The UK and the European Union have agreed the terms of a transition deal that covers Gibraltar but also maintains Spain’s controversial veto, according to a report from the Gibraltar Chronicle. Gibraltar is included within the territorial scope of a draft withdrawal agreement that also sets out arrangements to smooth the UK’s departure from the bloc after March 2019.
European Union (EU) finance ministers have added the Bahamas, the US Virgin Islands and St Kitts and Nevis to a tax haven blacklist, while removing St Lucia from the list. And Trinidad and Tobago remains on the list which was created last December.
The UK will come to regret its decision to leave the European Union, Brussels’ top official has claimed. European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said things “cannot remain as they are” for the UK in its relationship with the EU after leaving the bloc.
German firms ideally want the UK to stay in a customs union after Brexit, a powerful German industry group says. BDI said it would prefer a deep form of integration between Britain and the EU after Brexit. It had previously said the integrity of the single market for remaining European Union member states should be a priority.
The flag of the European Union at different points in Gibraltar was lowered over the weekend and replaced by the flag of the Commonwealth, marking Commonwealth Day. It has been traditional for the Commonwealth flag to fly on that day over No.6 Convent Place, the seat of Government in Gibraltar.
European Commission has written to the UK government saying the UK owes €2.7bn (£2.4bn) in customs duties on shoes and textiles imported from China. The UK is accused of doing too little to prevent fraud after it was warned about the problem by the EU's watchdog Olaf in 2017. It begins a legal process which could end at the European Court of Justice.
Motorbikes, whiskey and T-shirts are among the US goods that could be hit by EU taxes if the US imposes import tariffs on steel and aluminum. The EU has drawn up a target list of 100 US goods worth €2.8bn (US$3.5bn), the BBC understands.
The European Union is unlikely to accept the UK's latest proposal for avoiding a “hard border” on the island of Ireland after Brexit, the Irish government has said. Theresa May has said 80% of firms would face no new customs checks between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic and others would be simplified.
”Real political difficulties” lie ahead for Brexit, EU summit chair Donald Tusk said after Prime Minister Theresa May gave him a preview of the vision of future trade ties she will unveil on Friday. Over lunch on Thursday at her Downing Street office, May told Tusk a draft Brexit treaty published by the European Union on Wednesday was “unacceptable” in its proposal of keeping Northern Ireland effectively in an EU customs union, potentially isolating the province economically from the British mainland.
Former British Prime Minister John Major called on Wednesday for a free vote in parliament on whether to reject any deal negotiated with the European Union, warning the current plans are “bad politics” that will damage the economy.