Tag: European Parliament

• Wednesday, January 10th 2018 - 10:38 UTC

  Farage: Barnier doesn't understand why 17 million voted to leave the EU

  

  Nigel Farage, who as leader of the UK Independence Party was one of the leading campaigners for Britain to leave the European Union, crossed swords with one of his main EU adversaries. After meeting Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, for about 30 minutes in Brussels, Farage said he was convinced that the Frenchman doesn’t understand why more than 17 million people voted for the UK to leave in the 2016 referendum.

• Wednesday, November 22nd 2017 - 06:57 UTC

  UK warned to keep to the “European model” if it targets an ambitious deal with the EU

  

  Britain’s hopes of an advantageous free trade agreement with the EU could be dashed if it attempts to use Brexit as an opportunity to abandon the “European model” and transform itself into a low-tax, low-regulation economy, Brussels’ chief negotiator has warned.

• Thursday, November 16th 2017 - 09:47 UTC

  PM May to address European parliament leadership on 24 November

  

  British Prime Minister Theresa May will meet the European Parliament’s leadership on November 24, according to senior Parliament officials in Strasbourg. They said May will address the Conference of Presidents, the president of Parliament and the chairs of the political groups, not all MEPs.

• Wednesday, October 25th 2017 - 10:15 UTC

  Europe tells Malta it must bring to light the killing of journalist Daphne Caruana

  

  ”Malta must show to Europe and the world that its rules and regulations are healthy and robust,” European Commission first vice-president Frans Timmermans said. “If problems of a more general or systemic nature are brought to light, they must also be addressed, regardless of the consequences.”

• Wednesday, October 4th 2017 - 08:09 UTC

  Good Friday agreement must not be damaged by Brexit, says EU parliament coordinator

  

  European Parliament's Brexit coordinator has said he got a “shock” on his recent visit to Belfast when he saw the city's peace walls. Guy Verhofstadt described Northern Ireland as having a “frozen conflict”, and said the Good Friday Agreement must not be damaged by Brexit.

• Tuesday, July 11th 2017 - 05:49 UTC

  European Parliament rejects point blank PM May offer on citizens' rights

  

  European Parliament’s lead Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt has rejected Theresa May’s offer on citizens’ rights, claiming it was casting a “dark cloud” over people’s status. In a joint article with a cross-party group of senior MEPs, Mr Verhofstadt said the Prime Minister’s plan was a “damp squib” which carried a risk of creating “second-class citizenship”.

• Monday, May 15th 2017 - 07:46 UTC

  EU prepared to block Brexit talks unless citizenship measures are “reasonable”

  

  The European Parliament could seek to block talks on a UK-EU trade deal unless guarantees are put in place for the rights of citizens, the MEP in charge of the process has indicated. Guy Verhofstadt, the parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator, said MEPs would have to decide whether sufficient progress had been made on issues including EU citizens’ rights in the UK and those of British expatriates on the continent before talks on Britain’s future relationship with Brussels could proceed.

• Thursday, May 11th 2017 - 09:56 UTC

  Gibraltar preparing for a hard Brexit; expects new opportunities for financial services

  

  Gibraltar is preparing for a hard Brexit but expects new opportunities for its financial services sector despite the challenges ahead, Finance Centre Director James Tipping told a European Parliament committee in Brussels. Mr Tipping told the parliament’s Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion that Gibraltar’s finance centre was “small by European standards” but crucial to Gibraltar’s economy.

• Monday, March 13th 2017 - 08:30 UTC

  EU should be “open and generous” to UK citizens, says European Parliament leader

  

  British citizens should be able to choose to keep various benefits of EU membership including the freedom of movement after Brexit, the European Parliament’s chief negotiator has said. Guy Verhofstadt said he hoped to convince European leaders to allow Britons to keep certain rights if they apply for them on an individual basis.

• Saturday, February 11th 2017 - 07:14 UTC

  UK's “exit bill” £ 48 billion? “It would be like leaving a bar without paying for your drinks”

  

  The European Commission has refused to discuss the size of the “exit bill” to be handed to the UK when it withdraws from the EU, amid reports the demand has been fixed at around £48 billion.