Tag: Brexit

EU Parliament adopts tough Brexit ‘red lines’

by Lachlan Carmichael STRASBOURG, France (AFP) — The European Parliament on Wednesday overwhelmingly adopted tough “red lines” for negotiations over a Brexit deal, on which European Union lawmakers will have the final say in two years’ time. The parliament largely followed EU President Donald Tusk’s draft guidelines issued last week after British Prime Minister Theresa May formally triggered the historic Brexit process. But they omitted any mention of the flashpoint issue of Gibraltar, unlike Tusk’s […]

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EU to ‘prepare’ in case Brexit talks fail: guidelines

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — The EU will do all it can to reach a “constructive” Brexit settlement with Britain, but will also prepare for a possible failure to reach a deal, a draft of the bloc’s negotiating plan said on Friday. The European Union “will work hard to achieve that outcome, but it will prepare itself to be able to handle the situation also if the negotiations were to fail,” the guidelines obtained by AFP […]

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European stocks carve steady path amid Trump presidency, Brexit

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Global stock markets edged higher Thursday, buoyed by firmer prices on Wall Street, but investors remained cautious overall amid lingering uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s policy agenda and the outlook for Britain’s Brexit negotiations with the European Union, traders said. “Stocks are still in a bit of a holding pattern with traders lacking a bit of conviction,” said Jasper Lawler at London Capital Group. “A positive open in the United […]

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Gibraltar will ‘be no victim of Brexit’

GIBRALTAR, United Kingdom (AFP) — Gibraltar will “be no victim of Brexit” and will adopt to a new reality outside of the European Union, the chief minister of the tiny British territory said Wednesday. Fabian Picardo also vowed to fight any attempt by Spain to gain more control over “the Rock” during negotiations over Britain’s exit from the bloc. “As far as we are concerned, this day brings us nothing to celebrate. But it also […]

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PM May says ‘there can be no turning back’ after Brexit trigger

  LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Prime Minister Theresa May said there could be “no turning back” and called for national unity on Wednesday after notifying the European Union of Britain’s intention to end its 44-year membership of the bloc. “This is a historic moment from which there can be no turning back,” she told parliament, adding: “Now is the time for us to come together,” she added.

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Scottish lawmakers back independence on eve of Brexit

by Mark MCLAUGHLIN / Rosie SCAMMELL Agence France-Presse EDINBURGH, United Kingdom – Scotland’s parliament voted Tuesday to back First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s call for a second independence referendum, another headache for Prime Minister Theresa May as she battles to keep the country united just a day before triggering Brexit. The vote by lawmakers in Edinburgh was 69 in favour and 59 against despite May’s last-minute appeals. “I hope the UK government will respect the will of […]

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Brexit job fears stalk Britain’s financial centers

by Roland JACKSON / Jean-Baptiste OUBRIER Agence France Presse MANCHESTER, United Kingdom (AFP) — Worries are whirring in Britain’s smaller financial centers — which together employ far more people than the glamorous City of London — that the looming EU departure will lead to heavy job losses. In Manchester’s buzzing finance district of Spinningfields, a worker at an insurance company said he thought it would have “a huge impact”. “Business are going to pull out, […]

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Britain to launch EU exit process next week

By Alice Ritchie / with Danny Kemp in Brussels London, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain said Monday it will launch the process of leaving the European Union on March 29, setting a historic and uncharted course to become the first country to withdraw from the bloc by March 2019. Nine months after the stunning referendum vote for Brexit, Prime Minister Theresa May’s government will finally trigger Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty next week, starting a […]

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‘Now is not the time’ for Scottish independence vote: May

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday rejected a call by the Scottish government for a second referendum on independence before Britain leaves the European Union — but did not rule out a vote entirely. “I say now is not the time,” she said, arguing that all of Britain’s energies should be put into the forthcoming Brexit negotiations. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced Monday that she wanted a fresh […]

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Bank of Japan gives upbeat assessment of Japan economy

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s central bank gave an upbeat assessment of the world’s number three economy on Thursday, but it flagged risks including “developments” in the United States and Chinese economies, as well as Britain’s exit from the European Union. The Bank of Japan held fire on fresh policy measures in a widely expected decision after a meeting, a day after the Federal Reserve tightened borrowing costs and underscored its confidence in the world’s […]

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As Brexit looms, Britain forecasts strong economy

by Roland JACKSON Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom – Britain’s economy will grow far stronger than expected this year, finance minister Philip Hammond said in a budget update Wednesday, as the government prepares to trigger Brexit. Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed to activate Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty in the next three weeks, sparking a painful two-year divorce process — and tense talks over the terms of Britain’s departure from the […]

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Victory for May as Labour suffers historic defeat

  by Alice Ritchie Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain’s main opposition Labour Party defeated UKIP’s leader in a Brexit bastion, but in a second by-election suffered a landmark defeat to Prime Minister Theresa May’s governing Conservatives on Friday. The results saw the Brexit-championing UK Independence Party fail to capitalise on the June referendum vote to leave the European Union. But while Labour celebrated fending off UKIP’s bid to replace them in […]

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