Brexit: Digest of business-focussed articles from national and international media, selected by George Hamilton. Some may require a subscription to obtain the full version (paywall).
Headlines in this issue
- No Canada-style deal says Barnier
- “We won’t give up Elgin Marbles” – but no-one is asking
- Tougher EU talks guidelines revealed
- Portugal to subsidise UK tourists?
- Sausage problems
Michel Barnier rejects UK call for Canada-style trade deal amid Elgin Marbles row
Michel Barnier has rejected British demands for a Canada-style trade deal that would free the UK from EU rules as he made a thinly-veiled warning to Boris Johnson not to break his word.
Within hours of Barnier’s comments, the British government seized upon a change to the EU’s draft negotiating mandate, leaked to the Guardian, which sources in Downing Street suggested was an attempt to win back the Parthenon marbles for Athens.
The latest draft of the EU’s negotiating position calls for both sides to “address issues relating to the return or restitution of unlawfully removed cultural objects to their countries of origin”.
The Downing Street intervention came despite both Greek and EU officials insisting that the clause, proposed by Italy, Spain, Cyprus and Greece, was not related to the marbles held by the British museum but merely to a desire to stop the fraudulent movement of antiquities around Europe.
https://www.theguardian.com/
Guardian 18 Feb
EU nations prepare tougher conditions on Brexit trade talks
But even as national ambassadors prepare to review the EU’s draft negotiating mandate in a meeting on Wednesday, Britain is advancing a clear vision of what it wants from the trade talks.
The latest version of the EU’s negotiating mandate, seen by the Financial Times, responds to concerns raised by France and others that the European Commission’s original draft, presented earlier this month, did not go far enough in requiring Britain to stick closely to the EU’s level of regulation, even as the bloc’s rules evolve over time.
The revised document prepared by EU officials, dated February 17, also made clear that any agreement should “uphold” EU fishermen’s current rights in UK waters.
The reinforced text is the latest sign of how the two sides are adopting starkly different negotiating positions ahead of the start of talks in March, which follow the UK’s formal exit from the bloc at the end of January.
https://www.ft.com/content/
Financial Times 18 Feb
Portugal considers subsidising UK tourists’ post-Brexit healthcare
Rita Marques, the tourism minister, said the country was examining a unilateral offer to ensure cover offered by the European health insurance card (Ehic), the EU reciprocal system, can continue if a deal is not struck on it during this year’s trade talks.
About 2 million Britons visit Portugal every year. Continuing with the health card may be a price worth paying to keep British tourists, who contribute €3bn – or about 1.5% – to the overall Portuguese economy of €204bn.
https://www.theguardian.com/
Guardian 18 Feb
Brexit has stuffed us, say UK sausage chiefs
Now Yes Minister fiction is close to becoming fact, with the British banger facing an EU sales ban after Brexit.
In an unexpected consequence of Britain’s departure from the European Union, farmers and manufacturers have said that they will have no legal basis to sell sausages in Europe after the transition period ends in December.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/
The Times 18 Feb
