Brexit. Why do Brits want Out of the EU?

The Amsterdam appeals court on Tuesday ruled that a group of British expats were unable to continue with a case aimed at securing their rights after Brexit. The group had hoped to argue they had acquired independent rights as European Union citizens by living in the Netherlands for so long, but the court ruled the case was inadmissible in its current form.

The expats, some of whom have lived in the Netherlands for decades, maintained that they should retain rights and freedoms, such as theright to free movement and residence.

However, the court agreed with the Dutch government, which had argued at a hearing in April that the case was "inadmissible" and "groundless."

In its verdict on Tuesday, the appeal court said the issues raised by the five Britons named in the case were "not concrete enough" and too vague.

As a result, it said, the case could not be forwarded to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). However, the court did rule that the position of Britons living in the EU after Brexit should, indeed — as a matter of EU law — be decided by the ECJ.
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Leaked draft of European Council conclusions seen by The Independent expresses frustration

EU leaders are set to sound the alarm on the lack of progress in Brexit talks and pledge to step-up contingency planning for the possibility of a disastrous ‘no deal’.

The 27 remaining EU presidents and prime ministers will meet in private without Theresa May at next week’s European Council summit in Brussels to discuss how negotiations are going.

A leaked draft of the Council’s conclusions seen by The Independent shows that the national leaders are planning to express their “concern that no substantial progress has yet been achieved on agreeing a backstop solution for Ireland/Northern Ireland”.

The motion also urges “member states and all stakeholders to step up their work on preparedness at all levels for all outcomes” – a diplomatic reference to the possibility of a disastrous ‘no deal’.

The European countries are also expected to repeat a familiar refrain: that they want “further clarity from the UK as regards its position on the future relationship” – where talks have barely begun despite a looming deadline.

The draft, drawn up by diplomats on Tuesday, could be amended before the summit happens – but is highly likely to resemble the final statement put out by the leaders. Most agreements at summits are struck beforehand by backroom officials, and previous pre-cooked Brexit conclusions have been approved within minutes by leaders.

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Government defeats amendment drafted by Dominic Grieve after last-minute concession

The attempt to secure a “meaningful vote” that could have potentially given MPs the power to stop Britain leaving the EU without a deal has been defeated.

The final obstacle to the EU withdrawal bill was removed as MPs voted 303 to 319 against an amendment tabled by the former attorney general Dominic Grieve – before he accepted government reassurances about its respect for the power of MPs to hold it to account.

At least six Tory rebels – Ken Clarke, Sarah Wollaston, Anna Soubry, Heidi Allen, Antoinette Sandbach and Philip Lee, who resigned last week to vote against the government – held out against the compromise that Labour MPs dismissed as meaningless.

Grieve was accused by one angry Labour backbencher of behaving like the Grand old Duke of York. “You can’t keep marching the troops up the hill and down again and keep your integrity,” George Howarth said.

The bill will return to the Lords later on Wednesday and is expected to be on the statute book within days.

After the vote, Grieve said: “We’ve managed to reach a compromise without breaking the government – and I think some people don’t realise we were getting quite close to that. I completely respect the view of my colleagues who disagree, but if we can compromise we can achieve more.”

Amid a welter of procedural technicalities about the powers of MPs and the potential role of the judges, Grieve – who had said he woke up in the small hours worrying that his actions would cause the government’s collapse – withdrew his support for his own amendment.

As part of the process, David Davis, the Brexit secretary, tabled a written statement recognising the authority of MPs to hold the government to account, and saying that it would be for the Speaker to decide at the time whether any government motion could be amended. The government proposal would have ruled out amendment altogether.

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BMW UK boss Ian Robertson told the BBC it needed clarity by the end of the summer. It makes the Mini and Rolls Royce in the UK.

Earlier, Airbus warned it could leave the UK if it exits the European Union single market and customs union without a transition deal.

The UK government says it is confident of getting a good deal for industry.

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Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, said the prime minister was ready to walk away without an agreement as part of her commitment to deliver a "people's Brexit".

The government is committed to its policy of "no deal is better than a bad deal", he added, telling the EU it needs to "understand that and believe it".

His warning comes as cabinet ministers battle for control of the Brexit process ahead of a key meeting at Chequers next month.

London has retained its position as the most desirable city for overseas workers, beating New York, Berlin and Barcelona, according to the latest study by the Boston Consulting Group and totaljobs.com.

The UK overall, however, has dropped three places in the country rankings over concerns about the cross-border movement of workers following Brexit. The study also found that the number of British workers willing to seek employment overseas has soared to more than 60% – the largest increase in any country.

This is Boston’s second such study in four years and shows the UK slipping from second in 2014 to fifth in attractiveness, despite the capital holding on to its top spot. The US, Germany, Canada and Australia all rank higher than Britain in terms of attractiveness after the Brexit vote.
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Business leaders from the US, Canada, Japan and India have told the British government to solve the Brexit issue urgently or put more than £100bn worth of trade at risk.

Lobby groups representing business interests from the four countries took the unusual step of issuing a joint statement on Brexit before the European council summit this week. It came days after Airbus said its investment in the UK would be at risk from a hard Brexit, prompting the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, to say the Franco-German aircraft maker’s intervention was “completely inappropriate”.

Groups representing corporate giants including Nissan, Bombardier and Facebook expressed their concerns on Monday that Britain was heading towards a disorderly departure from the EU, potentially affecting more than £100bn in trade and putting investment in the UK at risk.

“International businesses who are heavily invested in both the EU and the UK are calling for urgent progress on the key outstanding issues remaining in the talks,” they said in the statement. “Resolving as many of the remaining concerns as possible is becoming more urgent by the day – with the clock ticking towards the October deadline for a final withdrawal agreement.”

The statement was signed by the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU, representing companies including Boeing, Exxon Mobile, Facebook, Dell, Coca-Cola and FedEx. It was also signed by the Canada Europe Roundtable for Business, Europe India Chamber of Commerce and the Japan Business Council in Europe.
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If Mini and Rolls-Royce parts are caught up in delays, German carmaker will close sites putting 8,000 jobs at risk

BMW has said it will be forced to close its production sites in the UK, putting 8,000 jobs at risk, if components for Mini and Rolls-Royce cars are caught up in customs delays after Brexit.

In its starkest warning over Brexit yet, the customs manager of the German carmaker’s UK operations said its manufacturing set-up would not be able to cope with obstructions to its supply chain.

“We always said we can do our best and prepare everything, but if, at the end of the day the supply chain will have a stop at the border, then we cannot produce our products in the UK,” Stephan Freismuth told the Financial Times.

BMW employs 8,000 people in the UK, including 4,500 at its flagship plant in Cowley, Oxford, where it produces the Mini.

The BMW warning comes ahead of of a key motor manufacturing industry conference on Tuesday where a series of automotive executives from companies with major UK manufacturing operations are expected to express serious concerns about the future of their businesses.

The industry hopes a series of warnings from companies including Honda, Volvo and Ford will act as a wake-up call to Theresa May who made exiting the customs union and the single market one of her early red lines.

The car industry has warned Theresa May there is “no Brexit dividend” for the business, with 860,000 jobs being put at risk unless the government “rethinks” its red lines in negotiations.

In the starkest warning yet from a single business sector, the car lobby has told the government that it needs “as a minimum” to remain in the customs union and a deal that delivers “single market benefits”.

“There is no Brexit dividend for our industry,” Michael Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said.

With investment slowing and time running out, negotiators must get on with the job of agreeing a deal that will put an end to uncertainty and prioritise the needs of the automotive sector, the SMMT said.

The sector had grown for the eighth successive year with turnover at a record £82bn in 2017. However it said 2018 has showed a slowdown in output with investment earmarked for new models, equipments and facilities in the UK halving to around £347m.

n a lengthy statement showing the depth of frustration over Brexit in the sector, the SMMT hinted that car firms including BMW, Honda and Nissan would have to move production elsewhere if the uncertainty around Brexit continued for much longer.

“With decisions on new vehicle models in the UK due soon, government must take steps to boost investor confidence and safeguard the thousands of jobs that depend on the sector,” it said ahead of a key conference for the automotive industry.

...that delivers “single market benefits”.

LONDON — Arron Banks, a British financier who bankrolled the campaign for Britain to leave the European Union, has long bragged about his “boozy six-hour lunch” with the Russian ambassador eight months before the vote.

Some also wondered about Mr. Banks’s Russian-born wife and their custom license plate, X MI5 SPY, after the British intelligence agency, MI5. But Mr. Banks always laughed off questions about his ties to the Kremlin.

Now, a leaked record of some of Mr. Banks’s emails suggest that he and his closest adviser had a more engaged relationship with Russian diplomats than he has disclosed.

While Mr. Banks was spending more than eight million British pounds to promote a break with the European Union — an outcome the Russians eagerly hoped for — his contacts at the Russian Embassy in London were opening the door to at least three potentially lucrative investment opportunities in Russian-owned gold or diamond mines.

One of Mr. Banks’s business partners, and a fellow backer of Britain’s exit from the European Union, or Brexit, took the Russians up on at least one of the deals.

The extent of these business discussions, which have not been previously reported, raise new questions about whether the Kremlin sought to reward critical figures in the Brexit campaign. Much as in Washington, where investigations are underway into the possibility that Donald J. Trump’s campaign may have cooperated with the Russians, Britain is now grappling with whether Moscow tried to use its close ties with any British citizens to promote Brexit.
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Germany is the most the popular member state for Britons seeking citizenship, with 7,493 people gaining nationality in 2017 compared with 2,702 the previous year

A surge has been recorded in the number of British people obtaining the nationality of another EU member state since the referendum, with German citizenship being the most frequently sought after.

According to new data obtained by the BBC from 17 out of 27 EU member states, 12,994 British citizens obtained nationality from another member state in 2017.

It claims this compares with 5,025 in 2016 – a 158 per cent increase – and just 1,800 in 2015.

Germany was the most the popular member state for Britons seeking citizenship, with 7,493 people gaining nationality in 2017 compared with 2,702 in the previous year – a 177 per cent increase.

The BBC claims this dramatic rise is consistent among many EU member states, with France the second most popular and Belgium the third with the number of UK citizens gaining citizenship going up from 506 to 1,381 in the same period.

While the data does not show individuals leaving Britain for other member states, it does demonstrate that an increasing amount of people with European family links are taking up dual citizenship to enjoy the rights of EU citizenship before Britain leaves the bloc in March 2019.

This means these individuals will be able to move and reside freely within the European Union and vote in European Parliament elections.