Brexit discussion thread XIII (Please read OP before posting)

Triskaidekaphobia is real!

Given how things have gone since January, until the summer I thought we'd get the end of the transition period out of the last thread.

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What sort of timetable are the talks at now with all of the messing about from the UK side?

BonnieSituation wrote: »

Triskaidekaphobia is real!

Given how things have gone since January, until the summer I thought we'd get the end of the transition period out of the last thread.

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What sort of timetable are the talks at now with all of the messing about from the UK side?

The EU negotiates in a very consistent manner. It's a 3 week cycle. 1-Preparation, 2-negotiations, 3-briefings. Rinse and repeat. If things don't get done during negotiations, then there's another 3 week wait. The UK have been trying to make them budge on this for a while, but they literally have no leverage.

The UK are either going to agree with pretty much everything (with regard to level playing field etc.) or nothing at all. Much of the EU are beyond caring at this stage. It just needs to be seen through.

And even if there is a FTA agreement at this point, it's still going to be pretty bare. It'll be a long way from the way it was.

Much of the EU are beyond caring at this stage. It just needs to be seen through.

Yes, you could see that the prime focus was not on Brexit at the recent talks.

trellheim wrote: »

Yes, you could see that the prime focus was not on Brexit at the recent talks.

and it makes sense. The pandemic is clearly the major issue facing the EU at the moment and will get the attention that entails and rightly so.

CelticRambler wrote: »

Well, whaddyaknow - Brexit making life difficult for the Channel Tunnel (despite the existence of an international treaty signed by the UK to make things work).

How is it today?

Isn't the trains from London to Paris or Brussels operated by the same personnel all the way i.e in both the UK, France (and Belgium) ?

Is it one pool of Eurostar trains with mixed nationalities ? or are there UK trains and French trains?

CelticRambler wrote: »

"senior UK official involved in the talks" has suggested a Swiss-style pick-and-mix solution - something the EU has said they will never, ever, ever agree to again, given all the problems they've had with Switzerland over the years!

Nice try - Mr/Ms "senior UK official" - but the answer will forever be a NO in huge capital letters.

The UK is a small country with a very corona-sick economy and a national debt already above 100% of its (corona-free) GDP.
And yet the UK continues to play games despite its overwhelming weakness.

The UK should realise that the ditch of Boris is deep, wet, cold, dirty and will last much longer than the corona is expected to.

Most UK citizens will rather not die in this ditch - I guess - and this requires some fast "Yes Sir" UK-answers to "the 5 floor" in Brussels.

Lars

reslfj wrote: »

How is it today?

Isn't the trains from London to Paris or Brussels operated by the same personnel all the way i.e in both the UK, France (and Belgium) ?

Is it one pool of Eurostar trains with mixed nationalities ? or are there UK trains and French trains?

Not entirely sure whether or not your question is rhetorical, but for the sake of others who don't know, the Canterbury Treaty provided for a tightly defined area of joint and reciprocal sovereignty, so the current operation is about as truly European as you'll find anywhere in the continent. Under EU rules, anyone can apply to run trains on the network, but under Eurotunnel rules, only trains complying with their stringent safety standards can be used, and only the French, Belgian and British rail companies ever bought compliant rolling stock.

At the moment, when you board a train, you don't know whether it's owned by a British, French or Belgian operator, and you probably won't notice that the in-tunnel mobile networks are operated by French companies in one tunnel and British companies in another, just as you don't really realise when you go through check-in at Coquelles, that you've administratively entered the UK, even if you can still smell the baguettes being baked in the terminal building ...

And therein lies all the trouble ahead. If you're boarding a train in Folkestone, will you be allowed bring your ham sandwich on board? Can we trust the British not to downgrade safety standards so that the Chinese can run trains to Paris? Will you find that you pay roaming charges if you use your phone in the North Tunnel, but not in the South? And if you've got a car full of mixed EU and GB nationalities, where do those without a visa wait for a lift home while everyone else continues their journey ...?

New talks have been scheduled up to October.

Brexit talks scheduled just in time for key EU October summit

Britain and the EU have planned more trade negotiations all the way until Oct. 2, less than a fortnight before a summit where the bloc hopes to endorse any agreement with London, according to a schedule published by British negotiators on Friday.

More than four years after Britons voted to leave the EU, and after tortuous divorce talks, the two sides are negotiating on all aspects of their future ties, from trade to security to transport, from 2021 onwards.

The EU has said negotiators must seal any deal by October to allow for ratification by the bloc’s 27 nations. The EU’s Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has since, however, signalled room for some slippage.

In other news, remember the Russia Report about Russian nationals with money using their influence with politicians? You will never guess who has been given a place in the House of Lords.

Johnson peerage for Lebedev crowns mutually beneficial friendship

Boris Johnson has never made any secret of his enduring friendship with Evgeny Lebedev, the Russian-born newspaper owner with a reputation for throwing decadent parties.

He has just been less keen to discuss what happens at these glamorous events, many of which have taken place at Lebedev’s restored castle in Perugia, Italy.

The pair first got to know each other in 2009 when Lebedev, then a man-about-town in his late 20s and best known in the tabloids for dating Joely Richardson and Geri Haliwell, bought the London Evening Standard with the help of his father, Alexander, a former KGB agent.

Lebedev, advised by the future Daily Mail editor Geordie Greig, decided to turn London’s biggest newspaper into a freesheet, giving him substantial influence over the capital’s politics. As a result Johnson, as mayor, was a regular social guest of Lebedev, aware of the influence of the hundreds of thousands of Evening Standards strewn over the commuter network.

Nothing to worry about here guys, just the son of a KGB agent now being in the House of Lords on the back of his friendship with the Prime Minister.

Sam Russell wrote:

I think that is Brussels you are thinking of, with their unelected bureaucrats, with their gold plated pensions and expenses.

Sam Russell wrote:

This lot have solid gold salaries, solid gold pensions and solid gold expenses, plus a bit of useful information on the inside as well.

Sam Russell wrote:

I think that is Brussels you are thinking of, with their unelected bureaucrats, with their gold plated pensions and expenses.

Sam Russell wrote:

This lot have solid gold salaries, solid gold pensions and solid gold expenses, plus a bit of useful information on the inside as well.

Sam Russell wrote:

How do they get away with it?

Do you know the main houses of the EU and how they get their jobs. In basic summary their all from elected people or nominated by those elected.
Now how does the house of Lords work ? And whats this recent news with boris and a Russian mate.