Eu brussels

British exports to the European Union plummeted by 68 per cent in January as post-Brexit paperwork and the coronavirus crisis wreaked havoc at UK ports, according to a new survey of international hauliers.  Research conducted by the Road Haulage Association found the volume of exports heading from British ports to the continent suffered a major dip last month when compared to the same period last year. The findings have prompted the RHA to write to Michael Gove, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, to call for urgent action to reduce friction at the border.  The RHA is demanding Mr Gove do more to rapidly increase the number of customs agents from 10,000 to 50,000 to help firms deal with new red tape. It came as Attorney General Suella Braverman said Boris Johnson will not let the EU 'push Northern Ireland around' amid an ongoing row over post-Brexit border checks.  British exports to the EU fell by 68 per cent in January according to a new survey by the Road Haulage … [Read more...] about British exports to the EU ‘plummeted by 68 per cent in January’ as post-Brexit paperwork and coronavirus crisis wreaked havoc at UK ports

The coronavirus reconstruction fund is gradually coming together. Countries must present their plans to the European Commission by the end of April — then the Commission will evaluate them. Initial payments will be made this summer at the earliest, if Brussels gives the go-ahead. Securing the agreement for the €750 billion ($907 billion) package last summer was a huge political feat. For the first time ever, the EU is incurring debt in order to help member states recover financially from the pandemic. "Where reforms are concerned, the plans need to be more ambitious," said Romanian politician and economist Siegfried Muresan, vice chair of the conservative European People's Party (EPP) group in the European Parliament and a member of the budgetary committee. The specifications are clear: 37% of the money must be invested in climate protection measures, 20% in digital restructuring, the rest in welfare system reform, or in the public health fcare sector. … [Read more...] about COVID: EU’s reconstruction fund slowly gets into gear

Sanctions are an important and frequently used tool in European Union foreign policy. At present, more than 40 sanctions regimes are in force — directed against states, organizations like the al-Qaida terrorist group, companies and individuals. The list of sanctioned individuals currently runs to about 500 pages and is available to the public on the EU's websites. Sanctions are imposed for illegal annexation of territories and the destabilization of sovereign states; they are imposed against terrorists and for human rights violations and nuclear proliferation. The EU can impose sanctions worldwide for human rights violations without their being bound to specific states or crises. The EU either imposes its own sanctions or implements punitive measures specified by the United Nations.  Decision  The Council of the European Union, which is the representation of the 27 EU governments, decides on the imposition of punitive measures, and decides unanimously. A standing … [Read more...] about How the EU decides and imposes sanctions

Few Prime Ministers actually manage to change the countries they govern. In the past 80 years, only Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee, Margaret Thatcher, Harold Wilson and Tony Blair could claim to have done so – Wilson and Blair very much for the worse. Now, thanks to his achievement of a negotiated departure from the EU, Boris Johnson joins that number, and in this case the change is definitely for the better. Having won a majority that fashionable opinion said was unattainable, he has once again pulled off what almost everyone said was impossible. Four days from now, Britain will be a fully independent country again, for the first time in almost half a century. To see what a triumph this is, just remember the awful Groundhog Days of Theresa May ’s Government, month after month of futile circling and failed talks, as foolish people, who could not accept the democratic verdict, childishly refused to grant the loser’s consent which is at the heart of our democracy. Prime … [Read more...] about MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: Boris the human bulldozer has triumphantly freed us from the EU – now he must use the same iron will to free us from the tyranny of lockdowns

European doctors are snubbing the Oxford/ AstraZeneca vaccine after a concerted EU campaign casting doubts on its effectiveness. Mild 'side effects' including high temperatures and headaches have been reported by a small percentage of medical staff on the continent, despite there being no evidence of such occurrences in the UK, where the jab has been rolled out even more widely. As Brussels missteps in its vaccine procurement process became clear, and it demanded that AstraZeneca ramp up supplies to Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron attempted to 'manage demand' for the vaccine by questioning its effectiveness in the over-65s. 'What I can tell you officially today is that the early results we have are not encouraging for 60 to 65-year-old people concerning AstraZeneca,' he said. And the German regulator also raised questions by failing to approve it for the over-65s. Both statements were based on the relatively small number of over-65s in the original clinical trial … [Read more...] about Now French and Italian doctors shun Oxford vaccine after EU and Macron ‘managed demand’ by casting doubts on its efficacy – despite backing for jab from WHO and multiple studies