, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/eu-affairs/20200903STO86309/
Hopes muted as EU and UK talk again about post-Brexit ties
FILE – In this Friday, June 5, 2020 file photo, European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier gives a news conference after Brexit talks, in Brussels, Belgium. The European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator said Monday Sept. 7, 2020, he is going to seek “clarification” from his counterpart in the U.K. over reports that the British government may be planning to renege on commitments made ahead of its departure from the bloc earlier this year. (Yves Herman, Pool Photo via AP, File)
<p>LONDON (AP) — The U.K.’s chief negotiator in post-Brexit trade talks called for “more realism” from the European Union ahead of the start Tuesday of another round of discussions between the two sides.
With expectations of a breakthrough in the talks diminishing, there are concerns that they could collapse in the coming weeks. Though the U.K. left the bloc on Jan. 31, it is in a transition period that effectively sees it abide by EU rules until the end of this year. The two sides have been negotiating future trade ties over the past few months but progress has been minimal.
David Frost, the British government’s chief negotiator, said the two sides “can no longer afford to go over well-trodden ground” in the deadlocked talks and that the EU needs to show “more realism” about the U.K.’s status as an independent country. The EU side will be led by its long-time Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier.
“Today, I will sit down with Michel Barnier and drive home our clear message that we must make progress this week if we are to reach an agreement in time,” Frost said. “We have now been talking for six months.”
The trade discussions have made very little progress over the summer, with the two sides seemingly wide apart on several issues, notably on business regulations, the extent to which the U.K. can support certain industries and over the EU fishing fleet’s access to British waters.
Relations appeared to become further strained Monday following reports that Britain’s Conservative government was attempting to unilaterally ride roughshod over its divorce agreement with the EU that paved the way for the U.K.’s smooth departure earlier this year.
EU officials said any attempt to override the international treaty could jeopardize peace in Northern Ireland as well as undermine the chances of any trade deal.
The British government said the publication of planned legislation on Wednesday is intended to tie up some “loose ends” where there was a need for “legal certainty.” It said the Internal Market Bill will ensure goods from Northern Ireland, which is part of the EU, will continue to have unfettered access to the U.K. market, while making clear EU state aid rules, which will continue to apply in Northern Ireland, will not apply in the rest of the U.K.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said Britain could walk away from the talks within weeks and insists that a no-deal exit would be a “good outcome for the U.K.” He said in a statement that any agreement must be sealed by an EU summit scheduled for Oct. 15.
British businesses are worried about a collapse in the talks that could see tariffs and other impediments slapped on trade with the EU at the start of next year. Most economists think that the costs of a ‘no-deal’ outcome would fall disproportionately on the U.K.
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Refugees in Italy bear brunt of coronavirus angst
Lampedusa, Italy – It is Saturday morning and Ahmed is squeezed onto a small Italian coastguard boat docked at one of Lampedusa’s ports.
There are about 30 other refugees and migrants on board.
Officers, covered head to toe in white protective gear, are on the ground, buzzing around the boat to prepare it for the next stop a few miles away – the Rhapsody ferry.
There, almost 800 refugees and migrants will enter a 14-day quarantine period.
Like Ahmed, they have been removed from the overcrowded reception centre in Lampedusa due to a lack of space, and now must undergo the two-week quarantine on board the ferry.
“Of course I am happy,” the 23-year-old told Al Jazeera by text message. “It’s always better than staying inside the centre.”
Saturday would have been his seventeenth day inside Lampedusa’s only reception centre, in Imbriacola district. A so-called “hotspot”, the centre has been the focus of a heated debate between the far right, governing political leaders and civil society.
It was built to house no more than 192 people, but last week there were as many as 1,500 as the number of migrants and refugees landing on the island’s shores rose during summer.
“They treat us like animals, I would say worse than animals,” said Ahmed, who arrived on August 19 on a dinghy from the Tunisian town of Sfax. Each night, he and others used to sneak out just to get something to eat.
“Often there is no water or electricity, you sleep on the floor or on a dirty mattress, if you get one. There are no words to describe it … Some of them [staff] keep insulting us. I feel treated as we were terrorists,” he said.
What will happen to Ahmed once the ferry quarantine period ends?
Most Tunisians are considered economic migrants, and therefore are either returned to Tunisia – the Italian government established two charters for a total of 80 repatriations a week so far – or handed a seven to 30-day window period to return home by their own means. Often, once they arrive, they attempt to leave Italy in any way possible and reach northern Europe.
“I don’t care if they will send me back, I’ll come back again, and again, and again,” said Ahmed. “For me [it] is a question to either die or arrive.”
He is among 7,885 Tunisians who arrived in Sicily this year up to August 31 – a number almost six times higher than the same period last year.
As the coronavirus pandemic forced governments to shut their borders and halt activities, Tunisia is also paying a heavy price with its economy expected to shrink more than 4 percent this year, and the unemployment rate currently standing at 16 percent.
With Lampedusa’s hotspot overflowing and the threat of tourists being discouraged by the number of asylum seekers, far-right politicians are weaponising the pandemic in an attempt to advance anti-migrant policies.
On August 31, as more than 360 people were rescued at sea and brought to Lampedusa, a group of protesters – coordinated by a member of Matteo Salvini’s far-right party, the League – took to the port to stop their landing.
The previous week, Salvini praised Sicily’s Governor Nello Musumeci for ordering the closure of the region’s reception centres. Despite being immediately blocked by a court, the move greatly boosted the governor’s popularity.
In 2011, more than 50,000 Tunisians reached Lampedusa as they fled unrest in their country during the so-called Arab Spring [Antonio Parrinello/Reuters]
Lampedusa’s islanders are used to refugees and migrants landing on their shores. A southern tip of Europe, the island has for decades been the first point of entry to those crossing the Mediterranean.
In 2011, more than 50,000 Tunisians arrived.
“We welcomed them bringing warm food and helping setting tents across town,” recalled former fisherman Calogero Partinico, 63, sitting on a bench watching tourists, many walking around with no masks.
Like many others, Partinico has drawn a link between the rising number of refugees and migrants and the coronavirus pandemic, despite refugees making up 3-5 percent of COVID-19 cases in the country, compared with 25 percent detected among tourists, according to Italy’s National Health Institute.
“Islanders live with an ancestral fear over sickness – given the isolation and lack of hospitals on the island – and over the potential loss of the summer season,” said Marta Bernardini, an aid worker from Mediterranean Hope, a project of the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy based in Lampedusa. “The coronavirus combined the two, fomenting a more hostile attitude towards migrants.”
There are also growing concerns over the use of ferry boats to quarantine migrants – an operation which has so far cost the government at least six million euros ($7.1m) for the rent of five vessels.
“No one wants them,” Lampedusa Mayor Toto’ Martello told Al Jazeera, pointing to some regional governors’ refusal to take in refugees and migrants. “Because since there is the COVID-19, there has been a media campaign against migrants saying that they are those bringing the virus.”
Further deepening Italy’s refugee crisis, the country’s reception’s capacity has recently been halved, said Sami Aidoudi, legal adviser and cultural mediator for the Association for Juridical Studies on Immigration (ASGI).
“Salvini’s security decrees cut funds, hence most services had been reduced,” he said, referring to the former prime minister’s 2018 anti-migrant policies.
Prior to those rulings, as an example, social services used to receive about 35 euros ($41) a day per migrant – an amount which has dropped to about 19 euros ($22). With the changes, some cooperatives were forced to close, while the quality of services fell at others.
Despite pledging for a substantial U-turn from Salvini’s hardline policy over migration, the current government has made few changes.
“They are starting to establish floating reception centres – the dream of the Italian right wing,” said Aidoudi.
Confining migrants to the sea, away from residents’ sight, “means absence of information for civil society, for those that can offer legal counselling and finally for migrants themselves”, he said. “We can’t assist them.”
EU warns Serbia over Jerusalem embassy move
The EU has voiced “serious concern and regret” over Belgrade’s commitment to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, casting a shadow over the resumption of Serbia-Kosovo talks.
President Aleksandar Vucic of Serbia and Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti are to meet in Brussels for a second round of EU-brokered, face-to-face talks to resolve two decades of disputes after clashing in war.
The meeting follows a high-profile summit at the White House where Vucic and Hoti agreed to improve economic relations – and in Serbia’s case, following in the US’s footsteps, committing to moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
But the EU remains committed to the so-called “two state solution” in which Jerusalem will be the capital of both Israel and a future Palestinian state, with its own diplomatic mission is in Tel Aviv.
The bloc expects prospective members such as Serbia to align with its foreign policy positions.
“In this context, any diplomatic steps that could call into question the EU’s common position on Jerusalem are a matter of serious concern and regret,” EU foreign affairs spokesman Peter Stano told reporters in Brussels.
Breaking with long-standing diplomatic practice, US President Donald Trump’s administration in December 2017 recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moved the US embassy to the city.
‘Now, we shall have more powerful allies’
Washington touted the agreements signed by Vucic and Hoti on Friday as a major breakthrough, but on Monday the two leaders issued a joint statement giving a far more cautious read.
“The recently agreed documents in Washington DC, building on previous dialogue-related commitments undertaken by the two parties, could provide a useful contribution to reaching a comprehensive, legally binding agreement on normalisation of relations,” the statement said.
In one of Europe‘s most intractable disputes, Serbia has refused to recognise Kosovo’s declaration of independence since the province broke away in the bloody 1998-99 war that was ended only by a NATO bombing campaign against Serb troops.
Both Kosovo and Serbia are facing mounting pressure from the West to resolve the impasse which is seen as crucial to either side joining the EU.
One key question is diplomatic recognition for Kosovo – five of the EU’s 27 countries do not acknowledge its independence.
At a news conference in Pristina, Kosovo’s capital, President Hashim Thaci tried to calm the fears of Muslim nations that its decision to recognise Israel could damage ties with the Islamic world.
Thaci hailed the deal with Serbia signed at the White House in Washington, which included mutual recognition between Israel and Kosovo.
But he added that he had received messages of concern from the Arab League and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “regarding the mutual recognition of Israel-Kosovo”.
“I am in contact with President Erdogan. I spoke to him on the phone and this recognition of Kosovo-Israel will not jeopardise in any way the friendly and strategic partnership with Turkey. Now, we shall have more powerful allies (Israel) in our efforts to globally strengthen the state of Kosovo.”
Kosovo, a predominantly Muslim country, has never recognised Israel, nor has Israel recognised Kosovo.
Cyprus’ President–Greece’s PM coordinate in view of forthcoming European Council meeting
Cyprus’ President, Nikos Anastasiades, had an extensive phone conversation with the Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday in view of the European Council meeting that will take place on September 24.
The meeting will discuss the illegal and provocative actions of Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean, Deputy Government Spokesman Panayiotis Sentonas said in a written statement.
(CNA)
EU accuses Britain of torpedoing Brexit deal
By Stefan J. Bos
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is getting impatient with the European Union. His government suggests that there will be no trade deal at all with the EU if there is no trade deal by mid-October.
Although Britain formally left the EU in January, it has followed Brussels’ rules during a transition period. But those rules end in December – while discussions over a long-term trade agreement continue.
Brussels wants Britain to stick mainly to EU rules such as workers’ rights, environmental regulations, and state aid to businesses.
But Britain argues the whole point of Brexit was to break free from following standard rules.
The EU also demands ongoing access to British waters for fishing. But Britain says that’s not possible as it is now an independent coastal state. However, Britain still wants access to EU markets to sell its fish.
EUROPE COURT
Another contentious issue is who will enforce any deal and the European Court of Justice’s future role.
Amid the disagreements, British ministers are already preparing legislation that would override a crucial part of last year’s EU withdrawal agreement.
The move could change the nature of new Northern Ireland customs arrangements, which were intended to prevent the return of checks at the border with the Irish Republic.
Britain’s government said it was a standby plan in case trade talks fail. But the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has made clear the European Union won’t be intimidated by what critics view as Britain’s attempt to torpedo the agreement.
“A precise implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement is also the only way to avoid the hard border on the island of Ireland and preserve the all-island economy,” Barnier stressed.
“It is the only way tho preserve to the integrity of the single market and all its guarantees for consumer protection, public and animal health by ensuring all the necessary checks and controls for goods entering Northern Ireland. And of course, it is a precondition for us, the EU, and the UK to forge a meaningful partnership build on trust for the future,” the negotiator added.
INDEPENDENT NATION
However, Britain’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab suggested that the EU refuses to accept Britain as an independent nation.
He warned that Britain isn’t afraid to exit the EU without a special trade deal. “We’ve actually got the issues boiled down to two outstanding bones of contention,” he told reporters. “There is a good deal there for the EU; we’d love to do that free trade agreement – and if not, we’ll fall back on Australian-style rules,” Raab added.
“I think this week is an important moment for the EU to really effectively recognize that those two points of principles are not something we can just haggle away- They are the very reasons we are leaving the EU,” he explained.
“But we want a positive relationship and the arm of friendship and goodwill is extended,” the top diplomat stressed. “It is up to the EU to decide whether they want to reciprocate.”
Talks are due to resume this week.
Vietnamese diocese marks bishop’s first visit 350 years ago
Bishop Joseph Vo Duc Minh of Nha Trang launched the year-long celebration on Sunday, calling on Catholics to nurture and strengthen the faith received from the missionaries and their ancestors.
By Robin Gomes
The Catholics of the south-central diocese are marking the first visit of French Bishop, Pierre Lambert de la Motte on Sept. 1, 1671, to the local parishes at Cho Moi Church in the coastal city of Nha Trang, where today there is a diocese.
Bishop de la Motte was the first bishop of Dang Trong (Cochinchina) Vicariate that was established in 1659 and covered southern Vietnam including today’s Nha Trang Diocese.
Some 40 priests, including a representative from the Paris Foreign Missions Society (MEP), joined the special Mass at Cho Moi Church on September 6, attended by 1,000 people. For the occasion, local authorities relaxed the Covid-19 social distancing measures in the area on Sept. 5.
“We are happy to be in the land where our ancestors joyfully received Bishop de la Motte,” Bishop Minh told the congregation. “God chose the land to receive the apostolic successor.”
At that time, when Catholics were subject to severe persecution, Bishop de la Motte, a founding member of the Paris Foreign Missions Society (MEP), made his pastoral visit, accompanied by two French missionaries and two Vietnamese priests from Siam. They arrived at Lam Tuyen fishing village, now Cho Moi Parish.
Bishop de la Motte blessed the faithful and administered confirmation to 200 children and some adults while the visiting priests heard confessions.
The bishop established Lam Tuyen Parish and assigned Father Guillaume Mahot Mão to the new parish. He established the Lovers of the Holy Cross congregation for local women. The bishop and his delegation also visited other parishes in the area.
Pointing out that the Catholic Church loves and serves all people in the name of Christ, the only Saviour, Bishop Minh said the missionaries came only to be present among their ancestors, offered pastoral care and blessed them and their land.
The bishop urged the faithful to be grateful and proud of their ancestors who were faithful to the Church, vigorously maintained their faith and courageously bore witness to the Good News.
He thus urged Catholics to work and live in harmony with others in society, joining in initiatives to help develop the nation and their society.
Bishop Minh has been appointed by the Vietnamese bishops to prepare documents for the sainthood cause of Bishop de la Motte. The MEP missionaries have played a significant role in establishing the Church in Vietnam.
Cho Moi Parish, which is home to many martyrs, has over 3,000 Catholics. Nha Trang Diocese, established in 1957, covers the provinces of Khanh Hoa and Ninh Thuan, which are home to 115 parishes served by nearly 300 priests.
Boris Johnson ‘will not back down’ amidst growing Brexit stand-off with EU
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A defiant Boris Johnson today said “I will not back down" amidst a growing stand-off with the European Union.
The Prime Minister made the comment in a Tory Party email ahead of the start of the eighth round of Brexit talks on a trade and co-operation treaty with the EU on Tuesday.
It comes as Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European commission, warned Mr Johnson not to break international law following claims that <a href="/news/politics/brexit-override-brexit-withdrawal-agreement-a4541371.html" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-4541896-https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/brexit-override-brexit-withdrawal-agreement-a4541371.html" data-vars-event-id="c23">Downing Street is planning to overwrite parts of the Withdrawal Agreement.</a>
Mr Johnson has set a five-week deadline to either reach agreement or for both sides to accept there will be no deal when the current transition period ends at the close of the year.
An email from the PM this afternoon, sent out by the Conservative Party, said in its headline: “I will not back down”.
Mr Johnson added: “If we can’t agree by then [October 15], then I do not see that there will be a free trade agreement between us, and we should both accept that and move on.
“We’ll then have a trading arrangement with the EU like Australia’s. I want to be absolutely clear that, as we have said right from the start, that would be a good outcome for the UK.
“As a Government we’re preparing, at our borders and at our ports, to be ready for it.”
He said the UK would have “full control” over laws, rules, fishing waters and the freedom to do trade deals with every country in the world, adding: “We will prosper mightily as a result.”
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Signing off, the Prime Minister said he would be “delighted” if the EU “rethink their current positions” but added: “We cannot and will not compromise on the fundamentals of what it means to be an independent country to get it.”
The email was sent out after it was reported that the Government was preparing to overwrite parts of the Withdrawal Agreement that the Prime Minister had signed just months ago.
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It has sparked a clash with the EU over concerns that the UK could walk away from the Northern Ireland protocol – aimed at ensuring there is no return of a hard border with the Republic – if talks on a free trade deal fail.
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EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said he was “worried” while the Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney warned that it would be “a very unwise way to proceed”.
Ms von der Leyen warned there could be no backtracking by the UK on its previous commitments if it wanted to reach a free trade agreement.
She said: “I trust the British Government to implement the Withdrawal Agreement, an obligation under international law and prerequisite for any future partnership.
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"[The] protocol on Ireland-Northern Ireland is essential to protect peace and stability on the island and integrity of the single market."
Downing Street played down the row, saying the proposal was a “safety net” in case EU-UK trade talks fail.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said the Government was proposing "limited clarifications" to the law to ensure ministers can preserve the gains of the Good Friday Agreement in the event of no deal.
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<aside class="inline-block inline-related item-count-5 align-right"><h2 class="box-title">Read more</h2>
</aside>The Internal Market Bill - to be tabled on Wednesday - will ensure goods from Northern Ireland continue to have unfettered access to the UK market while making clear EU state aid rules - which will continue to apply in Northern Ireland - will not apply in the rest of the UK.
In addition, an amendment to the Finance Bill will give ministers the power to designate which goods going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland are considered "at risk" of entering the EU single market and are therefore liable to EU tariffs.
"As a responsible Government, we cannot allow the peace process or the UK's internal market to inadvertently be compromised by unintended consequences of the protocol," the spokesman said.
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"So we are taking limited and reasonable steps to clarify specific elements of the Northern Ireland protocol in domestic law to remove any ambiguity and to ensure the Government is always able to deliver on its commitments to the people of Northern Ireland."
A UK official added: "If we don't take these steps we face the prospect of legal confusion at the end of the year and potentially extremely damaging defaults, including tariffs on goods moving from GB to Northern Ireland."
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Although the UK formally left the EU in January, it has continued to follow rules set in Brussels during a transition period - which ends on 31 December - while discussions over a long-term trade agreement continue.
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UK threatens to undermine EU divorce deal
… crisis after Britain warned the European Union that it could effectively … trade between Britain and the EU could be thrown into … international standing,” said one EU diplomat.
“Who would … ; he told Sky News.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said …
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