is all the more apparent". Against this backdrop, nationalists have been able to paint supra-national bodies such as the EU as instruments of globalisation, which they blame for reinforcing the domestic wealth gap and testing national solidarity. Thillaye said the EU wants to avoid the proliferation of states at all costs and is doing everything possible to discourage independence movements, whether it be in Scotland, Catalonia or Corsica, who may at one point have seen the EU as an ally in their fight against the central state.

Brexit, Catalonia test EU resolve against nationalism

British Prime Minister Theresa May was set to avoid a damaging parliamentary defeat after rebels in her party appeared to strike a compromise over the exact timing of Brexit.&nbsp;The government is trying to pass major domestic legislation to implement Brexit and had wanted to enshrine the leaving date of March 29, 2019, in British law, two years after serving its intention to withdraw.&nbsp;

But Conservative rebel MPs, who helped deliver the government a stinging Brexit defeat in parliament on Wednesday, looked set to reject the plan over fears that Britain could crash out of the EU without a deal if talks overrun, heaping further worries on the vulnerable prime minister.

A senior EU official told AFP on Saturday that sealing a final deal by March 2019 was a daunting task, pointing out that the EU trade deal with Canada &quot;is 1,598 pages of legal text, and we have negotiated for nine months and have 19 pages of non-legal text.&quot;

May is therefore under pressure from MPs to avoid a &quot;cliff-edge&quot; divorce that would throw the economy into chaos.&nbsp;But at the same time, she is being pressed by Brexit voters and eurosceptic potential usurpers in her own party to deliver Brexit in March 2019, as stipulated by the EU&#39;s Lisbon Treaty.

As a result, the rebels late Friday backed a new, more conciliatory, amendment to the Brexit bill to avert another House of Commons vote loss for the government.&nbsp;While the original plan to leave in March 2019 will stay in the bill, a new amendment will give ministers the power to delay the date if talks overrun.

&#39;Time to move on&#39;

Tory MP Oliver Letwin, who tabled the new amendment, told the Guardian it would &quot;create a sensible arrangement in which the date for leaving is set&quot; while allowing &quot;a little extra time&quot; to reach a new deal if needed.&nbsp;

Rebel MP Sarah Wollaston backed the compromise, tweeting it was &quot;good to see this amendment&quot;, and attached text saying &quot;we are pleased the government has responded to our concerns and will support&quot;, although May&#39;s office would not confirm that it had officially backed the plan.

Fellow rebel Anna Soubry tweeted it was &quot;time to move on and build a consensus on Brexit&quot;.&nbsp;The two teamed up on Wednesday to help pass an amendment demanding MPs get a &quot;meaningful vote&quot; on the deal before Britain leaves the EU in March 2019.

It was May&#39;s first defeat over the legislation, which will formally end Britain&#39;s membership of the EU, as well as smooth its exit by transferring thousands of pieces of European legislation onto the UK statute books.&nbsp;It came as a body blow to May on the eve of a summit in Brussels, where EU leaders approved the terms of the interim Brexit deal agreed last week after months of tortuous negotiations.

May lost her parliamentary majority during June&#39;s snap election and had to strike a deal with Northern Ireland&#39;s DUP to stay in power.&nbsp;She has since struggled to assert her authority, with rumours swirling of a leadership challenge, but appeared to be on the more solid ground after agreeing to the interim Brexit deal.

But her domestic weakness was laid bare on Wednesday when it took only 11 rebels to defeat the government&#39;s powers to enact a Brexit deal without a parliamentary vote.

Theresa May is under pressure from MPs to avoid a "cliff-edge" divorce that would throw the economy into chaos. But at the same time she is being pressed by Brexit voters to deliver Brexit in March 2019, as stipulated by the EU's Lisbon Treaty

British Prime Minister Theresa May was set to avoid a damaging parliamentary defeat after rebels in her party appeared to strike a compromise over the exact timing of Brexit. The government is trying to pass major domestic legislation to implement Brexit and had wanted to enshrine the leaving date of March 29, 2019, in British law, two years after serving its intention to withdraw. But Conservative rebel MPs, who helped deliver the government a stinging Brexit defeat in parliament on Wednesday, looked set to reject the plan over fears that Britain could crash out of the EU without a deal if talks overrun, heaping further worries on the vulnerable prime minister. A senior EU official told AFP on Saturday that sealing a final deal by March 2019 was a daunting task, pointing out that the EU trade deal with Canada "is 1,598 pages of legal text, and we have negotiated for nine months and have 19 pages of non-legal text." May is therefore under pressure from MPs to avoid a "cliff-edge" divorce that would throw the economy into chaos. But at the same time, she is being pressed by Brexit voters and eurosceptic potential usurpers in her own party to deliver Brexit in March 2019, as stipulated by the EU's Lisbon Treaty. As a result, the rebels late Friday backed a new, more conciliatory, amendment to the Brexit bill to avert another House of Commons vote loss for the government. While the original plan to leave in March 2019 will stay in the bill, a new amendment will give ministers the power to delay the date if talks overrun. 'Time to move on' Tory MP Oliver Letwin, who tabled the new amendment, told the Guardian it would "create a sensible arrangement in which the date for leaving is set" while allowing "a little extra time" to reach a new deal if needed. Rebel MP Sarah Wollaston backed the compromise, tweeting it was "good to see this amendment", and attached text saying "we are pleased the government has responded to our concerns and will support", although May's office would not confirm that it had officially backed the plan. Fellow rebel Anna Soubry tweeted it was "time to move on and build a consensus on Brexit". The two teamed up on Wednesday to help pass an amendment demanding MPs get a "meaningful vote" on the deal before Britain leaves the EU in March 2019. It was May's first defeat over the legislation, which will formally end Britain's membership of the EU, as well as smooth its exit by transferring thousands of pieces of European legislation onto the UK statute books. It came as a body blow to May on the eve of a summit in Brussels, where EU leaders approved the terms of the interim Brexit deal agreed last week after months of tortuous negotiations. May lost her parliamentary majority during June's snap election and had to strike a deal with Northern Ireland's DUP to stay in power. She has since struggled to assert her authority, with rumours swirling of a leadership challenge, but appeared to be on the more solid ground after agreeing to the interim Brexit deal. But her domestic weakness was laid bare on Wednesday when it took only 11 rebels to defeat the government's powers to enact a Brexit deal without a parliamentary vote.

Brexit rebel MPs compromise with UK govt over key bill

The EU has hardened its position on Brexit trade talks after &quot;unacceptable&quot; comments by a British minister that risk undermining negotiations, the European Parliament&#39;s point man Guy Verhofstadt said Tuesday.

Britain&#39;s David Davis has caused alarm by saying that a deal struck in Brussels last Friday to agree separation arrangements and open talks on future relations was a &quot;statement of intent&quot; rather than &quot;legally enforceable.&quot;

Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament&#39;s Brexit coordinator, said that following Davis&#39;s remarks made on Sunday, EU leaders meeting for a summit this week would now insist on the divorce terms being legally binding.

&quot;I have seen a hardening of the position of the council (EU leaders), and there will be a hardening position of the parliament,&quot; which will vote on a Brexit motion on Wednesday, Verhofstadt told reporters at the parliament in Strasbourg, France.

&quot;It&#39;s clear that the European Council will be more strict now in saying... we want that these commitments are translated into legal texts before we make progress in the second phase.&quot;

The European Parliament itself was now adding two amendments to a resolution it will vote on Wednesday, including one that unusually mentions Davis by name and says his comments &quot;risk to undermine the good faith that has been built during the negotiations.&quot;

On Sunday, Davis told the BBC Britain would not honour its &pound;35 billion-&pound;39 billion (40-45 billion euros, $47-52 billion) divorce bill as agreed under last week&#39;s deal if it fails to secure a future EU trade agreement when it leaves in March 2019.

But the EU has said that while the text of Friday&#39;s deal sealed by British Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker is for now a &quot;deal between gentlemen&quot;, it will become legally binding as part of Britain&#39;s withdrawal agreement.

Davis took a more diplomatic tone on Tuesday, saying it was a &quot;pleasure as ever to speak to my friend Guy Verhofstadt.&quot;

&quot;We both agreed on the importance of the Joint Report (the EU-UK deal) on Friday. Let&#39;s work together to get it converted into legal text as soon as possible,&quot; he said on Twitter.

Britain like &#39;gangster&#39;

But Philippe Lamberts, the Green group&#39;s representative in the European Parliament&#39;s Brexit steering group, said Britain&#39;s attitude now would hurt its bid to reach post-Brexit trade deals with other countries.

&quot;How can Britain be taken seriously globally if it behaves like a gangster in its international relationships?&quot; Lamberts said.

The EU negotiating guidelines that national leaders are set to adopt in Brussels on Friday will say phase two talks can only start once the divorce commitments are &quot;translated faithfully in legal terms,&quot; according to a draft seen by AFP.

The guidelines had been &quot;Mr Davis-proofed&quot;, a senior EU official said.

The EU has toughened a previous draft so that it now says talks on trade will not start until March, to give the British government time to provide &quot;further clarity&quot; on what it wants from the future relationship.

On Sunday, Davis told the BBC Britain would not honour its ?35 billion-?39 billion divorce bill as agreed under last week's deal

The EU has hardened its position on Brexit trade talks after "unacceptable" comments by a British minister that risk undermining negotiations, the European Parliament's point man Guy Verhofstadt said Tuesday. Britain's David Davis has caused alarm by saying that a deal struck in Brussels last Friday to agree separation arrangements and open talks on future relations was a "statement of intent" rather than "legally enforceable." Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's Brexit coordinator, said that following Davis's remarks made on Sunday, EU leaders meeting for a summit this week would now insist on the divorce terms being legally binding. "I have seen a hardening of the position of the council (EU leaders), and there will be a hardening position of the parliament," which will vote on a Brexit motion on Wednesday, Verhofstadt told reporters at the parliament in Strasbourg, France. "It's clear that the European Council will be more strict now in saying... we want that these commitments are translated into legal texts before we make progress in the second phase." The European Parliament itself was now adding two amendments to a resolution it will vote on Wednesday, including one that unusually mentions Davis by name and says his comments "risk to undermine the good faith that has been built during the negotiations." On Sunday, Davis told the BBC Britain would not honour its £35 billion-£39 billion (40-45 billion euros, $47-52 billion) divorce bill as agreed under last week's deal if it fails to secure a future EU trade agreement when it leaves in March 2019. But the EU has said that while the text of Friday's deal sealed by British Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker is for now a "deal between gentlemen", it will become legally binding as part of Britain's withdrawal agreement. Davis took a more diplomatic tone on Tuesday, saying it was a "pleasure as ever to speak to my friend Guy Verhofstadt." "We both agreed on the importance of the Joint Report (the EU-UK deal) on Friday. Let's work together to get it converted into legal text as soon as possible," he said on Twitter. Britain like 'gangster' But Philippe Lamberts, the Green group's representative in the European Parliament's Brexit steering group, said Britain's attitude now would hurt its bid to reach post-Brexit trade deals with other countries. "How can Britain be taken seriously globally if it behaves like a gangster in its international relationships?" Lamberts said. The EU negotiating guidelines that national leaders are set to adopt in Brussels on Friday will say phase two talks can only start once the divorce commitments are "translated faithfully in legal terms," according to a draft seen by AFP. The guidelines had been "Mr Davis-proofed", a senior EU official said. The EU has toughened a previous draft so that it now says talks on trade will not start until March, to give the British government time to provide "further clarity" on what it wants from the future relationship.

EU toughens Brexit stance after 'unacceptable' comments: Verhofstadt

EU President Donald Tusk warned that talks on a post-Brexit trade deal and transition period would be even more difficult than a hard-won agreement on divorce terms that was sealed on Friday.

&quot;Let us remember that the most difficult challenge is still ahead. We all know that breaking up is hard but breaking up and building a new relation is much harder,&quot; Tusk said.

Issuing guidelines for the talks ahead, Tusk said Britain will have to follow all EU laws, including new ones, during the two-year transition period London has requested to reassure businesses.

He said it must also respect budgetary commitments and judicial oversight during a transition in which the remaining 27 European Union member countries continue to meet and make decisions without Britain.

In a sign of the challenges ahead, the former Polish premier said: &quot;We need more clarity on how the UK sees our future relation after it has left the single market.&quot;&nbsp;

He warned that time was of the essence before Britain&#39;s scheduled withdrawal from the bloc on 29 March 2019.

&quot;So much time has been devoted to the easiest part of the task. Now to negotiate a transitional arrangement and the framework for our future relationship we have de facto less than a year,&quot; he said.

The first phase of negotiations began 29 June, about a year after Britain&#39;s shock vote to leave the bloc, and finally wrapped up when British Prime Minister Theresa May rushed to Brussels early Friday.&nbsp;

The European Commission, the EU executive, said it &quot;recommends sufficient progress&quot; had been made by Britain on separation issues including the Irish border, Britain&#39;s divorce bill, and citizens rights.

The agreement paves the way for EU leaders at a summit on December 14-15 to open the second phase of Brexit negotiations, covering trade talks and a transition period.

Britain voted in June 2016 to become the first state to leave the EU, after more than four decades of membership, but the talks have been slow moving and often acrimonious so far.

'So much time has been devoted to the easiest part of the task. Now to negotiate a transitional arrangement and the framework for our future relationship we have de facto less than a year,' Donald Tusk said

EU President Donald Tusk warned that talks on a post-Brexit trade deal and transition period would be even more difficult than a hard-won agreement on divorce terms that was sealed on Friday. "Let us remember that the most difficult challenge is still ahead. We all know that breaking up is hard but breaking up and building a new relation is much harder," Tusk said. Issuing guidelines for the talks ahead, Tusk said Britain will have to follow all EU laws, including new ones, during the two-year transition period London has requested to reassure businesses. He said it must also respect budgetary commitments and judicial oversight during a transition in which the remaining 27 European Union member countries continue to meet and make decisions without Britain. In a sign of the challenges ahead, the former Polish premier said: "We need more clarity on how the UK sees our future relation after it has left the single market." He warned that time was of the essence before Britain's scheduled withdrawal from the bloc on 29 March 2019. "So much time has been devoted to the easiest part of the task. Now to negotiate a transitional arrangement and the framework for our future relationship we have de facto less than a year," he said. The first phase of negotiations began 29 June, about a year after Britain's shock vote to leave the bloc, and finally wrapped up when British Prime Minister Theresa May rushed to Brussels early Friday. The European Commission, the EU executive, said it "recommends sufficient progress" had been made by Britain on separation issues including the Irish border, Britain's divorce bill, and citizens rights. The agreement paves the way for EU leaders at a summit on December 14-15 to open the second phase of Brexit negotiations, covering trade talks and a transition period. Britain voted in June 2016 to become the first state to leave the EU, after more than four decades of membership, but the talks have been slow moving and often acrimonious so far.

EU's Tusk says 'most difficult challenge' ahead in Brexit talks

The European Commission said on Friday enough progress had been made in Brexit negotiations with Britain to allow a second phase of talks on future relations to begin, ending an impasse over the status of the Irish border.

The Commission gave its verdict in a statement after intense talks, which resulted in British Prime Minister Theresa May taking an early-morning flight to Brussels to announce the deal alongside Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

The Commission&#39;s recommendation that sufficient progress has been made will now go to the European Union summit of leaders taking place next week.&nbsp;

&quot;Prime Minister May has assured me that it has the backing of the UK government. On that basis, I believe we have now made the breakthrough we need. Today&#39;s result is, of course, a compromise,&quot; Juncker told a hastily-arranged news conference.

May said she expected a formal agreement to be approved at the summit, which begins on December 14.

&quot;I also look forward to next week&#39;s European Council meeting, where I hope and expect we will be able to get the endorsement of the 27 (member countries) to what is a hard-won agreement in all our interests,&quot; May said.

The commission said it was ready to begin work immediately on phase two talks, which cover a transitional exit period, trade and long-term relations with the bloc.

Moving to talks about trade and a Brexit transition is crucial for the future of May&#39;s premiership, and to keep trade flowing between the world&#39;s biggest trading bloc and its sixth- largest national economy after Britain leaves on March 30, 2019.

May&#39;s key parliamentary ally in Northern Ireland gave a cautious endorsement of the new terms, four days after 11th-hour objections from Belfast scuppered May&#39;s attempt to sign off on an accord over the Irish border during a lunch in Brussels on Monday.

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said the border agreement meant there was no way Brexit could lead to a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland - what will become the only land frontier between Britain and the EU after Brexit.

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Will be on <a href="https://twitter.com/morningireland?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@morningireland</a> shortly to explain and outline detail of Irish assurances on Brexit deal - very good outcome for everyone on the island of Ireland - no Hard Border guaranteed!
&mdash; Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) <a href="https://twitter.com/simoncoveney/status/939026242304540672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
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&quot;Very good outcome for everyone on the island of Ireland - no Hard Border guaranteed!,&quot; Coveney said on Twitter.

In the text, Britain agreed that should London and Brussels fail to agree a final Brexit deal, the United Kingdom will maintain &quot;full alignment&quot; with those rules of the internal market and customs union that help to protect north-south cooperation in Ireland.&nbsp;

It said in the absence of a trade deal, no new barriers would develop between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom unless the devolved government in Northern Ireland agree that distinct arrangements are appropriate.&nbsp;

&quot;In all circumstances, the United Kingdom will continue to ensure the same unfettered access for Northern Ireland&#39;s businesses to the whole of the United Kingdom internal market,&quot; it said.

The commission said it was ready to begin work immediately on phase two talks, which cover a transitional exit period, trade and long-term relations with the bloc

The European Commission said on Friday enough progress had been made in Brexit negotiations with Britain to allow a second phase of talks on future relations to begin, ending an impasse over the status of the Irish border. The Commission gave its verdict in a statement after intense talks, which resulted in British Prime Minister Theresa May taking an early-morning flight to Brussels to announce the deal alongside Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. The Commission's recommendation that sufficient progress has been made will now go to the European Union summit of leaders taking place next week. "Prime Minister May has assured me that it has the backing of the UK government. On that basis, I believe we have now made the breakthrough we need. Today's result is, of course, a compromise," Juncker told a hastily-arranged news conference. May said she expected a formal agreement to be approved at the summit, which begins on December 14. "I also look forward to next week's European Council meeting, where I hope and expect we will be able to get the endorsement of the 27 (member countries) to what is a hard-won agreement in all our interests," May said. The commission said it was ready to begin work immediately on phase two talks, which cover a transitional exit period, trade and long-term relations with the bloc. Moving to talks about trade and a Brexit transition is crucial for the future of May's premiership, and to keep trade flowing between the world's biggest trading bloc and its sixth- largest national economy after Britain leaves on March 30, 2019. May's key parliamentary ally in Northern Ireland gave a cautious endorsement of the new terms, four days after 11th-hour objections from Belfast scuppered May's attempt to sign off on an accord over the Irish border during a lunch in Brussels on Monday. Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said the border agreement meant there was no way Brexit could lead to a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland - what will become the only land frontier between Britain and the EU after Brexit. Will be on @morningireland shortly to explain and outline detail of Irish assurances on Brexit deal - very good outcome for everyone on the island of Ireland - no Hard Border guaranteed! — Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) December 8, 2017 × "Very good outcome for everyone on the island of Ireland - no Hard Border guaranteed!," Coveney said on Twitter. In the text, Britain agreed that should London and Brussels fail to agree a final Brexit deal, the United Kingdom will maintain "full alignment" with those rules of the internal market and customs union that help to protect north-south cooperation in Ireland. It said in the absence of a trade deal, no new barriers would develop between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom unless the devolved government in Northern Ireland agree that distinct arrangements are appropriate. "In all circumstances, the United Kingdom will continue to ensure the same unfettered access for Northern Ireland's businesses to the whole of the United Kingdom internal market," it said.

Britain and EU clinch deal to move Brexit talks forward

Asian shares rallied for a second session on Friday as economic news from China and Japan beat all expectations while bitcoin, the market&#39;s new crypto-star, tumbled more than 10 percent after a meteoric ascent in recent weeks.

Sterling briefly rose after the head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said the EU and the UK have made a breakthrough in the negotiations on how to run their post-Brexit land border and that the two sides will move to the next step of negotiation.

Beijing reported exports surged 12.3 percent in November from a year earlier, more than double the forecast, while imports climbed almost 18 percent.

Iron ore and copper imports enjoyed a stellar rebound, which could help stem a recent pullback in commodity prices.

Japan&#39;s Nikkei led the way as the yen eased on the dollar, rising 1.1 percent on top of Thursday&#39;s 1.45 percent bounce to be almost back where it started the week.

Revised data showed Japan&#39;s economy grew twice as fast as first thought as business spending jumped.

European stock futures were up, with euro Stoxx 50 futures rising 0.6 percent in early trade.

Australian stocks put on 0.3 percent while MSCI&#39;s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.7 percent.

Bidders were encouraged by a steadier performance on Wall Street, where the Dow rose 0.29 percent. The S&amp;P 500 gained 0.29 percent and the Nasdaq 0.54 percent.

Still to come as US&nbsp;nonfarm payrolls, with investors looking for 200,000 new jobs in November and much talk wages might show some welcome strength.

Sterling which briefly rose as high as $1.3521 on the Brexit accord, two cents above its low of $1.3320 on Thursday, last traded at $1.3461, down 0.1 percent for the day.

It was one of only a few currencies to gain on the US&nbsp;dollar, which was otherwise broadly firmer.

The US&nbsp;currency cleared 113.00 yen to reach 113.34, while the euro touched a two-week low at $1.1763. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar held firm at 93.848.

Digital Darling

Bitcoin crested above $16,666 on the Bitstamp exchange having doubled in value in just two weeks.

But within a few hours, it dropped almost 15 percent from that level to as low as 14,239 in volatile trade, intensifying the debate about whether it is a bubble about to burst. It last stood at $15,641, down 6 percent on the day.

The largest US&nbsp;cryptocurrency exchange has been struggling to manage record traffic, with an imminent launch of the first bitcoin futures contract further fuelling investor interest.

Some, however, warned the coming of futures might prove to be the downfall of the digital darling.

&quot;Dragging bitcoin into the futures market poses a risk of big players opening doors to short-selling hell,&quot; said Naeem Aslam, the chief market analyst at Think Markets UK.

&quot;Futures markets make it possible to short in decent size with a lot of liquidity, thus affecting the price discovery in the underlying asset market.&quot;

The spectacular rise of the cryptocurrency has stolen some thunder from gold bulls, providing an asset that is also seen as a hedge against inflation and government interference.

Gold steadied at $1,258.10, having finally breached its recent tight trading range to hit a four-month trough at $1,245.60.

&quot;Demand for gold relative to supply has had centuries to reach an equilibrium,&quot; noted Alan Ruskin, a macro strategist at Deutsche Bank. &quot;Bitcoin global demand is still finding its place relative to constrained/inelastic supply.&quot;

Oil prices had gone the other way as a threatened strike by oil workers in Nigeria forced a bout of short covering.

Brent futures were barely changed at $62.19 a barrel, having climbed 98 cents overnight. US&nbsp;crude was off 4 cents at $56.65. [O/R]

Asian shares rallied for a second session on Friday as economic news from China and Japan beat all expectations while bitcoin, the market's new crypto-star, tumbled more than 10 percent after a meteoric ascent in recent weeks

Asian shares rallied for a second session on Friday as economic news from China and Japan beat all expectations while bitcoin, the market's new crypto-star, tumbled more than 10 percent after a meteoric ascent in recent weeks. Sterling briefly rose after the head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said the EU and the UK have made a breakthrough in the negotiations on how to run their post-Brexit land border and that the two sides will move to the next step of negotiation. Beijing reported exports surged 12.3 percent in November from a year earlier, more than double the forecast, while imports climbed almost 18 percent. Iron ore and copper imports enjoyed a stellar rebound, which could help stem a recent pullback in commodity prices. Japan's Nikkei led the way as the yen eased on the dollar, rising 1.1 percent on top of Thursday's 1.45 percent bounce to be almost back where it started the week. Revised data showed Japan's economy grew twice as fast as first thought as business spending jumped. European stock futures were up, with euro Stoxx 50 futures rising 0.6 percent in early trade. Australian stocks put on 0.3 percent while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.7 percent. Bidders were encouraged by a steadier performance on Wall Street, where the Dow rose 0.29 percent. The S&P 500 gained 0.29 percent and the Nasdaq 0.54 percent. Still to come as US nonfarm payrolls, with investors looking for 200,000 new jobs in November and much talk wages might show some welcome strength. Sterling which briefly rose as high as $1.3521 on the Brexit accord, two cents above its low of $1.3320 on Thursday, last traded at $1.3461, down 0.1 percent for the day. It was one of only a few currencies to gain on the US dollar, which was otherwise broadly firmer. The US currency cleared 113.00 yen to reach 113.34, while the euro touched a two-week low at $1.1763. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar held firm at 93.848. Digital Darling Bitcoin crested above $16,666 on the Bitstamp exchange having doubled in value in just two weeks. But within a few hours, it dropped almost 15 percent from that level to as low as 14,239 in volatile trade, intensifying the debate about whether it is a bubble about to burst. It last stood at $15,641, down 6 percent on the day. The largest US cryptocurrency exchange has been struggling to manage record traffic, with an imminent launch of the first bitcoin futures contract further fuelling investor interest. Some, however, warned the coming of futures might prove to be the downfall of the digital darling. "Dragging bitcoin into the futures market poses a risk of big players opening doors to short-selling hell," said Naeem Aslam, the chief market analyst at Think Markets UK. "Futures markets make it possible to short in decent size with a lot of liquidity, thus affecting the price discovery in the underlying asset market." The spectacular rise of the cryptocurrency has stolen some thunder from gold bulls, providing an asset that is also seen as a hedge against inflation and government interference. Gold steadied at $1,258.10, having finally breached its recent tight trading range to hit a four-month trough at $1,245.60. "Demand for gold relative to supply has had centuries to reach an equilibrium," noted Alan Ruskin, a macro strategist at Deutsche Bank. "Bitcoin global demand is still finding its place relative to constrained/inelastic supply." Oil prices had gone the other way as a threatened strike by oil workers in Nigeria forced a bout of short covering. Brent futures were barely changed at $62.19 a barrel, having climbed 98 cents overnight. US crude was off 4 cents at $56.65. [O/R]

Asia cheers China trade boost, bitcoin comes off heady heights

Prime Minister Theresa May&#39;s spokesperson said today Britain will pay a financial settlement between $47-52 billion for leaving the European Union as Britain reached an agreement with EU officials over Brexit.

British officials today struck a deal at Brussels with the European Commission declaring that enough progress had been made in Brexit negotiations to allow a second phase of talks on future relations with the United Kingdom to begin.

European Union President Donald Tusk cautioned that in fact &quot;the most difficult challenge is still ahead because it is much harder to break up and build a new relationship than just to divorce.&quot;

&quot;We have de facto less than a year,&quot; Tusk added.

Britain will be paying into the EU budget until 2020 as part of the deal, AFP reported.

However, former leader of the UK Independence Party lashed out May saying: &quot;It&#39;s not Brexit, a deal in Brussels is good news for Mrs May as we can now move on to the next stage of humiliation.&quot;

The pro-EU Liberal Democrats, who have called for a second referendum on membership in the bloc, said: &quot;How long before it&#39;s torn apart by her own MPs?

&quot;It should be the British people, not Tory Brexiters and DUP, who get to decide whether this deal is good enough.&quot;

Campaign group Leave.EU said &quot;our lily-livered politicians have sold the country down the river&quot;, adding the agreement was,&quot;complete capitulation&quot;.

Shares across the continent surged on the news, Britain&#39;s FTSE 100 Index was higher through the day despite an early rally for the British currency. At one stage sterling gained half a percent to hit a six-month high of 86.9 pence against the euro but fell later.

European banking shares were biggest gainers, pan-European share index rose 0.8 per cent.

The EU wants the final version of the full withdrawal agreement from the 28-nation bloc by October 2018 to allow time for the British government and the European Parliament to approve the document.

The formal withdrawal date is set for March 29, 2019.

European banking shares were biggest gainers, pan-European share index rose 0.8 per cent.

Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesperson said today Britain will pay a financial settlement between $47-52 billion for leaving the European Union as Britain reached an agreement with EU officials over Brexit. British officials today struck a deal at Brussels with the European Commission declaring that enough progress had been made in Brexit negotiations to allow a second phase of talks on future relations with the United Kingdom to begin. European Union President Donald Tusk cautioned that in fact "the most difficult challenge is still ahead because it is much harder to break up and build a new relationship than just to divorce." "We have de facto less than a year," Tusk added. Britain will be paying into the EU budget until 2020 as part of the deal, AFP reported. However, former leader of the UK Independence Party lashed out May saying: "It's not Brexit, a deal in Brussels is good news for Mrs May as we can now move on to the next stage of humiliation." The pro-EU Liberal Democrats, who have called for a second referendum on membership in the bloc, said: "How long before it's torn apart by her own MPs? "It should be the British people, not Tory Brexiters and DUP, who get to decide whether this deal is good enough." Campaign group Leave.EU said "our lily-livered politicians have sold the country down the river", adding the agreement was,"complete capitulation". Shares across the continent surged on the news, Britain's FTSE 100 Index was higher through the day despite an early rally for the British currency. At one stage sterling gained half a percent to hit a six-month high of 86.9 pence against the euro but fell later. European banking shares were biggest gainers, pan-European share index rose 0.8 per cent. The EU wants the final version of the full withdrawal agreement from the 28-nation bloc by October 2018 to allow time for the British government and the European Parliament to approve the document. The formal withdrawal date is set for March 29, 2019.

Will pay $47-52 billion in Brexit divorce deal: Britain

The United Kingdom and Ireland could reach agreement in hours on how to run their post-Brexit Irish land border, paving the way for a deal that would remove the last obstacle to opening free trade talks with the European Union.

A carefully choreographed attempt to showcase the progress of Brexit talks collapsed at the last minute on December 4 when the Northern Irish party which props up Prime Minister Theresa May&#39;s government vetoed a draft deal already agreed with Ireland.

Since then, May has been scrambling to clinch a deal on the new UK-EU land border in Ireland that is acceptable to the European Union, Dublin, her own lawmakers and Northern Ireland&#39;s Democratic Unionist Party, which keeps her government in power.

May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker could meet early on Friday to seal a border deal, the European Commission&#39;s chief spokesman said.

&quot;We are making progress but not yet fully there,&quot; Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said. &quot;Talks are continuing throughout the night. Early morning meeting possible.&quot;

A spokesman for PM May said Brexit discussions were ongoing while a senior Irish official that talks were moving swiftly and that a deal was possible in hours.

&quot;It is moving quite quickly at the moment,&quot; the Irish official told a British Irish Chamber of Commerce event in Brussels. &quot;I think we are going to work over the next couple of hours with the UK government to close this off. I say hours because I think we are very close.&quot;

Moving to talks about trade and a Brexit transition is crucial for the future of May&#39;s premiership, and to keep trade flowing between the world&rsquo;s biggest trading bloc and it&#39;s sixth largest national economy after Britain leaves on March 29, 2019.

But the EU will only move to trade talks if there is enough progress on three key issues: the money Britain must pay to the EU; rights for EU citizens in Britain and British citizens in the EU; and how to avoid a hard border with Ireland.

Brexit deal?

As speculation swirled about whether London, Dublin and Brussels were about to clinch a border deal, European Council President Donald Tusk&#39;s office said he would brief reporters at 0650 GMT on Friday before departing for Hungary.

The EU says May has an effective deadline of Sunday night if she wants to seal a deal and hope to have agreement on trade talks in time for the EU summit on Dec. 14-15.

All sides say they want to avoid a return to a hard border between EU member Ireland and the British-ruled province of Northern Ireland, which might upset the peace established after decades of violence.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) insists that Northern Ireland, as part of the United Kingdom, must leave the EU in the same way as the rest of the United Kingdom.

To clinch a deal, though, May must ensure she has the support of the DUP, whose leader told her bluntly on Monday that it would not support her minority government&#39;s legislation unless the Irish border draft deal was changed.

She must also convince her divided Conservative Party that the deal she makes is acceptable.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, a leader of the Brexit campaign, insisted the whole of the United Kingdom must &quot;take back control&quot; when it left the EU.

&quot;Whatever way we devise for getting onto the body of the (Brexit) talks, it&#39;s got to be consistent with the whole of the United Kingdom taking back control of our laws, of our borders and of our cash,&quot; Johnson told reporters.

The United Kingdom and Ireland could reach agreement in hours on how to run their post-Brexit Irish land border, paving the way for a deal that would remove the last obstacle to opening free trade talks with the European Union

The United Kingdom and Ireland could reach agreement in hours on how to run their post-Brexit Irish land border, paving the way for a deal that would remove the last obstacle to opening free trade talks with the European Union. A carefully choreographed attempt to showcase the progress of Brexit talks collapsed at the last minute on December 4 when the Northern Irish party which props up Prime Minister Theresa May's government vetoed a draft deal already agreed with Ireland. Since then, May has been scrambling to clinch a deal on the new UK-EU land border in Ireland that is acceptable to the European Union, Dublin, her own lawmakers and Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, which keeps her government in power. May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker could meet early on Friday to seal a border deal, the European Commission's chief spokesman said. "We are making progress but not yet fully there," Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said. "Talks are continuing throughout the night. Early morning meeting possible." A spokesman for PM May said Brexit discussions were ongoing while a senior Irish official that talks were moving swiftly and that a deal was possible in hours. "It is moving quite quickly at the moment," the Irish official told a British Irish Chamber of Commerce event in Brussels. "I think we are going to work over the next couple of hours with the UK government to close this off. I say hours because I think we are very close." Moving to talks about trade and a Brexit transition is crucial for the future of May's premiership, and to keep trade flowing between the world’s biggest trading bloc and it's sixth largest national economy after Britain leaves on March 29, 2019. But the EU will only move to trade talks if there is enough progress on three key issues: the money Britain must pay to the EU; rights for EU citizens in Britain and British citizens in the EU; and how to avoid a hard border with Ireland. Brexit deal? As speculation swirled about whether London, Dublin and Brussels were about to clinch a border deal, European Council President Donald Tusk's office said he would brief reporters at 0650 GMT on Friday before departing for Hungary. The EU says May has an effective deadline of Sunday night if she wants to seal a deal and hope to have agreement on trade talks in time for the EU summit on Dec. 14-15. All sides say they want to avoid a return to a hard border between EU member Ireland and the British-ruled province of Northern Ireland, which might upset the peace established after decades of violence. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) insists that Northern Ireland, as part of the United Kingdom, must leave the EU in the same way as the rest of the United Kingdom. To clinch a deal, though, May must ensure she has the support of the DUP, whose leader told her bluntly on Monday that it would not support her minority government's legislation unless the Irish border draft deal was changed. She must also convince her divided Conservative Party that the deal she makes is acceptable. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, a leader of the Brexit campaign, insisted the whole of the United Kingdom must "take back control" when it left the EU. "Whatever way we devise for getting onto the body of the (Brexit) talks, it's got to be consistent with the whole of the United Kingdom taking back control of our laws, of our borders and of our cash," Johnson told reporters.

Brexit border deal possible in 'hours' as talks go down to the wire

Big companies are stepping up their plans in case Britain crashes out of the European Union without a deal as Prime Minister Theresa May struggles to get talks back on track after a major setback.&nbsp;

Britain is aiming to agree with the EU on December 14 to move the Brexit talks on to the second phase. This would focus on trade and a two-year transition deal to smooth the departure after March 2019. But the timetable has been thrown into doubt after discussions broke down in Brussels on Monday.&nbsp;

Senior executives in the financial services sector, which accounts for about 12 percent of the economy, told Reuters May&#39;s efforts to secure a transition deal had come too late and they had no choice but to start restructuring.&nbsp;Big supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury&#39;s have been working with suppliers to identify potential delays, shortages or price rises. They have lined up alternative providers, according to suppliers and sources in the industry.

The uncertainty is particularly painful for the manufacturing sector as low margins make it risky for them to restructure unless it is essential. They have been holding off on investment but are preparing for new certification that would allow them to sell in Europe if there is no deal.&nbsp;&quot;The delay is so great and the uncertainty is so great that companies have no choice but to start triggering their plans,&quot; the head of one of Britain`s largest companies said.

Britain and the EU are working to get talks back on track this week but the chairman of one large international bank said its executives had decided to plan for the worst at a conference call on Tuesday.&nbsp;&quot;The question is no longer whether we are moving (operations to the EU), it is a question of how big those moves are going to be&quot; he said.&nbsp;Like other executives, he had been asked by his board and the government not to divulge their&nbsp;thinking.&nbsp;

The chairman said the bank has started discussions with customers about rerouting client activity to European hubs, including rewriting thousands of contracts.&nbsp;Senior employees were told last month if they had to relocate to Europe, he said.&nbsp;

Another senior executive at a large U.S. bank said that he was increasingly concerned that May&#39;s government could collapse after the Brussels talks broke down over a dispute over the Irish border, adding to the uncertainty. &quot;We are at the maximum point of danger,&quot; he said.

The financial sector needs extra time to make sure its clients are prepared. For instance, a British bank opening a subsidiary in Europe may need its clients to adopt a new sort code throughout their own supply chains.&nbsp;In other sectors, companies are making smaller changes that would enable them to operate in Europe after Brexit, from preparing compliance changes to drawing up shadow supply chains and looking for additional warehouse space.&nbsp;

Fruit and beef&nbsp;

Food retailers are lining up alternative suppliers in Britain or outside the EU in case of delays at borders or new tariffs disrupt deliveries. Around 30 percent of Britain`s food and drink comes from the EU.&nbsp;Some changes would need to be made early next year in time for the 2019 departure. Changing a fresh fruit supplier could require a lead time of a year, depending on the growing cycle.&nbsp;

Ali Capper, a partner in Stocks Farm in Worcestershire, central England, and a chair of the Horticulture and Potatoes Board at the National Farmers Union, said there were signs retail customers were requesting more British produce.&nbsp;Ireland provides almost 70 percent of UK beef imports, or 270,000 tonnes a year. Were tariffs or border delays to make Irish beef less competitive, supermarkets could look further afield, for instance to Argentina.&nbsp;

Manufacturing pressure

Many manufacturers are unwilling to sign off on new plans until they know how Britain will trade in the future.&nbsp;The drugs sector has been among the first to move so they can comply with EU regulations. GSK and AstraZeneca have already set up new facilities in mainland Europe to test batches of drugs made in Britain.&nbsp;Autos and aerospace firms are focusing on certification. According to the aerospace and defense trade body, ADS, some companies are considering applying to the European Aviation Safety Agency for a status that would enable them to sell in the EU if Britain was no longer a member state.&nbsp;

Japanese carmaker Honda, which builds around 8 percent of British cars at its plant in Swindon, is considering increasing its warehouse capacity in Britain and stock levels to counter any new border delays.&nbsp;Manufacturers reluctance to sign off on big plans has had a knock-on effect on companies in the supply chain.&nbsp;

&quot;The biggest impact we see is a general unwillingness to make investment and capacity decisions as result of the continued uncertainty,&quot; said Stephen Cheetham, owner of PK Engineering Ltd of Hereford, a supplier of components to the aerospace and scientific industries.&nbsp;&quot;We would expect continued paralysis and short-termism until a trade deal is finalized,&quot; he told Reuters.&nbsp;

Having a transition deal will allow businesses to survive the two years after Brexit by allowing them to defer any big decisions until the final parameters of Brexit are worked out, said Andrew Bonfield, finance director of National Grid and chairman of the 100 Group of finance chiefs.&nbsp;&quot;It&#39;s about the avoidance of a cliff edge,&quot; he said.

Banks, food retailers, drug manufacturers, and car makers are preparing for disorderly Brexit.

Big companies are stepping up their plans in case Britain crashes out of the European Union without a deal as Prime Minister Theresa May struggles to get talks back on track after a major setback. Britain is aiming to agree with the EU on December 14 to move the Brexit talks on to the second phase. This would focus on trade and a two-year transition deal to smooth the departure after March 2019. But the timetable has been thrown into doubt after discussions broke down in Brussels on Monday. Senior executives in the financial services sector, which accounts for about 12 percent of the economy, told Reuters May's efforts to secure a transition deal had come too late and they had no choice but to start restructuring. Big supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury's have been working with suppliers to identify potential delays, shortages or price rises. They have lined up alternative providers, according to suppliers and sources in the industry. The uncertainty is particularly painful for the manufacturing sector as low margins make it risky for them to restructure unless it is essential. They have been holding off on investment but are preparing for new certification that would allow them to sell in Europe if there is no deal. "The delay is so great and the uncertainty is so great that companies have no choice but to start triggering their plans," the head of one of Britain`s largest companies said. Britain and the EU are working to get talks back on track this week but the chairman of one large international bank said its executives had decided to plan for the worst at a conference call on Tuesday. "The question is no longer whether we are moving (operations to the EU), it is a question of how big those moves are going to be" he said. Like other executives, he had been asked by his board and the government not to divulge their thinking. The chairman said the bank has started discussions with customers about rerouting client activity to European hubs, including rewriting thousands of contracts. Senior employees were told last month if they had to relocate to Europe, he said. Another senior executive at a large U.S. bank said that he was increasingly concerned that May's government could collapse after the Brussels talks broke down over a dispute over the Irish border, adding to the uncertainty. "We are at the maximum point of danger," he said. The financial sector needs extra time to make sure its clients are prepared. For instance, a British bank opening a subsidiary in Europe may need its clients to adopt a new sort code throughout their own supply chains. In other sectors, companies are making smaller changes that would enable them to operate in Europe after Brexit, from preparing compliance changes to drawing up shadow supply chains and looking for additional warehouse space. Fruit and beef Food retailers are lining up alternative suppliers in Britain or outside the EU in case of delays at borders or new tariffs disrupt deliveries. Around 30 percent of Britain`s food and drink comes from the EU. Some changes would need to be made early next year in time for the 2019 departure. Changing a fresh fruit supplier could require a lead time of a year, depending on the growing cycle. Ali Capper, a partner in Stocks Farm in Worcestershire, central England, and a chair of the Horticulture and Potatoes Board at the National Farmers Union, said there were signs retail customers were requesting more British produce. Ireland provides almost 70 percent of UK beef imports, or 270,000 tonnes a year. Were tariffs or border delays to make Irish beef less competitive, supermarkets could look further afield, for instance to Argentina. Manufacturing pressure Many manufacturers are unwilling to sign off on new plans until they know how Britain will trade in the future. The drugs sector has been among the first to move so they can comply with EU regulations. GSK and AstraZeneca have already set up new facilities in mainland Europe to test batches of drugs made in Britain. Autos and aerospace firms are focusing on certification. According to the aerospace and defense trade body, ADS, some companies are considering applying to the European Aviation Safety Agency for a status that would enable them to sell in the EU if Britain was no longer a member state. Japanese carmaker Honda, which builds around 8 percent of British cars at its plant in Swindon, is considering increasing its warehouse capacity in Britain and stock levels to counter any new border delays. Manufacturers reluctance to sign off on big plans has had a knock-on effect on companies in the supply chain. "The biggest impact we see is a general unwillingness to make investment and capacity decisions as result of the continued uncertainty," said Stephen Cheetham, owner of PK Engineering Ltd of Hereford, a supplier of components to the aerospace and scientific industries. "We would expect continued paralysis and short-termism until a trade deal is finalized," he told Reuters. Having a transition deal will allow businesses to survive the two years after Brexit by allowing them to defer any big decisions until the final parameters of Brexit are worked out, said Andrew Bonfield, finance director of National Grid and chairman of the 100 Group of finance chiefs. "It's about the avoidance of a cliff edge," he said.

Companies prepare for disorderly Brexit as talks stall

EU President Donald Tusk said Monday that a deal to unblock stalled divorce talks between the European Union and Britain was closer than ever after a breakthrough on the thorny topic of Ireland.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Tell me why I like Mondays! Encouraged after my phone call with Taoiseach <a href="https://twitter.com/campaignforleo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@campaignforleo</a> on progress on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Brexit?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Brexit</a> issue of Ireland. Getting closer to sufficient progress at December <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EUCO?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EUCO</a>.
&mdash; Donald Tusk (@eucopresident) <a href="https://twitter.com/eucopresident/status/937663925482590208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2017</a></blockquote>
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&quot;Tell me why I like Mondays!&quot; Tusk, a former Polish president, said on his Twitter account, in an apparent reference to the 1979 hit &quot;I don`t like Mondays&quot;, sung by the Boomtown Rats, fronted by Bob Geldof.

&quot;Encouraged after my phone call with Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on progress on Brexit issue of Ireland. Getting closer to sufficient progress at December (EU summit),&quot; Tusk said.

Varadkar later retweeted Tusk&#39;s message on his own Twitter account. He was due to give a statement later Monday.

The EU had set Monday as the last deadline for Britain to make sufficient progress on three key Brexit divorce issues - Northern Ireland, its exit bill and the rights of EU citizens living in Britain - in order to move on to trade talks at a summit on December 14.

Tusk sent his tweet just hours before sitting down for talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May, which follows a lunch between May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

EU President Donald Tusk said on Monday that a deal to unblock stalled divorce talks between the European Union and Britain was closer than ever after a breakthrough on the thorny topic of Ireland

EU President Donald Tusk said Monday that a deal to unblock stalled divorce talks between the European Union and Britain was closer than ever after a breakthrough on the thorny topic of Ireland. Tell me why I like Mondays! Encouraged after my phone call with Taoiseach @campaignforleo on progress on #Brexit issue of Ireland. Getting closer to sufficient progress at December #EUCO. — Donald Tusk (@eucopresident) December 4, 2017 × "Tell me why I like Mondays!" Tusk, a former Polish president, said on his Twitter account, in an apparent reference to the 1979 hit "I don`t like Mondays", sung by the Boomtown Rats, fronted by Bob Geldof. "Encouraged after my phone call with Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on progress on Brexit issue of Ireland. Getting closer to sufficient progress at December (EU summit)," Tusk said. Varadkar later retweeted Tusk's message on his own Twitter account. He was due to give a statement later Monday. The EU had set Monday as the last deadline for Britain to make sufficient progress on three key Brexit divorce issues - Northern Ireland, its exit bill and the rights of EU citizens living in Britain - in order to move on to trade talks at a summit on December 14. Tusk sent his tweet just hours before sitting down for talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May, which follows a lunch between May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

'Getting closer' to Brexit divorce deal: EU's Tusk

London mayor Sadiq Khan will be arriving in Mumbai tomorrow as part of his first official tour to three Indian cities to promote the British capital&#39;s resilience and strengths post-Brexit.

Apart from Mumbai, Khan would be visiting Delhi and Amritsar and then fly to Lahore, Islamabad, and Karachi in Pakistan on his six-day tour to six cities.

As part of the Indian leg of the trade mission aimed at promoting new business links between India and London, the London mayor has a series of meetings planned with senior politicians, business leaders, regional leaders as well as Bollywood personalities.

His central message will be that the British capital remains open to Indian talent post-Brexit.

&quot;Following last year&#39;s EU referendum, it is far more important to get the message of London is open out far and wide and I will be taking that message to India and Pakistan,&quot; he said on the eve of his visit.

Khan would be taking the Jet Airways&#39; recently launched third direct London-Mumbai flight.

&quot;Jet Airways is doing their bit to ensure that the London-India relationship really takes off. The new flight comes as a major boost for the relationship between our two countries and an opportunity to not only deepen and expand our economic ties but to forge even closer social and cultural ties too,&quot; he said.

Mumbai-headquartered Jet Airways recently added a third direct flight between London and Mumbai, taking the total number of direct flights between London and India to four ? with two existing direct routes to Mumbai and one to Delhi.

Jet Airways&#39;s CEO, Vinay Dube, said it reflects the confidence the company has in the robustness of the UK market.

&quot;Whenever people in India think about travelling abroad, the very first city that comes to mind is London. At Jet Airways, we try and follow our customers, and want to play our part in bringing India and the UK closer together,&quot; he said.

&quot;The UK is very important to us. The mayor is going on a trade mission and there is a wide spectrum of travellers on this circuit who are flying Jet. Every aspect is growing,&quot; he said.

The mayor of London?will be accompanied by his Deputy Mayor for Business, Rajesh Agrawal. Their packed itinerary in India will include discussions on business and investment, infrastructure and the environment as well as visas and other opportunities to work together more closely.

London mayor Sadiq Khan will be arriving in Mumbai tomorrow as part of his first official tour to three Indian cities to promote the British capital's resilience and strengths post-Brexit

London mayor Sadiq Khan will be arriving in Mumbai tomorrow as part of his first official tour to three Indian cities to promote the British capital's resilience and strengths post-Brexit. Apart from Mumbai, Khan would be visiting Delhi and Amritsar and then fly to Lahore, Islamabad, and Karachi in Pakistan on his six-day tour to six cities. As part of the Indian leg of the trade mission aimed at promoting new business links between India and London, the London mayor has a series of meetings planned with senior politicians, business leaders, regional leaders as well as Bollywood personalities. His central message will be that the British capital remains open to Indian talent post-Brexit. "Following last year's EU referendum, it is far more important to get the message of London is open out far and wide and I will be taking that message to India and Pakistan," he said on the eve of his visit. Khan would be taking the Jet Airways' recently launched third direct London-Mumbai flight. "Jet Airways is doing their bit to ensure that the London-India relationship really takes off. The new flight comes as a major boost for the relationship between our two countries and an opportunity to not only deepen and expand our economic ties but to forge even closer social and cultural ties too," he said. Mumbai-headquartered Jet Airways recently added a third direct flight between London and Mumbai, taking the total number of direct flights between London and India to four ? with two existing direct routes to Mumbai and one to Delhi. Jet Airways's CEO, Vinay Dube, said it reflects the confidence the company has in the robustness of the UK market. "Whenever people in India think about travelling abroad, the very first city that comes to mind is London. At Jet Airways, we try and follow our customers, and want to play our part in bringing India and the UK closer together," he said. "The UK is very important to us. The mayor is going on a trade mission and there is a wide spectrum of travellers on this circuit who are flying Jet. Every aspect is growing," he said. The mayor of London?will be accompanied by his Deputy Mayor for Business, Rajesh Agrawal. Their packed itinerary in India will include discussions on business and investment, infrastructure and the environment as well as visas and other opportunities to work together more closely.

London mayor Sadiq Khan to visit Mumbai tomorrow

Ireland&#39;s deputy prime minister agreed to resign on Tuesday, broadcaster RTE reported, a move that should end the likelihood of a new election that would have a potentially negative impact on Britain&#39;s Brexit negotiations.

It leaves her governing party and its relations with the opposition propping it up seriously damaged, however.

Citing two senior government figures, RTE radio reported that Frances Fitzgerald had agreed to resign. A spokeswoman for the government media office said they had no information as the cabinet meeting was ongoing.

The decision to resign should end the likelihood of a new election that would have a potentially negative impact on Britain's Brexit negotiations

Ireland's deputy prime minister agreed to resign on Tuesday, broadcaster RTE reported, a move that should end the likelihood of a new election that would have a potentially negative impact on Britain's Brexit negotiations. It leaves her governing party and its relations with the opposition propping it up seriously damaged, however. Citing two senior government figures, RTE radio reported that Frances Fitzgerald had agreed to resign. A spokeswoman for the government media office said they had no information as the cabinet meeting was ongoing.

Irish deputy PM to resign over political crisis

Ireland&#39;s scandal-hit&nbsp;deputy&nbsp;prime minister resigned on Tuesday, averting a government collapse and potential snap election that had threatened to complicate Brexit talks next month between Britain and the European Union.

Opposition parties had demanded Frances Fitzgerald step down after the release of fresh documents about her disputed handling of a police whistleblower who alleged corruption in the force.

Fianna Fail, the main opposition party, which props up Fine Gael Prime Minister Leo Varadkar&#39;s minority government, said her resignation meant a December election would be avoided. It had warned it might force a snap poll if Fitzgerald refused to quit.

&quot;Today I made the decision to tender my resignation to the Taoiseach (prime minister), stepping down with immediate effect,&quot; Fitzgerald said in a statement.

&quot;I have decided on this occasion to put the national interest ahead of my own personal reputation. I believe it is necessary to take this decision to avoid an unwelcome and potentially destabilising general election at this historically critical time.&quot;

Ireland&#39;s political crisis exploded in the run-up to a key Brexit summit next month at which Varadkar is set to play a major role. He must tell fellow EU leaders whether he believes sufficient progress has been made on the future of the border between Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland.

The border -- the only land frontier between Britain and the EU -- is one of three issues Brussels wants broadly resolved before it decides whether to move talks on Britain&#39;s divorce from the EU onto a second phase about trade, as Britain wants.

While Varadkar has likely avoided the prospect of having to travel to Brussels in a caretaker capacity, his handling of the crisis has badly damaged him, his governing Fine Gael party and relations with its Fianna Fail opponents.

&quot;Lost the Dressing Room&quot;

While Fitzgerald&#39;s ministerial colleagues continued to back her in public ahead of the cabinet meeting at which she stood down, Tuesday&#39;s newspaper front pages were full of quotes from unnamed Fine Gael lawmakers and ministers saying she had to go.

Some Fine Gael members who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said they were furious with Varadkar and Fitzgerald&#39;s handling of the crisis, having been forced to spend four days strongly defending the&nbsp;deputy&nbsp;prime minister since it broke.

Members of the opposition Labour and Sinn Fein parties and political analysts said as Fitzgerald resigned that an election was still likely to follow in the next three or four months.

&quot;Whatever happens today, the timeline of this administration is very much foreshortened by the events of the last two weeks,&quot; Labour leader Brendan Howlin told national broadcaster RTE.

&quot;I think right now he (Varadkar) has probably lost the dressing room, you can see that in today&#39;s newspapers, and he&#39;s done some damage to himself and the stability of the government too,&quot; added Howlin, a former cabinet colleague of Varadkar.

The crisis was the first major test of the 38-year-old prime minister who succeeded Enda Kenny in June. With a reputation as a straight-talker, he has been likened to French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by colleagues excited at the prospect of a generational shift.

While an opinion poll on Saturday gave Fine Gael a one-point lead over Fianna Fail, bookmaker Paddy Power said on Tuesday that it made Fianna Fail slight favourites to win the most seats at the next election.

The two centre-right parties are fierce rivals but disagree little on policy. A three-year confidence and supply agreement between them is due to run until this time next year.

&quot;I think there is damage (but) nobody is enhanced by this debacle. I don&#39;t think either party comes out of it particularly well,&quot; said Theresa Reidy, a politics lecturer at University College Cork, referring to Fine Gael and Fianna Fail.

&quot;But Fine Gael are in government so they are more damaged by it.&quot;

Ireland's scandal-hit?deputy?prime minister resigned on Tuesday, averting a government collapse and potential snap election that had threatened to complicate Brexit talks next month between Britain and the European Union

Ireland's scandal-hit deputy prime minister resigned on Tuesday, averting a government collapse and potential snap election that had threatened to complicate Brexit talks next month between Britain and the European Union. Opposition parties had demanded Frances Fitzgerald step down after the release of fresh documents about her disputed handling of a police whistleblower who alleged corruption in the force. Fianna Fail, the main opposition party, which props up Fine Gael Prime Minister Leo Varadkar's minority government, said her resignation meant a December election would be avoided. It had warned it might force a snap poll if Fitzgerald refused to quit. "Today I made the decision to tender my resignation to the Taoiseach (prime minister), stepping down with immediate effect," Fitzgerald said in a statement. "I have decided on this occasion to put the national interest ahead of my own personal reputation. I believe it is necessary to take this decision to avoid an unwelcome and potentially destabilising general election at this historically critical time." Ireland's political crisis exploded in the run-up to a key Brexit summit next month at which Varadkar is set to play a major role. He must tell fellow EU leaders whether he believes sufficient progress has been made on the future of the border between Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland. The border -- the only land frontier between Britain and the EU -- is one of three issues Brussels wants broadly resolved before it decides whether to move talks on Britain's divorce from the EU onto a second phase about trade, as Britain wants. While Varadkar has likely avoided the prospect of having to travel to Brussels in a caretaker capacity, his handling of the crisis has badly damaged him, his governing Fine Gael party and relations with its Fianna Fail opponents. "Lost the Dressing Room" While Fitzgerald's ministerial colleagues continued to back her in public ahead of the cabinet meeting at which she stood down, Tuesday's newspaper front pages were full of quotes from unnamed Fine Gael lawmakers and ministers saying she had to go. Some Fine Gael members who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said they were furious with Varadkar and Fitzgerald's handling of the crisis, having been forced to spend four days strongly defending the deputy prime minister since it broke. Members of the opposition Labour and Sinn Fein parties and political analysts said as Fitzgerald resigned that an election was still likely to follow in the next three or four months. "Whatever happens today, the timeline of this administration is very much foreshortened by the events of the last two weeks," Labour leader Brendan Howlin told national broadcaster RTE. "I think right now he (Varadkar) has probably lost the dressing room, you can see that in today's newspapers, and he's done some damage to himself and the stability of the government too," added Howlin, a former cabinet colleague of Varadkar. The crisis was the first major test of the 38-year-old prime minister who succeeded Enda Kenny in June. With a reputation as a straight-talker, he has been likened to French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by colleagues excited at the prospect of a generational shift. While an opinion poll on Saturday gave Fine Gael a one-point lead over Fianna Fail, bookmaker Paddy Power said on Tuesday that it made Fianna Fail slight favourites to win the most seats at the next election. The two centre-right parties are fierce rivals but disagree little on policy. A three-year confidence and supply agreement between them is due to run until this time next year. "I think there is damage (but) nobody is enhanced by this debacle. I don't think either party comes out of it particularly well," said Theresa Reidy, a politics lecturer at University College Cork, referring to Fine Gael and Fianna Fail. "But Fine Gael are in government so they are more damaged by it."

Irish deputy PM resigns, averting election threat

Ireland and Britain remained at odds on Monday on how to progress talks on the Irish border with a week to go before London could face failure in persuading European Union leaders to open trade talks at a December Brexit summit.

The EU handed Prime Minister Theresa May a 10-day &quot;absolute deadline&quot; on Friday to improve her divorce terms and meet three key conditions, including on the border between EU-member Ireland and Britain`s province of Northern Ireland.

Before it can sign off on the first phase of talks, the Irish government wants Britain to spell out in writing how it intends to make good on its commitment that the 500-km (300-mile) border will remain as seamless post-Brexit as it is today.

Dublin and EU officials say the best way to avoid a &quot;hard border&quot; is to keep regulations the same north and south and that this needs to be agreed in phase one, but a spokesman for May reiterated on Monday that a solution can only be concluded in the second phase of talks.

&quot;We remain firmly committed to avoiding any physical infrastructure but the secretary of state (Brexit minister David Davis) was also clear that we will only be able to conclude them finally in the context of the future relationship,&quot; he told reporters.

May&#39;s spokesman repeated that the whole of the United Kingdom will leave the EU&#39;s single market and customs union but Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said it seemed impossible to Dublin that some form of the hard border could be avoided if there are diverging regulatory regimes north and south.

&quot;It&#39;s simply not credible to say on the one hand that we are going to have a frictionless border and at the same time that all of Britain, including Northern Ireland, is going to leave the customs union, the single market without giving any reassurance on the avoidance of regulatory divergence,&quot; he told national broadcaster RTE.

With the possibility of Ireland vetoing progress on the talks dominating some newspaper front pages in Britain, Coveney added that Dublin would not need to use its veto if it remained dissatisfied since it has the backing of all other EU states.

&quot;We don&#39;t need to use a veto because we have complete solidarity on this issue. It is clear to us that if there is not progress on the Irish border, we will not be moving onto phase two in December and that was reinforced to me as late as last Friday by very senior EU leaders,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

Before it can sign off on the first phase of talks, the Irish government wants Britain to spell out in writing how it intends to make good on its commitment that the 500-km (300-mile) border will remain as seamless post-Brexit as it is today

Ireland and Britain remained at odds on Monday on how to progress talks on the Irish border with a week to go before London could face failure in persuading European Union leaders to open trade talks at a December Brexit summit. The EU handed Prime Minister Theresa May a 10-day "absolute deadline" on Friday to improve her divorce terms and meet three key conditions, including on the border between EU-member Ireland and Britain`s province of Northern Ireland. Before it can sign off on the first phase of talks, the Irish government wants Britain to spell out in writing how it intends to make good on its commitment that the 500-km (300-mile) border will remain as seamless post-Brexit as it is today. Dublin and EU officials say the best way to avoid a "hard border" is to keep regulations the same north and south and that this needs to be agreed in phase one, but a spokesman for May reiterated on Monday that a solution can only be concluded in the second phase of talks. "We remain firmly committed to avoiding any physical infrastructure but the secretary of state (Brexit minister David Davis) was also clear that we will only be able to conclude them finally in the context of the future relationship," he told reporters. May's spokesman repeated that the whole of the United Kingdom will leave the EU's single market and customs union but Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said it seemed impossible to Dublin that some form of the hard border could be avoided if there are diverging regulatory regimes north and south. "It's simply not credible to say on the one hand that we are going to have a frictionless border and at the same time that all of Britain, including Northern Ireland, is going to leave the customs union, the single market without giving any reassurance on the avoidance of regulatory divergence," he told national broadcaster RTE. With the possibility of Ireland vetoing progress on the talks dominating some newspaper front pages in Britain, Coveney added that Dublin would not need to use its veto if it remained dissatisfied since it has the backing of all other EU states. "We don't need to use a veto because we have complete solidarity on this issue. It is clear to us that if there is not progress on the Irish border, we will not be moving onto phase two in December and that was reinforced to me as late as last Friday by very senior EU leaders," he said.

Britain, Ireland at odds on border as Brexit deadline nears

Ireland&#39;s minority government looked set to collapse on Friday after the party propping it up submitted a motion of no confidence in the deputy prime minister, weeks before a summit on Britain&#39;s plans to leave the European Union. 
 
The crisis is likely to lead to an election next month or in January and may complicate the December 14-15 Brexit summit. 
 
Prime Minister Leo Varadkar is due to play a major role in the talks, telling EU leaders whether Ireland believes sufficient progress has been made on the future border between EU-member Ireland and Britain&#39;s province of Northern Ireland.

The border is one of three issues Brussels wants broadly resolved before it decides whether to move the talks onto a second phase about trade, as Britain wants.

Varadkar is now likely to go into the summit as a lame duck prime minister or in the middle of an election campaign.&nbsp;

The head of opposition party Fianna Fail Micheal Martin said his party had submitted a motion of no-confidence in Deputy Prime Minister Frances Fitzgerald over her handling of a legal case involving a police whistleblower.

Martin told state broadcaster RTE an election &quot;can be avoided if the government takes action&quot; by asking Fitzgerald to resign. But the government said this would not happen.

Varadkar and Martin are due to meet later on Friday.

&quot;At a time when issues and decisions will need to be made that will reverberate in our country for decades to come, the prospect of either an election taking place or a government not being in place afterwards is actually unconscionable,&quot; Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe told RTE.

&quot;These are historic decisions ... The agenda that is at play here is one of political interest. We need to be aware of the consequences of the approach that Fianna Fail are taking here,&quot; the usually calm Donohoe fumed.

Asked if Varadkar could seek to dissolve parliament on Friday, Donohoe said that was a matter for the prime minister.&nbsp;

Junior Finance Minister Michael D`Arcy told Reuters he believed there would be an election before Christmas and a source familiar with the party`s planning said it had begun to make preparations on Friday for an election.&nbsp;

Border debate

As well as the border, the other issues Brussels wants resolved before talks move on to trade arrangements are Britain&#39;s financial settlement on leaving the bloc and the rights of EU citizens living in Britain.

EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier assured Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney on Friday that the EU would defend Dublin&#39;s position in talks with Britain over the coming weeks.

&quot;Strong solidarity with Ireland,&quot; Barnier wrote on Twitter. &quot;Irish issues are EU issues.&quot;

Coveney told parliament on Thursday the government was not yet ready to allow the talks to move on to trade issues and needed more clarity from London.

Fianna Fail`s Martin said Varadkar could still take part in the EU summit and that parliament would be united in supporting him. But the collapse would inevitably distract Varadkar and could undermine his standing during the talks.&nbsp;

University College Dublin politics professor David Farrell said Varadkar may be tempted to take a hard line against the United Kingdom in the talks in a bid to shore up support among voters who are overwhelmingly against Brexit.&nbsp;

&quot;I suppose the only card he can try and play to distract from the crazy shenanigans around the causes of this election is leadership in Europe,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

Christmas election 
 
An election in December or January would be dominated by Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, two centre-right parties that differ little on policy but have been bitter foes for decades.&nbsp;

But it would also present an opportunity for Irish nationalists Sinn Fein to see if leader Gerry Adam`s decision last week to step down will boost its support. While Sinn Fein has said it wants to enter government, the two largest parties have ruled out doing a deal with the party, the former political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).&nbsp;

Since Varadkar`s appointment as Fine Gael leader six months ago, his party has narrowly led Fianna Fail in opinion polls that suggest both parties would increase their support but struggle to form anything but another minority government.&nbsp;

The Fianna Fail move comes after Fitzgerald admitted she was made aware of an attempt to discredit a police whistleblower in a 2015 email, but failed to act. Fine Gael say she adhered to due process. 
The case relates to a whistleblower who alleged widespread misconduct in the force. His treatment by the authorities led in 2014 to the resignations of the then police commissioner and justice minister.

Ireland's minority government looked set to collapse on Friday after the party propping it up submitted a motion of no confidence in the deputy prime minister

Ireland's minority government looked set to collapse on Friday after the party propping it up submitted a motion of no confidence in the deputy prime minister, weeks before a summit on Britain's plans to leave the European Union. The crisis is likely to lead to an election next month or in January and may complicate the December 14-15 Brexit summit. Prime Minister Leo Varadkar is due to play a major role in the talks, telling EU leaders whether Ireland believes sufficient progress has been made on the future border between EU-member Ireland and Britain's province of Northern Ireland. The border is one of three issues Brussels wants broadly resolved before it decides whether to move the talks onto a second phase about trade, as Britain wants. Varadkar is now likely to go into the summit as a lame duck prime minister or in the middle of an election campaign. The head of opposition party Fianna Fail Micheal Martin said his party had submitted a motion of no-confidence in Deputy Prime Minister Frances Fitzgerald over her handling of a legal case involving a police whistleblower. Martin told state broadcaster RTE an election "can be avoided if the government takes action" by asking Fitzgerald to resign. But the government said this would not happen. Varadkar and Martin are due to meet later on Friday. "At a time when issues and decisions will need to be made that will reverberate in our country for decades to come, the prospect of either an election taking place or a government not being in place afterwards is actually unconscionable," Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe told RTE. "These are historic decisions ... The agenda that is at play here is one of political interest. We need to be aware of the consequences of the approach that Fianna Fail are taking here," the usually calm Donohoe fumed. Asked if Varadkar could seek to dissolve parliament on Friday, Donohoe said that was a matter for the prime minister. Junior Finance Minister Michael D`Arcy told Reuters he believed there would be an election before Christmas and a source familiar with the party`s planning said it had begun to make preparations on Friday for an election. Border debate As well as the border, the other issues Brussels wants resolved before talks move on to trade arrangements are Britain's financial settlement on leaving the bloc and the rights of EU citizens living in Britain. EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier assured Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney on Friday that the EU would defend Dublin's position in talks with Britain over the coming weeks. "Strong solidarity with Ireland," Barnier wrote on Twitter. "Irish issues are EU issues." Coveney told parliament on Thursday the government was not yet ready to allow the talks to move on to trade issues and needed more clarity from London. Fianna Fail`s Martin said Varadkar could still take part in the EU summit and that parliament would be united in supporting him. But the collapse would inevitably distract Varadkar and could undermine his standing during the talks. University College Dublin politics professor David Farrell said Varadkar may be tempted to take a hard line against the United Kingdom in the talks in a bid to shore up support among voters who are overwhelmingly against Brexit. "I suppose the only card he can try and play to distract from the crazy shenanigans around the causes of this election is leadership in Europe," he said. Christmas election An election in December or January would be dominated by Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, two centre-right parties that differ little on policy but have been bitter foes for decades. But it would also present an opportunity for Irish nationalists Sinn Fein to see if leader Gerry Adam`s decision last week to step down will boost its support. While Sinn Fein has said it wants to enter government, the two largest parties have ruled out doing a deal with the party, the former political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Since Varadkar`s appointment as Fine Gael leader six months ago, his party has narrowly led Fianna Fail in opinion polls that suggest both parties would increase their support but struggle to form anything but another minority government. The Fianna Fail move comes after Fitzgerald admitted she was made aware of an attempt to discredit a police whistleblower in a 2015 email, but failed to act. Fine Gael say she adhered to due process. The case relates to a whistleblower who alleged widespread misconduct in the force. His treatment by the authorities led in 2014 to the resignations of the then police commissioner and justice minister.

Irish government set to fall weeks before Brexit summit

Britain&#39;s economy will grow more slowly in the short term if the country fails to secure a deal for its future trading relationship with the European Union after Brexit, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Sunday.

Asked in an interview with ITV television if Britain&#39;s economy would take a hit if there is no Brexit deal, Carney said&nbsp;&quot;The short answer is yes, in the short term. In the short term, without question, if we have materially less access (to the EU) than we have now, this economy is going to need to reorient and during that period of time it will weigh on growth.&quot;

Carney also said British business investment should be booming, given the strength of the world economy and other factors, but it was only just growing because of the uncertainty about the outcome of the Brexit negotiations.

The BoE on Thursday raised interest rates for the first time since 2007, before the start of the global financial crisis, but sterling fell sharply as the central bank also said it expected only &#39;very gradual&#39;&nbsp;rate rises ahead.

The BoE on Thursday raised interest rates for the first time since 2007.

Britain's economy will grow more slowly in the short term if the country fails to secure a deal for its future trading relationship with the European Union after Brexit, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Sunday. Asked in an interview with ITV television if Britain's economy would take a hit if there is no Brexit deal, Carney said "The short answer is yes, in the short term. In the short term, without question, if we have materially less access (to the EU) than we have now, this economy is going to need to reorient and during that period of time it will weigh on growth." Carney also said British business investment should be booming, given the strength of the world economy and other factors, but it was only just growing because of the uncertainty about the outcome of the Brexit negotiations. The BoE on Thursday raised interest rates for the first time since 2007, before the start of the global financial crisis, but sterling fell sharply as the central bank also said it expected only 'very gradual' rate rises ahead.

Bank of England's Carney sees slower growth without Brexit deal

The Bank of England suspects that up to 75,000 jobs could be lost in financial services following Britain&rsquo;s departure from the European Union, according to BBC on Monday.

In a study done by Oliver Wyman, a management consultancy which has often been quoted by banking lobby groups assessing the impact of Brexit, in 2016 suggested that there could be around&nbsp;65,000 and 75,000 job losses, which is what the current scenario looks like.&nbsp;

The report also suggested that around 40,000 job losses&nbsp;could solely be from financial services and about 30-40,000 going in related fields like&nbsp;legal work and professional services.

The&nbsp;Bank of England&nbsp;has asked banks and other financial services firms about&nbsp;their plan of action&nbsp;for both a hard and soft Brexit scenario.

If a deal is fixed, the Bank of England assumes that&nbsp;job losses would be lower, though still significant, as banks and other financial services firms would shuffle&nbsp;some jobs, however, if does not work in their favor then 10,000 jobs figure is likely to be the day one&nbsp;of Brexit, BBC reported.&nbsp;

In January, the chief executive of the&nbsp;London Stock Exchange, Xavier Rolet, claimed that Brexit could cause the City of London upto 200,000&nbsp;approximately the&nbsp;if the Government fails to provide a systematic plan for post-Brexit&nbsp;operations.

Moreover, a&nbsp;pole conducted by Reuters of&nbsp;more than 100 finance firms indicates that&nbsp;the industry expects the number of job losses to be below 10K in the few years&nbsp;after Brexit.&nbsp;

The remaining 27 EU states agreed at a summit earlier this month to start analyzing feasible&nbsp;options for trade talks with the UK.

The remaining 27 EU states agreed at a summit earlier this month to start analyzing feasible?the options for trade talks with the UK.

The Bank of England suspects that up to 75,000 jobs could be lost in financial services following Britain’s departure from the European Union, according to BBC on Monday. In a study done by Oliver Wyman, a management consultancy which has often been quoted by banking lobby groups assessing the impact of Brexit, in 2016 suggested that there could be around 65,000 and 75,000 job losses, which is what the current scenario looks like. The report also suggested that around 40,000 job losses could solely be from financial services and about 30-40,000 going in related fields like legal work and professional services. The Bank of England has asked banks and other financial services firms about their plan of action for both a hard and soft Brexit scenario. If a deal is fixed, the Bank of England assumes that job losses would be lower, though still significant, as banks and other financial services firms would shuffle some jobs, however, if does not work in their favor then 10,000 jobs figure is likely to be the day one of Brexit, BBC reported. In January, the chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, Xavier Rolet, claimed that Brexit could cause the City of London upto 200,000 approximately the if the Government fails to provide a systematic plan for post-Brexit operations. Moreover, a pole conducted by Reuters of more than 100 finance firms indicates that the industry expects the number of job losses to be below 10K in the few years after Brexit. The remaining 27 EU states agreed at a summit earlier this month to start analyzing feasible options for trade talks with the UK.

Bank of England suspects upto 75,000 job losses in financial services post-Brexit

Prime Minister Theresa May said Friday that Britain would only agree a detailed financial settlement for Brexit once its future relationship with the EU was agreed.

&quot;The full and final settlement will come as part of the final agreement that we&#39;re getting in relation to the future partnership. I think that&#39;s absolutely right,&quot; she said at a summit in Brussels.

May said Britain would only?agree on a detailed financial settlement for Brexit once its future relationship with the EU was agreed

Prime Minister Theresa May said Friday that Britain would only agree a detailed financial settlement for Brexit once its future relationship with the EU was agreed. "The full and final settlement will come as part of the final agreement that we're getting in relation to the future partnership. I think that's absolutely right," she said at a summit in Brussels.

Brexit bill must wait until final deal with EU: May

EU President Donald Tusk said Friday that reports of a deadlock in Brexit talks were &quot;exaggerated&quot; after leaders agreed at a summit to start internal preparations to unlock the next phase of negotiations.

Tusk added that Britain&#39;s proposals on future relations would be taken into account by the EU&#39;s internal work on a trade deal, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/may-says-brexit-bill-must-wait-until-final-deal-with-eu-22662">in a further olive branch to British Prime Minister Theresa May</a>.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/spains-rajoy-says-critical-point-reached-in-catalonia-22677" target="_blank">Also Read:&nbsp;Critical point reached in Catalonia: Spanish Prime Minister</a>

&quot;My impression is that reports of the deadlock between the European Union and the UK have been exaggerated, and while progress has not been sufficient, it does not mean there is no progress at all,&quot; Tusk told a news conference in Brussels.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker played down fears Britain could leave the bloc without a deal in 2019.

&quot;Our working assumption is not the no deal scenario, I hate the no deal scenario,&quot; said Juncker, standing alongside Tusk. &quot;I want to have a fair deal with Britain.&quot;

Tusk said a face-to-face meeting with Theresa May and a meeting with the remaining 27 EU states had contributed to a more &quot;positive narrative&quot;, despite the bloc saying there was not sufficient progress to start full trade talks until at least December.

&quot;My feeling today and in my tete-a-tete with Theresa May, I feel for sure that both sides present only goodwill,&quot; he said.

The approval of preparatory work on a trade deal &quot;would not be possible&quot; without May&#39;s key speech in Florence last month outlining further Brexit plans, including on the bill Britain must pay.

&quot;I would like to reassure our British friends that in our internal work we will take account of proposals present there (in Florence),&quot; he added.

EU President Donald Tusk said Friday that reports of a deadlock in Brexit talks were 'exaggerated'after leaders agreed at a summit to start internal preparations to unlock the next phase of negotiations

EU President Donald Tusk said Friday that reports of a deadlock in Brexit talks were "exaggerated" after leaders agreed at a summit to start internal preparations to unlock the next phase of negotiations. Tusk added that Britain's proposals on future relations would be taken into account by the EU's internal work on a trade deal, in a further olive branch to British Prime Minister Theresa May. Also Read: Critical point reached in Catalonia: Spanish Prime Minister "My impression is that reports of the deadlock between the European Union and the UK have been exaggerated, and while progress has not been sufficient, it does not mean there is no progress at all," Tusk told a news conference in Brussels. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker played down fears Britain could leave the bloc without a deal in 2019. "Our working assumption is not the no deal scenario, I hate the no deal scenario," said Juncker, standing alongside Tusk. "I want to have a fair deal with Britain." Tusk said a face-to-face meeting with Theresa May and a meeting with the remaining 27 EU states had contributed to a more "positive narrative", despite the bloc saying there was not sufficient progress to start full trade talks until at least December. "My feeling today and in my tete-a-tete with Theresa May, I feel for sure that both sides present only goodwill," he said. The approval of preparatory work on a trade deal "would not be possible" without May's key speech in Florence last month outlining further Brexit plans, including on the bill Britain must pay. "I would like to reassure our British friends that in our internal work we will take account of proposals present there (in Florence)," he added.

Reports of Brexit deadlock exaggerated: EU president Tusk

It is up to Britain to&nbsp;move&nbsp;Brexit&nbsp;talks&nbsp;forward,&nbsp;Germany&nbsp;said on Friday, warning that &quot;time is&nbsp;running&nbsp;out&quot; for London to negotiate the deal it wants.

A day after the EU&#39;s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, said the&nbsp;talks&nbsp;were deadlocked over money and could not progress to discussions about future trade ties, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert urged Britain to act before an EU summit in December.

EU leaders will discuss&nbsp;Brexit&nbsp;at that meeting, Seibert said. &quot;This means Great Britain still has it in its own hands whether there will be enough progress so that the second phase of negotiations can be started.&quot;

British Prime Minister Theresa May told parliament on Monday it was up to the European Union to move&nbsp;talks&nbsp;to the next phase, saying: &quot;the ball is in their court&quot;.

But her spokesman said on Friday that May would have &quot;more to say&quot; on the financial settlement at an EU summit next week.

Germany&#39;s biggest industry group has advised companies active in Britain to make provisions for a &quot;very hard&nbsp;Brexit&quot; as London lacked a clear strategy.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says London should not expect a special deal, and that it is more important to keep the remaining 27 member states together.

A day after the EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, said the?talks?were deadlocked over money and could not progress to discussions about future trade ties, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert urged Britain to act before an EU summit in December

It is up to Britain to move Brexit talks forward, Germany said on Friday, warning that "time is running out" for London to negotiate the deal it wants. A day after the EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, said the talks were deadlocked over money and could not progress to discussions about future trade ties, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert urged Britain to act before an EU summit in December. EU leaders will discuss Brexit at that meeting, Seibert said. "This means Great Britain still has it in its own hands whether there will be enough progress so that the second phase of negotiations can be started." British Prime Minister Theresa May told parliament on Monday it was up to the European Union to move talks to the next phase, saying: "the ball is in their court". But her spokesman said on Friday that May would have "more to say" on the financial settlement at an EU summit next week. Germany's biggest industry group has advised companies active in Britain to make provisions for a "very hard Brexit" as London lacked a clear strategy. German Chancellor Angela Merkel says London should not expect a special deal, and that it is more important to keep the remaining 27 member states together.

'Time is running out,' says Germany on Brexit talks

Britain feels it is in a good position in Brexit negotiations and wants to agree with the European Union to move on to discussions about its future relationship by October,&nbsp;Prime Minister Theresa May&#39;s spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

Britain and the European Commission are holding <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/brexit-britain-and-the-eu-to-meet-next-week-for-another-round-of-negotiations-19502">a third round of talks this week</a>, which the European Union has said must focus on the rights of EU and British citizens living abroad, a financial settlement and the Ireland/Northern Ireland border.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker stressed on Tuesday that negotiations about a future EU-UK trading relationship after Britain leave the European Union could only start once divorce issues were resolved.

&quot;We believe we&#39;re in a good position and we would like to move on to discuss our future relationship,&quot; May&#39;s spokeswoman told reporters.

&quot;As David Davis has said we believe that we need the EU to show some more imagination and flexibility when it comes to these discussions ... we are seeking to agree by October Council that we can move to talk about our future relationship.&quot;

Britain and the European Commission are holding the third round of talks this week

Britain feels it is in a good position in Brexit negotiations and wants to agree with the European Union to move on to discussions about its future relationship by October, Prime Minister Theresa May's spokeswoman said on Tuesday. Britain and the European Commission are holding a third round of talks this week, which the European Union has said must focus on the rights of EU and British citizens living abroad, a financial settlement and the Ireland/Northern Ireland border. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker stressed on Tuesday that negotiations about a future EU-UK trading relationship after Britain leave the European Union could only start once divorce issues were resolved. "We believe we're in a good position and we would like to move on to discuss our future relationship," May's spokeswoman told reporters. "As David Davis has said we believe that we need the EU to show some more imagination and flexibility when it comes to these discussions ... we are seeking to agree by October Council that we can move to talk about our future relationship."

Britain in 'good position' in Brexit talks: PM May

Britain and the EU kick off a third round of Brexit talks Monday still sharply divided over what comes first, London&#39;s future relationship with the bloc or the costly divorce settlement.

The European Union says there has to be &quot;sufficient progress&quot; in three key areas, EU citizen rights, Northern Ireland&#39;s border and the exit bill, before it will turn to post-Brexit arrangements, possibly beginning in October.

Britain says the two strands should be negotiated in parallel, arguing that progress on a free trade deal may even help resolve other sticky issues such as the future EU-UK border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

That is a complete no-go for Brussels, with officials saying they expected little progress in bridging a &quot;very big gap&quot; at this week&#39;s talks.

They also blamed Britain for a &quot;lack of substance&quot; despite a flurry of position papers they said were strong on aspiration but short on detail.

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier meanwhile listed on Twitter the EU&#39;s own negotiating documents, noting: &quot;EU positions clear and transparent since day one.&quot;

Barnier meets his British counterpart David Davis late afternoon for a first exchange, followed by three days of talks and a joint press conference.&nbsp;

Both sides have repeatedly warned that the clock is ticking down to the March 2019 Brexit deadline and that they are the ones doing their best to make progress. Davis said Monday this week&#39;s talks were all about &quot;driving forward the technical discussions across all the issues.&quot;&nbsp;

&quot;In order to do that, we&#39;ll require flexibility and imagination from both sides,&quot; he said.

&quot;We&#39;re ready to roll up our sleeves and get down to work once more.&quot;&nbsp;

Asked about the British approach, the European Commission refused to be drawn Monday.

&quot;Let&#39;s have the negotiators do their negotiation... as for flexibility, we are working within the mandate given us by the European Council (of member states),&quot; EU spokeswoman Lucia Caudet said.

The talks take place amid continued turmoil in Britain, with the opposition Labour Party over the weekend backing a &quot;soft&quot; Brexit whereby the country remains in the EU&#39;s customs union and the single market for a transition period.

Prime Minister Theresa May has said she wants Britain unequivocally out of both but her position has been crippled since a June election gamble backfired and she lost her parliamentary majority.

May remains in office thanks to a deal with Northern Ireland&#39;s ultra-conservative Democratic Unionist Party which views the EU-member Republic with deep suspicion.

EU officials warned last week that the hard-won Northern Ireland peace process could not be used as a bargaining chip.

London&#39;s hopeful suggestion that technology could help prevent the border becoming a physical barrier to trade and the peace process was just &quot;a lot of magical thinking,&quot; one EU official said.

Britain also said the European Court of Justice could continue to have an indirect influence, softening its position that the EU&#39;s top court would not have any say in the country at all.

But again this was not enough, EU officials said.&nbsp;

The rights of more than three million EU citizens in Britain and one million Britons in Europe arose from EU law remains the remit of the ECJ.

&quot;There is no other possibility,&quot; one official said.

As for Britain`s divorce settlement, estimated at up to 100 billion euros in Brussels but much less at 40 billion according to reports in London, EU officials said the talks were not about fixing a number but about agreeing how to work out the bill.

&quot;We have to have a methodology sufficiently detailed so that commitments made to various beneficiaries of the EU budget will be honored,&quot; one of the EU officials said.

Britain and the EU kick off a third round of Brexit talks still sharply divided over what comes first, London's future relationship with the bloc or the costly divorce settlement

Britain and the EU kick off a third round of Brexit talks Monday still sharply divided over what comes first, London's future relationship with the bloc or the costly divorce settlement. The European Union says there has to be "sufficient progress" in three key areas, EU citizen rights, Northern Ireland's border and the exit bill, before it will turn to post-Brexit arrangements, possibly beginning in October. Britain says the two strands should be negotiated in parallel, arguing that progress on a free trade deal may even help resolve other sticky issues such as the future EU-UK border between Northern Ireland and the Republic. That is a complete no-go for Brussels, with officials saying they expected little progress in bridging a "very big gap" at this week's talks. They also blamed Britain for a "lack of substance" despite a flurry of position papers they said were strong on aspiration but short on detail. EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier meanwhile listed on Twitter the EU's own negotiating documents, noting: "EU positions clear and transparent since day one." Barnier meets his British counterpart David Davis late afternoon for a first exchange, followed by three days of talks and a joint press conference. Both sides have repeatedly warned that the clock is ticking down to the March 2019 Brexit deadline and that they are the ones doing their best to make progress. Davis said Monday this week's talks were all about "driving forward the technical discussions across all the issues." "In order to do that, we'll require flexibility and imagination from both sides," he said. "We're ready to roll up our sleeves and get down to work once more." Asked about the British approach, the European Commission refused to be drawn Monday. "Let's have the negotiators do their negotiation... as for flexibility, we are working within the mandate given us by the European Council (of member states)," EU spokeswoman Lucia Caudet said. The talks take place amid continued turmoil in Britain, with the opposition Labour Party over the weekend backing a "soft" Brexit whereby the country remains in the EU's customs union and the single market for a transition period. Prime Minister Theresa May has said she wants Britain unequivocally out of both but her position has been crippled since a June election gamble backfired and she lost her parliamentary majority. May remains in office thanks to a deal with Northern Ireland's ultra-conservative Democratic Unionist Party which views the EU-member Republic with deep suspicion. EU officials warned last week that the hard-won Northern Ireland peace process could not be used as a bargaining chip. London's hopeful suggestion that technology could help prevent the border becoming a physical barrier to trade and the peace process was just "a lot of magical thinking," one EU official said. Britain also said the European Court of Justice could continue to have an indirect influence, softening its position that the EU's top court would not have any say in the country at all. But again this was not enough, EU officials said. The rights of more than three million EU citizens in Britain and one million Britons in Europe arose from EU law remains the remit of the ECJ. "There is no other possibility," one official said. As for Britain`s divorce settlement, estimated at up to 100 billion euros in Brussels but much less at 40 billion according to reports in London, EU officials said the talks were not about fixing a number but about agreeing how to work out the bill. "We have to have a methodology sufficiently detailed so that commitments made to various beneficiaries of the EU budget will be honored," one of the EU officials said.

Brexit talks face 'very big gap' as new round begins

Divisions&nbsp;between Britain and the EU over mapping out their divorce will be laid bare in Brussels next week when the two sides meet for another round of negotiations whose timetable already looks tight.

London is keen to focus on what happens after Brexit but the bloc says more ground must first be covered on settling the terms of the departure, including the bill, leaving dozens of officials to pick their way through a diplomatic minefield from Monday to Thursday.

The 27 remaining EU states are also insisting on seeing progress on safeguarding expatriate rights and sorting out the future Irish border before they can declare the &quot;sufficient progress&quot; that would allow them to broach talks about Britain&#39;s future relationship with the EU.

Time is short in the negotiations, which started in June and should conclude before the expected Brexit date in late March 2019. Otherwise, Britain risks leaving the EU with little clarity over what happens next.

&quot;There are no major expectations as regards next week&#39;s round. The documents published by Britain (this week) refer more to the future relationship than the things to settle in the first place,&quot; an EU diplomat said.

&quot;Many matters, including the financial aspect most importantly, remain unclear from the British side. So the EU expects no big progress, which makes any &#39;significant progress&#39; less likely in October.&quot;

Talks have been slowed by an ill-judged snap election called by Prime Minister Theresa May that weakened her governing Conservative Party and exposed rifts among her ministers over what sort of Brexit they would seek.

Several position papers released this week have made clear London will often look to replicate as closely as possible its existing arrangements as an EU member after it leaves.

But the EU has dug in its heels, saying it wants to get much more on the three priority areas before anything else.

&quot;We won&#39;t be talking about the future during this round, nothing about customs arrangements or some such,&quot; an EU official said. &quot;We need detail, the withdrawal deal ...has to be a legal text.&quot;

One key point of contention is London&#39;s desire, reaffirmed this week, to break free from the jurisdiction of the EU&#39;s top court, the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

For the EU ensuring the ECJ can police the withdrawal agreement and continue to have the final say in disputes involving EU citizens residing in Britain - and vice versa - is essential.

The bloc largely brushed what May called an initial &quot;generous offer&quot; on citizens&#39; rights, saying much more detailed legal assurances were necessary.

While there is some common ground, sources on both sides say more technical work is needed.

TIME IS MONEY

But the issue of money is seen by both sides as the hardest nut to crack for now.

Concerning Britain&#39;s financial obligations towards the bloc, the EU has floated a divorce bill of around 60 billion euros ($71 billion), which London has said is far too high.

The bloc hopes to agree on a formula with Britain for calculating the figure and sees that as a precondition to moving to any talks about post-Brexit arrangements.

Without an agreement on methodology, the EU has said the talks risk stalling.

But British negotiators have said they will go &quot;line by line&quot; through the EU&#39;s financial expectations and reiterate next week they see the EU&#39;s sum as excessive.

Though the EU&#39;s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has already warned time is running out, sources on both sides of the table do not anticipate major breakthroughs next week.

Some pieces of the puzzle should, however, start falling into place in more talks next month, they said.

Any clear arrangements around the future border between Britain and EU state Ireland will only come in the second phase of talks anyway, as they would largely depend on the nature of the future bilateral relationship, including on customs.

While opening &quot;phase two&quot; talks had initially been expected in October, Barnier has already signaled this is now less likely to happen.

London has said it was still confident the EU would move towards discussing future relations by October.

London is keen to focus on what happens after Brexit but the bloc says more ground must first be covered on settling the terms of the departure

Divisions between Britain and the EU over mapping out their divorce will be laid bare in Brussels next week when the two sides meet for another round of negotiations whose timetable already looks tight. London is keen to focus on what happens after Brexit but the bloc says more ground must first be covered on settling the terms of the departure, including the bill, leaving dozens of officials to pick their way through a diplomatic minefield from Monday to Thursday. The 27 remaining EU states are also insisting on seeing progress on safeguarding expatriate rights and sorting out the future Irish border before they can declare the "sufficient progress" that would allow them to broach talks about Britain's future relationship with the EU. Time is short in the negotiations, which started in June and should conclude before the expected Brexit date in late March 2019. Otherwise, Britain risks leaving the EU with little clarity over what happens next. "There are no major expectations as regards next week's round. The documents published by Britain (this week) refer more to the future relationship than the things to settle in the first place," an EU diplomat said. "Many matters, including the financial aspect most importantly, remain unclear from the British side. So the EU expects no big progress, which makes any 'significant progress' less likely in October." Talks have been slowed by an ill-judged snap election called by Prime Minister Theresa May that weakened her governing Conservative Party and exposed rifts among her ministers over what sort of Brexit they would seek. Several position papers released this week have made clear London will often look to replicate as closely as possible its existing arrangements as an EU member after it leaves. But the EU has dug in its heels, saying it wants to get much more on the three priority areas before anything else. "We won't be talking about the future during this round, nothing about customs arrangements or some such," an EU official said. "We need detail, the withdrawal deal ...has to be a legal text." One key point of contention is London's desire, reaffirmed this week, to break free from the jurisdiction of the EU's top court, the European Court of Justice (ECJ). For the EU ensuring the ECJ can police the withdrawal agreement and continue to have the final say in disputes involving EU citizens residing in Britain - and vice versa - is essential. The bloc largely brushed what May called an initial "generous offer" on citizens' rights, saying much more detailed legal assurances were necessary. While there is some common ground, sources on both sides say more technical work is needed. TIME IS MONEY But the issue of money is seen by both sides as the hardest nut to crack for now. Concerning Britain's financial obligations towards the bloc, the EU has floated a divorce bill of around 60 billion euros ($71 billion), which London has said is far too high. The bloc hopes to agree on a formula with Britain for calculating the figure and sees that as a precondition to moving to any talks about post-Brexit arrangements. Without an agreement on methodology, the EU has said the talks risk stalling. But British negotiators have said they will go "line by line" through the EU's financial expectations and reiterate next week they see the EU's sum as excessive. Though the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has already warned time is running out, sources on both sides of the table do not anticipate major breakthroughs next week. Some pieces of the puzzle should, however, start falling into place in more talks next month, they said. Any clear arrangements around the future border between Britain and EU state Ireland will only come in the second phase of talks anyway, as they would largely depend on the nature of the future bilateral relationship, including on customs. While opening "phase two" talks had initially been expected in October, Barnier has already signaled this is now less likely to happen. London has said it was still confident the EU would move towards discussing future relations by October.

Brexit: Britain, EU to meet next week for another round of negotiations

British household spending grew at its&nbsp;weakest pace since late 2014 in the three months to June as the effect of a&nbsp;weaker&nbsp;pound&nbsp;since last year&#39;s Brexit vote weighed on Britons&#39; spending power, official statistics showed on Thursday.

Year-on-year spending growth dropped to 2.0 percent from 2.6 percent after expanding just 0.1 percent in the second quarter, the Office for National Statistics said.

Overall growth in gross domestic product was unrevised from an earlier estimate at 0.3 percent on a quarterly basis and 1.7 percent annually, the ONS added - representing the&nbsp;weakest start to any year since 2012.

&quot;GDP growth has slowed markedly in the first half of the year,&quot; ONS statistician Darren Morgan said. &quot;Household spending grew&nbsp;weakly, with the lower-value&nbsp;pound&nbsp;hitting household budgets,&quot; he added.

Sterling has fallen by around 15 percent on a trade-weighted since June 2016&#39;s vote to leave the European Union, pushing consumer price inflation to its highest in nearly four years in May, and added to its losses after the latest data.

Thursday&#39;s figures also showed that year-on-year business investment growth slowed to zero from 0.7 percent in the first quarter, while net trade dragged down the annual growth rate by 0.5 percent.

Britain&#39;s economy grew 1.8 percent last year, one of the fastest rates among the world&#39;s seven largest advanced economies, capped by the growth of 0.7 percent in the last three months of the year.

But that growth relied heavily on robust consumer spending, which this year has come under increased pressure from rising inflation as stores push up prices in response to Sterling&#39;s sharp fall after the Brexit vote.

The Bank of England said earlier this month that it expected the economy to grow 1.6 percent this year - slower than it had previously forecast but in line with the average expectation of economists polled by Reuters.

While it expects growth in household consumption to slow to 1.75 percent this year as inflation approaches 3 percent, it forecast export volumes would rise by 3.5 percent and business investment would rise by 1 percent.

Few economists expect the BoE to raise interest rates before 2019 as inflation is forecast to fall next year once the impact of sterling&#39;s&nbsp;weakness fades, while uncertainty during two years of Brexit talks is predicted to drag on growth.

Overall growth in gross domestic product was unrevised from an earlier estimate at 0.3 percent on a quarterly basis and 1.7 percent annually, the ONS said

British household spending grew at its weakest pace since late 2014 in the three months to June as the effect of a weaker pound since last year's Brexit vote weighed on Britons' spending power, official statistics showed on Thursday. Year-on-year spending growth dropped to 2.0 percent from 2.6 percent after expanding just 0.1 percent in the second quarter, the Office for National Statistics said. Overall growth in gross domestic product was unrevised from an earlier estimate at 0.3 percent on a quarterly basis and 1.7 percent annually, the ONS added - representing the weakest start to any year since 2012. "GDP growth has slowed markedly in the first half of the year," ONS statistician Darren Morgan said. "Household spending grew weakly, with the lower-value pound hitting household budgets," he added. Sterling has fallen by around 15 percent on a trade-weighted since June 2016's vote to leave the European Union, pushing consumer price inflation to its highest in nearly four years in May, and added to its losses after the latest data. Thursday's figures also showed that year-on-year business investment growth slowed to zero from 0.7 percent in the first quarter, while net trade dragged down the annual growth rate by 0.5 percent. Britain's economy grew 1.8 percent last year, one of the fastest rates among the world's seven largest advanced economies, capped by the growth of 0.7 percent in the last three months of the year. But that growth relied heavily on robust consumer spending, which this year has come under increased pressure from rising inflation as stores push up prices in response to Sterling's sharp fall after the Brexit vote. The Bank of England said earlier this month that it expected the economy to grow 1.6 percent this year - slower than it had previously forecast but in line with the average expectation of economists polled by Reuters. While it expects growth in household consumption to slow to 1.75 percent this year as inflation approaches 3 percent, it forecast export volumes would rise by 3.5 percent and business investment would rise by 1 percent. Few economists expect the BoE to raise interest rates before 2019 as inflation is forecast to fall next year once the impact of sterling's weakness fades, while uncertainty during two years of Brexit talks is predicted to drag on growth.

Weaker Pound takes toll on British household spending

Britain on Wednesday outlined several escape routes from the &quot;direct jurisdiction&quot; of the European Court of Justice after Brexit, one of Prime Minister Theresa May&#39;s key aims in talks to unstitch 40 years of EU membership.

In a government paper on the highly-sensitive topic which touches British sovereignty, Britain set out its determination in negotiations to reach a tailor-made agreement to enforce its own laws and resolve disputes once it has left the bloc in March 2019.

The paper drew attention to several EU agreements which do not require the Luxembourg-based court&#39;s direct jurisdiction over other countries - a clear attempt to encourage more flexibility among EU officials who are protective of the court.

May herself said breaking free of the ECJ&#39;s jurisdiction meant that Britain would be able to make its own laws and British judges and courts would enforce them.

&quot;We will take back control of our laws,&quot; she told reporters in southern England, in a denial of suggestions by opposition lawmakers that she had watered down her demands by qualifying her words to say &quot;direct&quot; jurisdiction and opening the way to &quot;indirect influence&quot;.

Her words were intended to placate many pro-Brexit lawmakers in her governing Conservative Party who say the ECJ has slowly sucked power from Britain&#39;s courts and parliament.

But they could further harden the EU&#39;s stance on the court. A partner from international law firm Bird &amp; Bird said any such debate could also delay an agreement with the EU on the divorce.

&quot;The government&#39;s arguments about the role of the ECJ will contribute to prolonged uncertainty for businesses in relation to Brexit,&quot; said Richard Eccles.

Many European officials see the ECJ as the ultimate arbiter of EU law and have said it should continue to guarantee the rights of EU citizens living in Britain after Brexit and oversee the Brexit agreement.

In the paper, Britain instead said its court would guarantee the rights of EU citizens or businesses in the country.

&quot;Those rights and obligations will be enforced by the UK courts and ultimately by the UK Supreme Court,&quot; it said.

Three Priority Areas

The EU said it was sticking to its stance and said it hoped to make progress on clarifying three areas as a priority - the rights of expatriates, Britain&#39;s border with EU state Ireland and a financial settlement.

The ECJ issue has all but halted debate on guaranteeing the rights of expatriates, according to a joint status document, published last month that compared the EU and British positions.

But the question of how to resolve disputes after Brexit could cause even more difficulties.

In the paper, the government suggested it was not asking for the impossible, zeroing in on examples of where the ECJ does not have direct jurisdiction in resolving disputes.

It said though such cases were &quot;illustrative&quot; to help discussions with the EU.

Earlier, Dominic Raab, a pro-Leave campaigner who is now minister for courts and justice, said Britain would most likely suggest Britain and the EU should appoint arbitrators and agree a third party to deal with contentious issues post-Brexit.

&quot;That&#39;s one possible alternative, but I think it&#39;s the most likely,&quot; he told BBC Radio Four, adding that Britain would have to keep &quot;half an eye&quot; on the case law of the ECJ in the future.

He, like May, denied that use of the word &quot;direct&quot; before jurisdiction meant the government had now accepted that the court would continue to have influence over British law.

Opposition lawmakers say the debate is further exposing May&#39;s weakness following an ill-judged election two months ago which led to her losing her party&#39;s majority.

&quot;The repeated reference to ending the &#39;direct jurisdiction&#39; of the ECJ is potentially significant,&quot; said Keir Starmer, Brexit spokesman for the opposition Labour Party.

&quot;This appears to contradict the red line laid out ... which stated there could be no future role of the ECJ and that all laws will be interpreted by judges in this country.&quot; 
&nbsp;

May herself said breaking free of the ECJ's jurisdiction meant that Britain would be able to make its own laws and British judges and courts would enforce them

Britain on Wednesday outlined several escape routes from the "direct jurisdiction" of the European Court of Justice after Brexit, one of Prime Minister Theresa May's key aims in talks to unstitch 40 years of EU membership. In a government paper on the highly-sensitive topic which touches British sovereignty, Britain set out its determination in negotiations to reach a tailor-made agreement to enforce its own laws and resolve disputes once it has left the bloc in March 2019. The paper drew attention to several EU agreements which do not require the Luxembourg-based court's direct jurisdiction over other countries - a clear attempt to encourage more flexibility among EU officials who are protective of the court. May herself said breaking free of the ECJ's jurisdiction meant that Britain would be able to make its own laws and British judges and courts would enforce them. "We will take back control of our laws," she told reporters in southern England, in a denial of suggestions by opposition lawmakers that she had watered down her demands by qualifying her words to say "direct" jurisdiction and opening the way to "indirect influence". Her words were intended to placate many pro-Brexit lawmakers in her governing Conservative Party who say the ECJ has slowly sucked power from Britain's courts and parliament. But they could further harden the EU's stance on the court. A partner from international law firm Bird & Bird said any such debate could also delay an agreement with the EU on the divorce. "The government's arguments about the role of the ECJ will contribute to prolonged uncertainty for businesses in relation to Brexit," said Richard Eccles. Many European officials see the ECJ as the ultimate arbiter of EU law and have said it should continue to guarantee the rights of EU citizens living in Britain after Brexit and oversee the Brexit agreement. In the paper, Britain instead said its court would guarantee the rights of EU citizens or businesses in the country. "Those rights and obligations will be enforced by the UK courts and ultimately by the UK Supreme Court," it said. Three Priority Areas The EU said it was sticking to its stance and said it hoped to make progress on clarifying three areas as a priority - the rights of expatriates, Britain's border with EU state Ireland and a financial settlement. The ECJ issue has all but halted debate on guaranteeing the rights of expatriates, according to a joint status document, published last month that compared the EU and British positions. But the question of how to resolve disputes after Brexit could cause even more difficulties. In the paper, the government suggested it was not asking for the impossible, zeroing in on examples of where the ECJ does not have direct jurisdiction in resolving disputes. It said though such cases were "illustrative" to help discussions with the EU. Earlier, Dominic Raab, a pro-Leave campaigner who is now minister for courts and justice, said Britain would most likely suggest Britain and the EU should appoint arbitrators and agree a third party to deal with contentious issues post-Brexit. "That's one possible alternative, but I think it's the most likely," he told BBC Radio Four, adding that Britain would have to keep "half an eye" on the case law of the ECJ in the future. He, like May, denied that use of the word "direct" before jurisdiction meant the government had now accepted that the court would continue to have influence over British law. Opposition lawmakers say the debate is further exposing May's weakness following an ill-judged election two months ago which led to her losing her party's majority. "The repeated reference to ending the 'direct jurisdiction' of the ECJ is potentially significant," said Keir Starmer, Brexit spokesman for the opposition Labour Party. "This appears to contradict the red line laid out ... which stated there could be no future role of the ECJ and that all laws will be interpreted by judges in this country."

Britain sets out to break free of European Court of Justice after Brexit

By&nbsp;<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/cesar-renduels-menendez-de-llano-365327">C&eacute;sar Renduels Menendez de Llano</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/donatella-della-porta-366380">Donatella Della Porta</a>

&nbsp;

In 1980, the novelist Martin Amis attended a meeting in Texas with Ronald Reagan, then in the midst of the campaign that would put him in the White House. Reagan liked to end his electoral activities with some audience Q+A. The more personal the question, <a href="https://archive.org/stream/HeliganSecretsOfTheLostGardens/AmisMartin-TheMoronicInfernoAndOtherVisitsToAmerica_djvu.txt">Amis explained</a>, the more Reagan enjoyed answering.

Question: &ldquo;Of all the people in America, sir, why you for President?&rdquo;

Reagan grins.

Answer: &ldquo;Well, I&rsquo;m not smart enough to tell a lie.&rdquo;

Laughter, applause.

Amis relays the exchange:

<blockquote>
&lsquo;But why do you want it, sir?&rsquo; Reagan flexes his worn, snipped, tucked, mottled face. &lsquo;This country needs a good Republican and I feel I can do the job. Why? I&rsquo;m happy. I&rsquo;m feeling good.&rsquo; Here he turns. &lsquo;And I have Nancy to tuck me up at night.&rsquo;
</blockquote>

Laughter, applause, hats in the air.

Anger, discontent and resentment

Imagine this anecdote today. Were Donald Trump had asked the same question in 2016, it seems like he may have responded: &ldquo;Because I&rsquo;m unhappy. I&rsquo;m feeling bad. And my relationship with my wife is catastrophic.&rdquo;

And surely his Republican audience would also have clapped, identifying now not with Reagan&rsquo;s optimism but with Trump&rsquo;s self-portrait of anger, discontent and resentment.

Ronald Reagan, that carefree actor-president, may have been the last US leader to channel Americans&rsquo; good feelings about the free market. As Robert Putnam outlines in his famous <a href="http://bowlingalone.com">investigation</a>, Bowling Alone, civil society and social bonds in the US strengthened from the early 20th century until the 1970s, when the era of neoliberal reforms began.

At that point, things quickly began to unravel. Historically speaking, the growth of mercantilism, en economic nationalism that seeks to enrich the state through trade and wealth accumulation, has always deteriorated social bonds, though that&rsquo;s not necessarily a bad thing. The market also <a href="http://www.rochelleterman.com/ComparativeExam/sites/default/files/Bibliography%20and%20Summaries/Comparative%20Politics_0.pdf">weakens relationships that are clientelistic</a>, toxic or patriarchal.

Problems arise when mercantilism becomes an expansive, generalised social dynamic, which is precisely what globalisation unleashed starting in the 1970s. After global economic crisis exposed the limits of the Fordist assembly line-style mass production model, the world veered sharply back toward the liberal, unregulated <a href="http://www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/series/manchester-capitalism/">Manchester capitalism</a> that had predominated before the second world war.

The rest of the story, which is the subject of our new book <a href="http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1509522352,subjectCd-SO20.html">The Great Regression</a>, you know well.

&lsquo;A catastrophic level of social corrosion&rsquo;

We often make the mistake of thinking that globalisation is a radical new phenomenon, both postmodern and futuristic.

In fact, in his 1944 book <a href="http://inctpped.ie.ufrj.br/spiderweb/pdf_4/Great_Transformation.pdf">The Great Transformation</a>, historian Karl Polanyi was already explaining the political and social crises of the inter-war period as a reaction to the failures of the free market.

<figure class="align-right "><img alt="" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/169363/width237/file-20170515-7024-fllol3.jpg" />
<figcaption>
<a class="source" href="https://www.amazon.com/Great-Regression-Heinrich-Geiselberger/dp/1509522360">Amazon</a>

&nbsp;
</figcaption>
</figure>

From his perspective, the whole utopian idea of a self-regulating market was nihilistic and self-destructive, materially incompatible with the variety of human social life of humans.

For the pragmatist Polanyi, the &ldquo;free market&rdquo; never existed and could never exist. To begin with, mercantilism as a financial system has always required aggressive state intervention, both to ease the pains of its flaws and to break people&rsquo;s natural resistance to being dragged along by the coattails of their economy.

Practically every government in the world has undertaken this process since the 1980s. In <a href="https://www.uow.edu.au/%7Esharonb/jape.html">privatising public services</a>, for example, they have created enormous business opportunities for local elites (<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/06/business/the-big-push-toward-privatization-in-argentina.html?pagewanted1">Argentina</a> being a prime example), stimulated rampant real estate speculation (just look at <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/feb/06/made-london-property-speculation-industry-capital">the UK</a>) and used public resources to rescue the banking system from its own mistakes (remember <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/spain-banks-timeline-idUSL5E8H88YV20120608">Spain</a>?).

When mercantilistm reaches the catastrophic point at which it begins to corrupt all society, Polanyi says, then collective counter-movements emerge. These efforts to reestablish communal living can have radically different political orientations.

The 20th century had the fascists, waging what Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci dubbed &ldquo;<a href="https://quadernidelcarcere.wordpress.com/tag/teoria-della-rivoluzione-passiva/">passive revolutions</a>&rdquo; that aspired to alter the economic and social machinery to preserve elite privileges. It also saw Roosevelt&rsquo;s New Deal, Europe&rsquo;s 1940s democratic socialist movements and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/attlee_clement.shtml">Clement Attlee&rsquo;s reformist Labour government</a> in the UK (1945-1951).

All these were anti-mercantlist projects inspired by democratisation, learning and egalitarianism.

Anti-neoliberal counter reactions

This history is a reminder that there is an old pattern to these shaky modern times.

In the 21st century, counter reactions to globalisation have also been taking radically different forms. Early in the century, <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13260219.2013.853353">Latin America&rsquo;s leftist governments</a> challenged the neoliberal order, rejecting the Washington Consensus and building regional solidarity.

Then, there were the <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-years-on-the-spirit-of-tahrir-square-has-been-all-but-crushed-53461">Arab Spring</a> uprisings of 2010 to 2013, which sought to deepen democracy in a region long dominated by dictators.

The former was crushed and the latter has <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-a-chilean-outsider-revive-latin-americas-ailing-left-71213">largely waned</a>. But the innovative ideas developed in the <a href="http://www.academia.edu/1644759/Understanding_European_movements_new_social_movements_global_justice_struggles_anti-austerity_protest">anti-austerity protests</a> of Iceland Greece, Spain and Portugal following the start of the European debt crisis in 2009 are still very much alive.

What has everyone talking are developments on the opposite end of the ideological spectrum: Brexit, Trump, the extreme right, Islamic fundamentalism &ndash; <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-brexit-to-colombias-no-vote-are-constitutional-democracies-in-crisis-66668">neoliberal backlashes</a> offering new solutions for global elites hoping to preserve their privileges in a turbulent international economy.

It is early yet for an in-depth analysis of the current regressive phenomenon. But we can at least start asking the right questions.

First, did economic discontent really fuel the rise of the modern right, as many claim? <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2016/jun/24/the-areas-and-demographics-where-the-brexit-vote-was-won">Data from the UK</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/09/white-voters-victory-donald-trump-exit-polls">the US</a> indicate exactly the opposite. Not only &ndash; not even mainly &ndash; blue collar workers supported Brexit and Donald Trump; <a href="https://theconversation.com/who-are-trump-voters-social-sciencing-the-s-t-out-of-yard-signs-66099">the rich and the educated did</a> too.

But it is misleading to blame the resentment of the declining middle class for the state of Western politics today.

Money played a crucial role in right-wing victories in the US. Big business and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/opinion/29rich.html">well-funded think tanks</a>, including the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brendan-demelle/study-confirms-tea-party-_b_2663125.html">tobacco lobby and the billionaire Koch brothers</a>, have funded the US Tea Party for years, and starting in 2015, they richly backed Trump.

To mobilise the traditional conservative base of the Republican Party, <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-trump-and-sanders-rewriting-the-rules-on-money-in-politics-56891">cash was injected</a> into media blitzes that spread simple messages, often lies, appealing to American fear.

Money is not the whole story, but it is an important part of it and it has historic resonance. During Europe&rsquo;s fascist and Nazi movements, regressive counter movements feigned solidarity with the 99% while clearly enjoying the support of the 1%. The market&rsquo;s positive response to Trump&rsquo;s victory may be a <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-we-can-learn-from-markets-reaction-to-a-president-trump-68116">clear indication that this is happening again</a>.

So far, the new regressive movements are adopting very different forms to their left-wing recent predecessors in Latin America and Europe. They diverge not only ideologically &ndash; with cosmopolitanism on the one side and xenophobia on the other &ndash; but also in their organisational models.

On the right, politics today is characterised by <a href="https://theconversation.com/trumps-inauguration-ushers-in-2017-the-year-of-the-strongman-70846">strong, personalised leadership</a>: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Narendra Modi, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump being prime examples.

Recent progressive anti-neoliberal movements, on the other hand, have been mostly been <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-hate-neoliberalism-but-love-each-other-a-latin-american-grassroots-guide-68899">defined by citizen participation</a>.

There&rsquo;s no evidence (yet) that regressive movements are necessarily more successful than their progressive counterparts. Rather, in times of economic crisis, left-wing advances such as workers&rsquo; rights have been met with a powerful, well-funded resistance.

The near-constant protest of Trump, Erdogan or Orban confirm progressive counter-reactions <a href="https://theconversation.com/trump-victory-comes-with-a-silver-lining-for-the-worlds-progressives-68523">are very much alive</a> indeed. But they seem unlikely to put regressive movements out of business any time soon.

<figure><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rmdiUoL-ZMk?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440"></iframe></figure>

&nbsp;

One step forward, two steps back

The mainstream progressive response to this reactionary challenge has been, primarily, nostalgia for Keynesian economics: increase public spending to stimulate the economy, boost demand and create employment, redistribute wealth to grow the economy, among other things.

That&rsquo;s a bad alternative. Keynes is dead and he&rsquo;s not coming back. Everything about his era &ndash; from the post-second world war international relations system of Bretton Woods and the Soviet threat to the fast clip of <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/6251312/Keynes-the-Return-of-the-Master-by-Robert-Skidelsky-review.html">economic expansion</a> back then &ndash; is unthinkable today.

Only in a few places has the popular response to the failure of the self-regulating free-market been to push for greater freedom and deeper democracy, rather than to retrench or reminisce.

In addition to a timid normalisation of such activism around basic rights such as housing, a universal basic income, cooperativism and feminism, we have <a href="https://theconversation.com/austerity-portugal-is-on-a-different-path-to-greece-and-spain-heres-why-48121">Portugal&rsquo;s left-wing ruling coalition</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/meet-podemos-the-party-revolutionising-spanish-politics-33802">Podemos</a> in Spain and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/syriza-sweeps-to-victory-in-greek-election-promising-an-end-to-humiliation-36680">Syriza government in Greece</a>.

Today, it is evident that Greece is not the European Union&rsquo;s burden to bear but rather part of its salvation. Syriza has proposed an alternative to European financial metastasis by <a href="http://fortune.com/2016/06/03/greece-eurozone/">reclaiming fiscal sovereignty</a>, battening down the markets, focusing on democratisation, and seeking continent-wide social solidarity.

It&rsquo;s noteworthy that virtually <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-hate-neoliberalism-but-love-each-other-a-latin-american-grassroots-guide-68899">all rights-based anti-neoliberalism</a> has come from peripheral or semi-peripheral nations: first Latin America a decade ago, and now southern Europe. All of them have faced fierce opposition from the rich West.

It may be time to start <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-hate-neoliberalism-but-love-each-other-a-latin-american-grassroots-guide-68899">thinking about the Global South not as a problem but as a solution</a> to the great regression.

*Llano is with the&nbsp;<a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/universidad-complutense-de-madrid-2383">Universidad Complutense de Madrid</a>

**&nbsp;<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/donatella-della-porta-366380">Porta</a>&nbsp;is with the&nbsp;<a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/institute-of-human-and-social-sciences-scuola-normale-superiore-florence-3060">Institute of Human and Social sciences, Scuola Normale Superiore, Florence</a>

The Great Regression, available in 13 languages, can be <a href="http://www.thegreatregression.eu/">found online</a>.

&nbsp;

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-road-to-the-great-regression-76293">original article</a>.

On the right, politics today is characterised by strong, personalised leadership: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Narendra Modi, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump being prime examples.

By César Renduels Menendez de Llano and Donatella Della Porta In 1980, the novelist Martin Amis attended a meeting in Texas with Ronald Reagan, then in the midst of the campaign that would put him in the White House. Reagan liked to end his electoral activities with some audience Q+A. The more personal the question, Amis explained, the more Reagan enjoyed answering. Question: “Of all the people in America, sir, why you for President?” Reagan grins. Answer: “Well, I’m not smart enough to tell a lie.” Laughter, applause. Amis relays the exchange: ‘But why do you want it, sir?’ Reagan flexes his worn, snipped, tucked, mottled face. ‘This country needs a good Republican and I feel I can do the job. Why? I’m happy. I’m feeling good.’ Here he turns. ‘And I have Nancy to tuck me up at night.’ Laughter, applause, hats in the air. Anger, discontent and resentment Imagine this anecdote today. Were Donald Trump had asked the same question in 2016, it seems like he may have responded: “Because I’m unhappy. I’m feeling bad. And my relationship with my wife is catastrophic.” And surely his Republican audience would also have clapped, identifying now not with Reagan’s optimism but with Trump’s self-portrait of anger, discontent and resentment. Ronald Reagan, that carefree actor-president, may have been the last US leader to channel Americans’ good feelings about the free market. As Robert Putnam outlines in his famous investigation, Bowling Alone, civil society and social bonds in the US strengthened from the early 20th century until the 1970s, when the era of neoliberal reforms began. At that point, things quickly began to unravel. Historically speaking, the growth of mercantilism, en economic nationalism that seeks to enrich the state through trade and wealth accumulation, has always deteriorated social bonds, though that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The market also weakens relationships that are clientelistic, toxic or patriarchal. Problems arise when mercantilism becomes an expansive, generalised social dynamic, which is precisely what globalisation unleashed starting in the 1970s. After global economic crisis exposed the limits of the Fordist assembly line-style mass production model, the world veered sharply back toward the liberal, unregulated Manchester capitalism that had predominated before the second world war. The rest of the story, which is the subject of our new book The Great Regression, you know well. ‘A catastrophic level of social corrosion’ We often make the mistake of thinking that globalisation is a radical new phenomenon, both postmodern and futuristic. In fact, in his 1944 book The Great Transformation, historian Karl Polanyi was already explaining the political and social crises of the inter-war period as a reaction to the failures of the free market. Amazon From his perspective, the whole utopian idea of a self-regulating market was nihilistic and self-destructive, materially incompatible with the variety of human social life of humans. For the pragmatist Polanyi, the “free market” never existed and could never exist. To begin with, mercantilism as a financial system has always required aggressive state intervention, both to ease the pains of its flaws and to break people’s natural resistance to being dragged along by the coattails of their economy. Practically every government in the world has undertaken this process since the 1980s. In privatising public services, for example, they have created enormous business opportunities for local elites (Argentina being a prime example), stimulated rampant real estate speculation (just look at the UK) and used public resources to rescue the banking system from its own mistakes (remember Spain?). When mercantilistm reaches the catastrophic point at which it begins to corrupt all society, Polanyi says, then collective counter-movements emerge. These efforts to reestablish communal living can have radically different political orientations. The 20th century had the fascists, waging what Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci dubbed “passive revolutions” that aspired to alter the economic and social machinery to preserve elite privileges. It also saw Roosevelt’s New Deal, Europe’s 1940s democratic socialist movements and Clement Attlee’s reformist Labour government in the UK (1945-1951). All these were anti-mercantlist projects inspired by democratisation, learning and egalitarianism. Anti-neoliberal counter reactions This history is a reminder that there is an old pattern to these shaky modern times. In the 21st century, counter reactions to globalisation have also been taking radically different forms. Early in the century, Latin America’s leftist governments challenged the neoliberal order, rejecting the Washington Consensus and building regional solidarity. Then, there were the Arab Spring uprisings of 2010 to 2013, which sought to deepen democracy in a region long dominated by dictators. The former was crushed and the latter has largely waned. But the innovative ideas developed in the anti-austerity protests of Iceland Greece, Spain and Portugal following the start of the European debt crisis in 2009 are still very much alive. What has everyone talking are developments on the opposite end of the ideological spectrum: Brexit, Trump, the extreme right, Islamic fundamentalism – neoliberal backlashes offering new solutions for global elites hoping to preserve their privileges in a turbulent international economy. It is early yet for an in-depth analysis of the current regressive phenomenon. But we can at least start asking the right questions. First, did economic discontent really fuel the rise of the modern right, as many claim? Data from the UK and the US indicate exactly the opposite. Not only – not even mainly – blue collar workers supported Brexit and Donald Trump; the rich and the educated did too. But it is misleading to blame the resentment of the declining middle class for the state of Western politics today. Money played a crucial role in right-wing victories in the US. Big business and well-funded think tanks, including the tobacco lobby and the billionaire Koch brothers, have funded the US Tea Party for years, and starting in 2015, they richly backed Trump. To mobilise the traditional conservative base of the Republican Party, cash was injected into media blitzes that spread simple messages, often lies, appealing to American fear. Money is not the whole story, but it is an important part of it and it has historic resonance. During Europe’s fascist and Nazi movements, regressive counter movements feigned solidarity with the 99% while clearly enjoying the support of the 1%. The market’s positive response to Trump’s victory may be a clear indication that this is happening again. So far, the new regressive movements are adopting very different forms to their left-wing recent predecessors in Latin America and Europe. They diverge not only ideologically – with cosmopolitanism on the one side and xenophobia on the other – but also in their organisational models. On the right, politics today is characterised by strong, personalised leadership: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Narendra Modi, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump being prime examples. Recent progressive anti-neoliberal movements, on the other hand, have been mostly been defined by citizen participation. There’s no evidence (yet) that regressive movements are necessarily more successful than their progressive counterparts. Rather, in times of economic crisis, left-wing advances such as workers’ rights have been met with a powerful, well-funded resistance. The near-constant protest of Trump, Erdogan or Orban confirm progressive counter-reactions are very much alive indeed. But they seem unlikely to put regressive movements out of business any time soon. One step forward, two steps back The mainstream progressive response to this reactionary challenge has been, primarily, nostalgia for Keynesian economics: increase public spending to stimulate the economy, boost demand and create employment, redistribute wealth to grow the economy, among other things. That’s a bad alternative. Keynes is dead and he’s not coming back. Everything about his era – from the post-second world war international relations system of Bretton Woods and the Soviet threat to the fast clip of economic expansion back then – is unthinkable today. Only in a few places has the popular response to the failure of the self-regulating free-market been to push for greater freedom and deeper democracy, rather than to retrench or reminisce. In addition to a timid normalisation of such activism around basic rights such as housing, a universal basic income, cooperativism and feminism, we have Portugal’s left-wing ruling coalition, Podemos in Spain and the Syriza government in Greece. Today, it is evident that Greece is not the European Union’s burden to bear but rather part of its salvation. Syriza has proposed an alternative to European financial metastasis by reclaiming fiscal sovereignty, battening down the markets, focusing on democratisation, and seeking continent-wide social solidarity. It’s noteworthy that virtually all rights-based anti-neoliberalism has come from peripheral or semi-peripheral nations: first Latin America a decade ago, and now southern Europe. All of them have faced fierce opposition from the rich West. It may be time to start thinking about the Global South not as a problem but as a solution to the great regression. *Llano is with the Universidad Complutense de Madrid ** Porta is with the Institute of Human and Social sciences, Scuola Normale Superiore, Florence The Great Regression, available in 13 languages, can be found online. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

The road to the great regression

Britain published legislation on Thursday to sever political, financial and legal ties with the European Union, an important step towards Brexit but one which the opposition said it would challenge.

The repeal bill is central to the government&#39;s plan to exit the EU in 2019,&nbsp;disentangling Britain from more than 40 years of EU lawmaking on everything from finance to fisheries and repealing the treaty that first made Britain a member in 1972.

Its passage through parliament could make or break Theresa May&#39;s future as prime minister. The election she called last month cost her an outright parliamentary majority and reopened the debate on the nature of Brexit, with Britain&#39;s public spending watchdog now saying the government is not well prepared.

&quot;It is one of the most significant pieces of legislation that has ever passed through parliament and is a major milestone in the process of our withdrawal from the European Union,&quot; Brexit minister David Davis said in a statement.

The government also fleshed out its negotiating stance with the EU, publishing three position papers which underlined that Britain would quit nuclear body Euratom and leave the jursidiction of the European Court of Justice.

May faces a battle even within her own Conservative Party to stick to her plan of a clean break. Pro-Brexit lawmakers will give her little room for movement, while pro-Europeans are looking to soften the divorce terms.

Rebellion by either side could derail the legislation and test May&#39;s ability to negotiate a compromise or find support from opposition parties. If she fails, her position could swiftly become untenable.

Road to &quot;hell&quot;

The publication of the bill is the first step in a long legislative process to ease Brexit,&nbsp;which is stretching the government with the sheer volume of issues to cover.

A report by the government&#39;s spending watchdog said Britain&#39;s planned new customs system, essential to smooth trade, might not be ready in time for Brexit, adding to a list of concerns over the government&#39;s plans.

&quot;We have been clear from the outset that we are putting the resources in place, have got the resources in place that we need to deliver on Brexit,&quot; May&#39;s spokesman told reporters.

The parliament has yet to set a date to debate the bill, which will be closely examined to see how the government plans to carry out the difficult and time-consuming technical exercise of transposing EU law.

The bill set out powers for ministers,&nbsp;with the approval of parliament,&nbsp;to correct laws to ensure they work after being brought into British law. These powers will exist until two years after the day Britain leaves.

A government document, released alongside the bill, offered the example of current town and planning regulations which now refer to &quot;other EEA (European Economic Area) states&quot;. That would need to be changed to &quot;EEA states&quot;, dropping the &#39;other&#39;, for the regulations to work.

In other areas, existing laws require Britain to seek an opinion from the European Commission before a project is approved - something also that will need to be changed.

Lawmakers have expressed concern that the sheer volume of work could limit their ability to scrutinise the changes effectively and fear the government will introduce policy change by the back door.

The main opposition Labour Party has said it would oppose the bill unless it met six conditions, including guarantees for workers&#39; rights. Tim Farron, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said he would work to soften May&#39;s stance, promising the prime minister that &quot;this will be hell&quot;.

The bill will also face scrutiny from British companies, many of which have spent the year since Britons voted by 52 percent to 48 to leave the EU trying to figure out how the change will affect their business.

&quot;A legislative transition of this scope has never before been undertaken,&quot; Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said in a statement.

&quot;We will be keeping a watchful eye for the possibility of unintended consequences that lead to new burdens or compliance costs.&quot;

The repeal bill's passage through parliament could make or break Theresa May's future as prime minister

Britain published legislation on Thursday to sever political, financial and legal ties with the European Union, an important step towards Brexit but one which the opposition said it would challenge. The repeal bill is central to the government's plan to exit the EU in 2019, disentangling Britain from more than 40 years of EU lawmaking on everything from finance to fisheries and repealing the treaty that first made Britain a member in 1972. Its passage through parliament could make or break Theresa May's future as prime minister. The election she called last month cost her an outright parliamentary majority and reopened the debate on the nature of Brexit, with Britain's public spending watchdog now saying the government is not well prepared. "It is one of the most significant pieces of legislation that has ever passed through parliament and is a major milestone in the process of our withdrawal from the European Union," Brexit minister David Davis said in a statement. The government also fleshed out its negotiating stance with the EU, publishing three position papers which underlined that Britain would quit nuclear body Euratom and leave the jursidiction of the European Court of Justice. May faces a battle even within her own Conservative Party to stick to her plan of a clean break. Pro-Brexit lawmakers will give her little room for movement, while pro-Europeans are looking to soften the divorce terms. Rebellion by either side could derail the legislation and test May's ability to negotiate a compromise or find support from opposition parties. If she fails, her position could swiftly become untenable. Road to "hell" The publication of the bill is the first step in a long legislative process to ease Brexit, which is stretching the government with the sheer volume of issues to cover. A report by the government's spending watchdog said Britain's planned new customs system, essential to smooth trade, might not be ready in time for Brexit, adding to a list of concerns over the government's plans. "We have been clear from the outset that we are putting the resources in place, have got the resources in place that we need to deliver on Brexit," May's spokesman told reporters. The parliament has yet to set a date to debate the bill, which will be closely examined to see how the government plans to carry out the difficult and time-consuming technical exercise of transposing EU law. The bill set out powers for ministers, with the approval of parliament, to correct laws to ensure they work after being brought into British law. These powers will exist until two years after the day Britain leaves. A government document, released alongside the bill, offered the example of current town and planning regulations which now refer to "other EEA (European Economic Area) states". That would need to be changed to "EEA states", dropping the 'other', for the regulations to work. In other areas, existing laws require Britain to seek an opinion from the European Commission before a project is approved - something also that will need to be changed. Lawmakers have expressed concern that the sheer volume of work could limit their ability to scrutinise the changes effectively and fear the government will introduce policy change by the back door. The main opposition Labour Party has said it would oppose the bill unless it met six conditions, including guarantees for workers' rights. Tim Farron, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said he would work to soften May's stance, promising the prime minister that "this will be hell". The bill will also face scrutiny from British companies, many of which have spent the year since Britons voted by 52 percent to 48 to leave the EU trying to figure out how the change will affect their business. "A legislative transition of this scope has never before been undertaken," Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said in a statement. "We will be keeping a watchful eye for the possibility of unintended consequences that lead to new burdens or compliance costs."

Britain takes step towards Brexit with repeal bill

According to the board member of BMW, it will decide whether to build its new electric Mini car in Britain or elsewhere by the end of September. BMW attempts to continue attracting investment as it leaves the EU.

Mini makes around 70 per cent of its approximately 3,60,000 compact cars at its Oxford plant in southern England, but the car industry is concerned about the effect any loss of unfettered access to the EU, its largest export market, could have on plants after Brexit.

BMW is deciding on its English site, a plant in the Netherlands where it has built more of its conventional line-up in recent years or its Germany plants at Leipzig and Regensburg for the new low-emissions variant.

The firm&#39;s board member for sales told that the electric Mini investment, likely to be worth tens of millions of pounds, would come in the next three months and the board was currently considering a number of factors including Brexit.

&quot;One of the elements is what is the likelihood of a tax regime and if there&#39;s a tax regime, how would it apply,&quot; Ian Robertson said at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in southern England.

&quot;If you made the motor in a German plant and you then assembled the car in a British plant, and you took the cars back to the German market, then the duty that you would pay would be reclaimed,&quot; he said, in an example of the options companies are examining to plan for any duties or tariffs. &nbsp;&quot;The automaker is also looking into where the uptake of greener models is strongest and where the best supply chains are.&quot;

Britain could approve its first major electric battery hub in the next few weeks after officials in central England submitted proposals to ministers in May. But last month, the car industry issued its strongest warning yet on the need for politicians to strike a transitional Brexit deal after two-year talks to ensure unfettered trade is maintained.

Uncertainty has also been heightened after a snap June 8 election which left Prime Minister Theresa May without a majority and has led to ministers in her administration hinting at different versions of Britain&#39;s likely post-Brexit future.

Last year, May&#39;s administration helped secure two new models at Japanese carmaker Nissan&#39;s plant in the north of England after what a source said was a government promise of extra support to counter any loss of competitiveness caused by Brexit.

Robertson told there was an &quot;open channel&quot; with officials and that he had several meetings with the Brexit ministry and with business minister Greg Clark, who has visited BMW in Munich, with their teams in regular contact.

But, asked whether the government could make promises now regarding future tax or tariff arrangements as BMW neared its decision, he said he did not believe that ministers were in a position to do so.

&quot;Any of these discussions about a guarantee, it&#39;s not possible,&quot; he said.

BMW attempts to continue attracting investment as it leaves the EU

According to the board member of BMW, it will decide whether to build its new electric Mini car in Britain or elsewhere by the end of September. BMW attempts to continue attracting investment as it leaves the EU. Mini makes around 70 per cent of its approximately 3,60,000 compact cars at its Oxford plant in southern England, but the car industry is concerned about the effect any loss of unfettered access to the EU, its largest export market, could have on plants after Brexit. BMW is deciding on its English site, a plant in the Netherlands where it has built more of its conventional line-up in recent years or its Germany plants at Leipzig and Regensburg for the new low-emissions variant. The firm's board member for sales told that the electric Mini investment, likely to be worth tens of millions of pounds, would come in the next three months and the board was currently considering a number of factors including Brexit. "One of the elements is what is the likelihood of a tax regime and if there's a tax regime, how would it apply," Ian Robertson said at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in southern England. "If you made the motor in a German plant and you then assembled the car in a British plant, and you took the cars back to the German market, then the duty that you would pay would be reclaimed," he said, in an example of the options companies are examining to plan for any duties or tariffs. "The automaker is also looking into where the uptake of greener models is strongest and where the best supply chains are." Britain could approve its first major electric battery hub in the next few weeks after officials in central England submitted proposals to ministers in May. But last month, the car industry issued its strongest warning yet on the need for politicians to strike a transitional Brexit deal after two-year talks to ensure unfettered trade is maintained. Uncertainty has also been heightened after a snap June 8 election which left Prime Minister Theresa May without a majority and has led to ministers in her administration hinting at different versions of Britain's likely post-Brexit future. Last year, May's administration helped secure two new models at Japanese carmaker Nissan's plant in the north of England after what a source said was a government promise of extra support to counter any loss of competitiveness caused by Brexit. Robertson told there was an "open channel" with officials and that he had several meetings with the Brexit ministry and with business minister Greg Clark, who has visited BMW in Munich, with their teams in regular contact. But, asked whether the government could make promises now regarding future tax or tariff arrangements as BMW neared its decision, he said he did not believe that ministers were in a position to do so. "Any of these discussions about a guarantee, it's not possible," he said.

BMW to make Mini electric car plant decision by September-end

British Prime Minister Theresa May&#39;s government faces a vote of&nbsp;confidence&nbsp;on Thursday, three weeks after a disastrous election left her authority in tatters and her Brexit strategy in doubt.

Members of the House of Commons will vote on the Conservative leader&#39;s legislative plans -- the Queen&#39;s Speech -- in a key test of whether she can stay in power.

The government is expected to pass its programme after forming a deal with Northern Ireland&#39;s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), whose 10 MPs will vote with 317 Conservatives.

That tally is enough, barely, for a majority in the 650-seat chamber but May&#39;s authority has been deeply damaged by the election, which she called three years early expecting to win a landslide.

Instead, she finds herself hanging on by a thread.

The majority of the bills in the Queen&#39;s Speech concern Britain&#39;s departure from the European Union, on which the first formal negotiations took place last week.

But May&#39;s Brexit plan is under scrutiny as many saw the election as a rebuke to her move to pull Britain out of Europe&#39;s single market -- its largest trading market -- to prioritise cutting EU immigration.

May&#39;s government is also dealing with the fall-out of a string of terror attacks and the blaze at the Grenfell Tower block in London, which left at least 80 people presumed dead and saw the premier accused of being out of touch with the public mood by not acting quickly enough.

Brexit plans in flux

Calls to prioritise jobs and growth in Brexit are growing, including from Finance Minister Philip Hammond, who May was expected to sack after the election but who has stayed on.

Cabinet tensions have also seen Hammond take a swipe at eurosceptic Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson over his claim that Britain could &quot;have its cake and eat it&quot; in the negotiations.

&quot;I try to discourage talk of &#39;cake&#39; amongst my colleagues,&quot; the finance minister said during a speech in Berlin.

Hammond emphasised the need for transitional deals to avoid a damaging &quot;cliff-edge&quot; when Britain leaves, but in London, Brexit minister David Davis slapped him down, saying his views were &quot;not quite consistent&quot;.

Davis also introduced confusion by suggesting that Britain would not stay in the customs union as part of a transitional deal.

May&#39;s spokeswoman insisted that &quot;everybody is on the same page&quot;, and nothing had changed.

However, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker was asked at a summit last week whether he was clear on Britain&#39;s position on Brexit, to which he replied: &quot;No.&quot;

&quot;Whatever May and Davis are saying in public, Brexit policy is in fact in flux,&quot; said Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform.

He noted the increased influence of Hammond and the Scottish Conservatives, who did well in the election and have also emphasised maintaining trade ties with the EU.

Meanwhile Labour, which won 262 seats, has accepted that Britain will be leaving the single market but wants &quot;full tariff-free access&quot; to protect jobs.

&#39;Ready and waiting&#39;

&quot;The easiest thing for May to do is to press ahead with the Brexit that her right-wing desires. But that is probably not sustainable in the long term,&quot; Grant said.

He added: &quot;If May doesn&rsquo;t reinvent herself as a soft-Brexiteer, she is likely to be defeated in parliament.&quot;

After more than two weeks of wrangling, May announced a deal with the DUP on Monday where they agreed to back her minority government in&nbsp;confidence&nbsp;and budget votes.

She promised to give Northern Ireland an extra &pound;1.0 billion (1.1 billion euros, $1.3 billion) in state aid over the next two years.

But there is doubt about how long the alliance can last.

The DUP&#39;s ultra-conservative views on abortion and gay marriage have caused disquiet among many Conservatives. There are also concerns that the deal could upset the fragile balance of power in Northern Ireland

Theresa May finds her government hanging by a thread after the disastrous election. Her Brexit strategy is also in doubt?

British Prime Minister Theresa May's government faces a vote of confidence on Thursday, three weeks after a disastrous election left her authority in tatters and her Brexit strategy in doubt. Members of the House of Commons will vote on the Conservative leader's legislative plans -- the Queen's Speech -- in a key test of whether she can stay in power. The government is expected to pass its programme after forming a deal with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), whose 10 MPs will vote with 317 Conservatives. That tally is enough, barely, for a majority in the 650-seat chamber but May's authority has been deeply damaged by the election, which she called three years early expecting to win a landslide. Instead, she finds herself hanging on by a thread. The majority of the bills in the Queen's Speech concern Britain's departure from the European Union, on which the first formal negotiations took place last week. But May's Brexit plan is under scrutiny as many saw the election as a rebuke to her move to pull Britain out of Europe's single market -- its largest trading market -- to prioritise cutting EU immigration. May's government is also dealing with the fall-out of a string of terror attacks and the blaze at the Grenfell Tower block in London, which left at least 80 people presumed dead and saw the premier accused of being out of touch with the public mood by not acting quickly enough. Brexit plans in flux Calls to prioritise jobs and growth in Brexit are growing, including from Finance Minister Philip Hammond, who May was expected to sack after the election but who has stayed on. Cabinet tensions have also seen Hammond take a swipe at eurosceptic Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson over his claim that Britain could "have its cake and eat it" in the negotiations. "I try to discourage talk of 'cake' amongst my colleagues," the finance minister said during a speech in Berlin. Hammond emphasised the need for transitional deals to avoid a damaging "cliff-edge" when Britain leaves, but in London, Brexit minister David Davis slapped him down, saying his views were "not quite consistent". Davis also introduced confusion by suggesting that Britain would not stay in the customs union as part of a transitional deal. May's spokeswoman insisted that "everybody is on the same page", and nothing had changed. However, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker was asked at a summit last week whether he was clear on Britain's position on Brexit, to which he replied: "No." "Whatever May and Davis are saying in public, Brexit policy is in fact in flux," said Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform. He noted the increased influence of Hammond and the Scottish Conservatives, who did well in the election and have also emphasised maintaining trade ties with the EU. Meanwhile Labour, which won 262 seats, has accepted that Britain will be leaving the single market but wants "full tariff-free access" to protect jobs. 'Ready and waiting' "The easiest thing for May to do is to press ahead with the Brexit that her right-wing desires. But that is probably not sustainable in the long term," Grant said. He added: "If May doesn’t reinvent herself as a soft-Brexiteer, she is likely to be defeated in parliament." After more than two weeks of wrangling, May announced a deal with the DUP on Monday where they agreed to back her minority government in confidence and budget votes. She promised to give Northern Ireland an extra £1.0 billion (1.1 billion euros, $1.3 billion) in state aid over the next two years. But there is doubt about how long the alliance can last. The DUP's ultra-conservative views on abortion and gay marriage have caused disquiet among many Conservatives. There are also concerns that the deal could upset the fragile balance of power in Northern Ireland

British PM Theresa May faces confidence vote today

British Prime Minister Theresa May drew closer to clinching a deal to prop up her minority government on Monday as she prepared to meet the leader of the Northern Irish Protestant party.

After May lost her majority in parliament on June 8 with a failed gamble on a snap election, she is trying to secure the backing of the small Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and its 10 lawmakers, though talks have dragged on for more than two weeks.

DUP leader Arlene Foster, who is due to meet the prime minister in Downing Street at 0930 GMT, said she was hoping to finalise a deal with May&#39;s Conservatives.

&quot;We are close to concluding an appropriate agreement with the Conservative Party to support a minority government on a confidence and supply basis,&quot; Foster, who travelled to London on Sunday, wrote in the Belfast Telegraph.

&quot;It is a massive opportunity, but a responsibility I do not take lightly. We are determined to utilise this position to help deliver stable government in the United Kingdom and address long-standing issues which affect everyone in Northern Ireland.&quot;

A spokesman for the DUP confirmed Foster would meet May at 0930 GMT.

A deal would allow May to pass legislation with the backing of the DUP in the 650-seat parliament, and stay in power as she attempts to negotiate Britain&#39;s exit from the European Union.

Her position remains insecure, however, with speculation she could face a leadership challenge.

Some senior Conservatives have voiced unease at a deal with the DUP, saying it could put at risk the 1998 peace settlement in Northern Ireland, known as the Good Friday Agreement. Foster said a deal with May could help drive a second deal on power sharing in the province.

Northern Ireland has been in crisis since Sinn Fein pulled out of government in January, prompting an election in March and a series of missed deadlines to restore the compulsory coalition between Irish Catholic nationalists and pro-British Protestant unionists.

&quot;I think that this agreement will bring the prospects of doing a deal at (the Belfast parliament) Stormont closer because this will have a positive impact in relation to Northern Ireland,&quot; Foster told Sky, adding that a second deal on power sharing in the province could be reached this week too.

&quot;I very much hope that this week we will be able to conclude on two agreements.&quot;

The latest deadline set by the British government for the parties in Northern Ireland to reach an agreement is Thursday. Sinn Fein said last week that &quot;time was running out&quot; given the lack of knowledge about the impact of any Conservative/DUP deal.

A deal would allow May to pass legislation with the backing of the DUP in the 650-seat parliament, and stay in power as she attempts to negotiate Britain's exit from the European Union

British Prime Minister Theresa May drew closer to clinching a deal to prop up her minority government on Monday as she prepared to meet the leader of the Northern Irish Protestant party. After May lost her majority in parliament on June 8 with a failed gamble on a snap election, she is trying to secure the backing of the small Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and its 10 lawmakers, though talks have dragged on for more than two weeks. DUP leader Arlene Foster, who is due to meet the prime minister in Downing Street at 0930 GMT, said she was hoping to finalise a deal with May's Conservatives. "We are close to concluding an appropriate agreement with the Conservative Party to support a minority government on a confidence and supply basis," Foster, who travelled to London on Sunday, wrote in the Belfast Telegraph. "It is a massive opportunity, but a responsibility I do not take lightly. We are determined to utilise this position to help deliver stable government in the United Kingdom and address long-standing issues which affect everyone in Northern Ireland." A spokesman for the DUP confirmed Foster would meet May at 0930 GMT. A deal would allow May to pass legislation with the backing of the DUP in the 650-seat parliament, and stay in power as she attempts to negotiate Britain's exit from the European Union. Her position remains insecure, however, with speculation she could face a leadership challenge. Some senior Conservatives have voiced unease at a deal with the DUP, saying it could put at risk the 1998 peace settlement in Northern Ireland, known as the Good Friday Agreement. Foster said a deal with May could help drive a second deal on power sharing in the province. Northern Ireland has been in crisis since Sinn Fein pulled out of government in January, prompting an election in March and a series of missed deadlines to restore the compulsory coalition between Irish Catholic nationalists and pro-British Protestant unionists. "I think that this agreement will bring the prospects of doing a deal at (the Belfast parliament) Stormont closer because this will have a positive impact in relation to Northern Ireland," Foster told Sky, adding that a second deal on power sharing in the province could be reached this week too. "I very much hope that this week we will be able to conclude on two agreements." The latest deadline set by the British government for the parties in Northern Ireland to reach an agreement is Thursday. Sinn Fein said last week that "time was running out" given the lack of knowledge about the impact of any Conservative/DUP deal.

Theresa May nears deal to prop up government with Northern Irish DUP

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