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Brexit and the UK Elections
After several attempts by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the majority of British MPs have finally approved the PM’s call for general elections in the House of Commons, writes Le Soir. The UK elections will be held on the 12th of December, and the decision comes a day after the same MPs had voted against an initial proposal for elections to be held on the 9th of December. In the initial voting, the Labour Party had opposed the December election. What does all of this mean for Brexit? Johnson hopes to bring in a conservative majority in the British government. If the Conservatives manage to get a parliamentary majority, the PM may then have the opportunity to finally push his Brexit agenda – according to Johnson, the elections are “the only way to make [the UK] move forward”. The decision for an election came after EU Council President Donald Tusk revealed that the EU27 have agreed to give the UK another extension for Brexit, with the new deadline being January 31, 2020.
The full article in French: Brexit: comme le demandait Johnson, des élections anticipées auront lieu le 12 décembre au Royaume-Uni
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Post-Brexit Economy
Il Sole 24 Ore writes about how Italy’s export to Europe has been profiting from Brexit. Recently, Italy has become the fifth largest exporter to Germany, surpassing the UK. Business leaders from Germany, Italy and Austria recently met to discuss how their economic relations may change in a post-Brexit scenario. At an event organised by the Italian-German Chamber of Commerce and the international law firm Giebelman & Salvoni, entrepreneurs agreed that the introduction of a customs union by the UK might jeopardise one of the fundamental goals of the European Union, i.e. trade facilitation. Nonetheless, they foresee that the negative consequences of Brexit can be overcome and turn into a chance to deepen their economic relations. Gudrun Hager from the Austrian Chamber of Commerce stated that though Brexit is inevitable, it cannot be avoided: “It is better to prefer a painful end that an endless pain.”
The full article in Italian: La Brexit comunque ha spinto l’export dell’Italia, che in Germania ha scalzato il Regno Unito
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Maintenance of EU ties
The Local writes this week about a study from Berlin that reveals how the number of Brits who have relocated to other EU countries is at an all time high in a decade. Unsurprisingly, since the 2016 Brexit referendum, the amount of people departing the UK has increased. According to estimates made in the study, up to 84,000 people will relocate from the UK into another EU country by the end of this year. Alongside the relocations, the study additionally looked at figures of granted EU citizenship and nationalization – the numbers of EU naturalizations jumped between 2015 and 2017. Curiously, the issue of identity was also studied by the researchers and they found an increase in British-European identity, as well people feeling a “new motivation in being active Europeans”. The researches also found that many of the group participants wanted to maintain their EU nationality, even if that meant giving up their British nationality.
The full article in English: Number of Britons who move to EU at highest level in a decade
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Okay, but will it ever end?
Another week, another slew of never-ending Brexit negotiations and delays. Le Monde warns its readers that, no matter what happens, there will continue to be delays and it may be years before the Brexit crisis is really resolved. A withdrawal agreement is only the first step, as it only indicates the decision for the UK to divorce from the EU. It remains to be seen, sector by sector, what customs laws will be applied, how financial regulations will be recognized, what reciprocal trade practices will be followed, etc. Le Monde points out how other trade agreements (such as the CETA, between Canada and the EU) took years to work out – technical difficulties always arise in negotiation procedures. Nonetheless, the term of “Brexternity” is increasingly becoming commonplace these days, as the extension continues to be, well, extended. It is uncertain as to whether or not the withdrawal will happen, or how long it will take to really conclude.
The full article in French: « Si vous n’en pouvez plus de la saga du Brexit, mauvaise nouvelle : cela va encore durer des années »
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