An aggregate of some of the most important Brexit-related stories from around the UK Media February 4 2020, by George Hamilton.
Michael Gove has sparked anger after claiming the UK doesn’t “need” a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU, insisting it is better to “stand up for Britain”.
The cabinet office minister put a no-deal crash-out – at the end of 2020 – back centre-stage, despite Boris Johnson insisting the risk was “absolutely zero” during the general election campaign.
Mr Gove also claimed the current level of trade with the US proved a formal agreement was not necessary, despite a deal with Washington being a supposed prize for leaving the EU.
https://apple.news/
Independent 3 Feb
Johnson election win triggers surge of optimism among small businesses
Boris Johnson’s election win has triggered the biggest wave of optimism among smaller manufacturers for six years but the surge is yet to translate into fuller order books, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has said.
Compared with the fears of the previous quarter – when uncertainty over a potential October 31 Brexit crash-out was at its height – the CBI saw the biggest swing in sentiment in the 32-year history of the survey.
But the much more upbeat tone was accompanied by falling output and domestic orders, as well as flat export demand. Only a small increase in investment spending is expected in the next 12 months, the CBI added.
Boris Johnson’s Brexit speech: What the UK wants v what the EU wants
Boris Johnson has made it clear that if the EU does not want a free trade agreement on Britain’s terms – without tariffs, quotas or regulatory alignment – the UK will manage without one, using its strong trading links with the US and the Commonwealth to find new markets further afield.
But in Brussels, Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, warned Mr Johnson that he had already signed up to so-called “level playing field” rules by signing the political declaration of the EU Withdrawal Agreement, meaning he had already committed the UK to following EU rules and regulations.
[This article then goes on to provide a useful guide to all the issues confronting the UK and the EU in the negotiations]
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Daily Telegraph 3 Feb
Brussels tells UK: report to us on climate change in return for a Brexit trade deal
Brussels negotiators are seeking to lock Britain into European Union rules on climate change as tensions rise over a future trade deal.
The bloc wants Britain to sets up an independent watchdog to ensure it sticks to green commitments and called on the UK to stay part of its carbon trading market.
Boris Johnson has repeatedly rejected demands to follow EU regulations as part of a deal, but Michel Barnier has said that so-called level playing field guarantees are “inextricably linked” to striking an agreement.
Daily Telegraph 4 Feb
Irish fishing industry backs EU tying fishing rights to trade deal
The Irish fishing industry has backed the European Union’s commitment to reach a trade deal with the United Kingdom on “continued, reciprocal access” to British fishing waters and EU fisheries markets.
The Killybegs Fisheries Organisation (KFO) said that EU’s draft negotiating blueprint “offers tangible hope” to the industry and gives a “timely boost after bruising exhausting period of negotiation”.
The KFO has warned that a no-deal Brexit could result in between 4,300 and 5,700 job losses in an industry that employs 14,300 people mostly in rural, coastal locations
Irish Times 4 Feb
