A senior European Union politician couldn't help a Brexit quip as he waded into Britain's row over Dominic Cummings, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's top adviser and mastermind of leaving the bloc who is accused of violating coronavirus travel curbs.
The Argentine foreign minister Felipe Solá held a round of talks with his counterparts from Australia, Ireland and Armenia to address issues of special significance for an Argentine foreign policy such as the current Coronavirus pandemic, and its impact on the global economy, and the European Union position regarding the Falkland Islands in a post Brexit scenario.
Britain and the European Union urged each other on Friday to give ground in talks over a post-Brexit trade deal or risk failure in tetchy exchanges after the latest bout of bargaining ended with scant progress.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a newspaper interview on Saturday there was a growing risk of a hard Brexit in the midst of the coronavirus crisis as negotiations between Britain and the European Union so far on the future trade relationship had yielded hardly any progress.
Lawmaker MLA Teslyn Barkman confirmed that work continues in London to ensure that any future Brexit agreement (UK leaving the EU) has input from the Falkland Islands.
British and European Union (EU) officials restarted on Monday a week-long round of Brexit trade talks after a break because of the coronavirus, which is making an end-of-year deal look even more unlikely. After a first-round in early March negotiations were suspended for six weeks as officials focused on the deadly virus sweeping Europe.
EU ministers gathering on Tuesday to adopt a joint negotiating stance on future ties with Britain warned London it must first respect a treaty struck last year that eased the terms of its Brexit. They also stressed that mirroring EU standards will be crucial for British goods to be allowed tariff-free access to the huge European single market.
Salmon farmers face huge unnecessary burdens and a loss of market share under UK government plans for Brexit. The chief executive of the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation (SSPO) said firms were being told to prepare for trade barriers with the EU. The industry is also warning that added red tape could see £9m on costs and delays to the departure of fresh fish.
The British government is hiring additional ships for the Royal Navy amid growing Brexit tensions - with reports as many as 24 extra boats could be drafted into service. The Times reports that “Ministers are getting ready to triple the number of boats in Britain’s fisheries protection squadron to police territorial waters in the event of a no-trade-deal Brexit”.
The city of Portsmouth in England will continue to seek global relationships following the UK's departure from the European Union by twinning with the Falkland Islands and Halifax in Canada, reports the Plymouth News.