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BELFAST/DUBLIN (Reuters) - The European Union will never, never, never compromise on the integrity of its single market, its chief Brexit negotiator warned Britain on Monday, saying London must now face reality after underestimating the costs of leaving.

Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar greets European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier at Government Buildings in Dublin, Ireland January 27, 2020. REUTERS/Lorraine O'Sullivan

Some British politicians have suggested Brussels might be flexible on its rules in order to protect trade flows in talks due to begin in the coming weeks after Britains formal exit from the bloc on Friday.

But Michel Barnier, speaking in the British region of Northern Ireland widely seen as most at risk from Brexit, warned negative consequences were unavoidable.

There will be no compromise on the single market. Never, never, never, Barnier told an audience at Queens University Belfast, describing the single market as the foundation of EUs international influence.

Leaving the single market, leaving the customs union will have consequences. And what I saw ... in the last year, is that many of these consequences have been underestimated in the UK, he said. Now we have to face the reality.

Barnier said that while Brussels was willing to be flexible and pragmatic in trade talks, Britains choices have made frictionless trade with the EU impossible.

If no trade agreement is reached, Britain still faces the risk of a cliff-edge Brexit in 2021 when an 11-month status quote transition ends, he added.

If we have no agreement, it will not be business as usual and the status quo, we have to face the risk of a cliff edge, in particular for trade, Barnier said.

The EU has repeatedly said the level of access UK products can continue to enjoy will be proportionate to the commitments London makes on EU rules, particularly in relation to state aid.

It is not clear to me whether, when the UK leaves the EU and the Single Market, it will also choose to leave Europes societal and regulatory model. That is the key question, and we are waiting for an answer. Barnier said.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar earlier on Tuesday said there would have to be some checks on goods going from Britain into Northern Ireland, despite British Prime Minister Boris Johnsons repeated insistence that these will not be needed.

Johnsons willingness to allow some EU regulations to apply in Northern Ireland to prevent the need for a border on the island was the crucial concession he offered last year to obtain a withdrawal deal with the bloc.

Barnier was asked repeatedly by journalists in Belfast whether trade talks could avoid the need to have checks, but he would only say the text of the withdrawal agreement that governs it was binding and could not be revisited.

The Withdrawal Agreement must be applied with rigour and discipline by all sides. It cannot be re-opened under the guise of implementation, Barnier said. Implementation will be crucial in building trust for the trade talks, he added.

Varadkar earlier on Monday told Britains BBC the European Union would have the upper hand in trade talks, having the stronger team due to its larger population and market.

Johnsons aim of getting a deal by the end of 2020 will be difficult, Varadkar added.

Additional reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and Gabriela Baczynska in Brussels; Editing by Michael Holden, Peter Graff and Tom Brown

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Irish PM says EU has upper hand in Brexit trade talks with UK - Reuters

The government said the Citizenship Amendment Act has been adopted by thorough democratic means.

India is facing a major diplomatic backlash from the European Union (EU) parliament on the Citizenship Amendment Act and the clampdown on Jammu and Kashmir ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Brussels for the India-EU summit in March.

As many as 600of 751 members of the European Union parliament have moved six resolutions on both the issues, their greatest concern arising over the likelihood of the controversial citizenship law creating the "largest statelessness crisis in the world".

Government sources reacted by saying that the CAA -- as the citizenship law is widely referred to -- is a matter that's "entirely internal to India" and has been adopted through "due process and democratic means" after a public debate in both houses of parliament.

The six groups of European Union parliamentarians who moved the resolutions are the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats with 154 members; the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) with 182 members; European United Left and Nordic Green Left with 41 members; Greens/European Free Alliance with 75 members; Conservatives and Reformists with 66 members; and the Renew Europe Group with 108 members.

While the resolution moved by the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats denounced "the fact that India has incorporated religious criteria into its naturalisation and refugee policies", the one by the European People's Party expressed concern over "the CAA and the wide range of negative consequences that it might have for India's international image and internal stability".

The government, however, took exception to the move to pass the draft resolution on a matter that is "entirely internal" to India. "Every society that fashions a pathway to naturalisation contemplates both context and criteria. This is not discrimination. In fact, European societies have followed the same approach," a source said, hoping that those backing the draft would engage with the government to get a "full and accurate" assessment of the facts before proceeding any further.

"As fellow democracies, the EU Parliament should not take actions that call into question the rights and authority of democratically elected legislatures in other regions of the world," the source added.

Over 150 lawmakers had earlier demanded that the European Union insist on a "strong human rights clause with an effective implementation and suspension mechanism" during any trade agreement with India. The resolutions -- expected to be tabled during the plenary session of the European Parliament starting in Brussels next week -- come days after the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked India 10 places lower in the Democracy Index over the CAA and the Jammu and Kashmir clampdown.

The European Union lawmakers were just as critical of the BJP government's handling of the Jammu and Kashmir situation, and more so of the invite it had extended to a few of their colleagues last October. "We denounce the use of this trip to legitimise PM Modi's nationalist agenda and the human rights violations carried out under his authority," the European Free Alliance group said.

The Nordic Green Left, on the other hand, condemned the political detentions and Internet blackout imposed on Kashmir as well as the scrapping of its special status on August 5.

Many across the world had criticised the private visit by mostly right-wing members of the European Union parliament as a "PR stunt". The European Union skipped a visit to Jammu and Kashmir organised for foreign diplomats earlier this month, with sources telling NDTV that the envoys did not want a "guided tour" of the region.

Continue reading here:
India's Strong Reaction To European Union's 6 Resolutions On CAA, Kashmir - NDTV News

Britain calls time on almost half a century of European Union (EU) membership this week, striking out alone in a historic move that has bitterly divided the country. At 11pm on 31 January, the UK will become the first country to leave the 28-nation EU, the worlds largest single market area that it joined in 1973.

Nothing will immediately change, owing to a transition period negotiated between London and Brussels to allow both sides to agree a new future partnership.

Britons will be able to work in and trade freely with EU nations until 31 December, and vice versa, although they will no longer be represented in the blocs institutions.

But legally, Britain will be out.

The exit process has been tortuous, with the years since the 2016 EU referendum marked by bitter arguments that paralysed the government and forced two prime ministers to quit.

Four years ago, 52% of Britons backed Brexit but 48% wanted to stay, and the country is still split between Leavers" and Remainers". The political chaos came to an abrupt halt last month when Prime Minister Boris Johnson won a decisive victory in a general election with a promise to Get Brexit Done".

The British parliament this week finally ratified the exit terms agreed with Brussels, and Johnson called on the country to move on. Next Friday marks an important moment in the history of our United Kingdom," he said.

No matter how you voted in 2016, it is the time to look ahead with confidence to the global, trail-blazing country we will become over the next decade and heal past divisions."

The next stage of Brexit will also be a challenge, however.

Johnson wants to negotiate Britains new relationship with the EU, covering everything from trade to security cooperation, by the end of the year. But Brussels says this is an impossible ask, arguing that London must either limit its ambitions or request more time. He has been an enthusiastic supporter of Brexit since leading the 2016 campaign, but he is wary of inflaming divisions with the celebrations. Official events on Friday will be limited to a special prime ministerial address and a light display in Downing Street.

Ten million commemorative 50 pence coins will also be issued in the coming months, bearing the words Peace, Prosperity and friendship with all nations". Previous batches had to be destroyed after Brexit was delayed three times due to political wrangling in London.

Some eurosceptics had pressed for parliaments famous Big Ben bell, which is being renovated, to be brought back into action to ring out on Brexit night. But it was dropped after concerns about the cost. Johnson initially asked for public donations, only for officials to admit this was not possible. A countdown clock will instead be projected onto the black bricks of Downing Street, while Nigel Farage, another key figure in the 2016 campaign, will hold a rally in nearby Parliament Square.

Britain has always had an uneasy relationship with Brussels and refused to join either the EUs single currency or the Schengen free travel area.

A minority of politicians have campaigned for decades to free Britain from what they see as an overly bureaucratic and unaccountable institution. Concerns grew as large numbers of EU citizens moved to Britain to work, while for many, Brexit was also a protest against a political establishment they felt was ignoring them.

Yet for others across the continent, Brexit day will be a traumatic moment, ending any lingering hopes that the break-up could somehow be stopped.

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Over and out: Britain finally readies to leave the European Union - Livemint

Britain calls time on almost half a century of European Union membership this week, striking out alone in a historic move that has bitterly divided the country.

At 11:00pm (2300 GMT) on January 31, the UK will become the first country to leave the 28-nation EU, the worlds largest single market area that it joined in 1973.

Nothing will immediately change, owing to a transition period negotiated between London and Brussels to allow both sides to agree a new future partnership.

Britons will be able to work in and trade freely with EU nations until December 31, and vice versa, although they will no longer be represented in the blocs institutions.

But legally, Britain will be out.

The exit process has been tortuous, with the years since the 2016 EU referendum marked by bitter arguments that paralysed the government and forced two prime ministers to quit.

Four years ago, 52 per cent of Britons backed Brexit but 48 per cent wanted to stay, and the country is still split between Leavers and Remainers.

The political chaos came to an abrupt halt last month when prime minister Boris Johnson won a decisive victory in a general election with a promise to Get Brexit Done.

The British parliament this week finally ratified the exit terms agreed with Brussels, and Johnson called on the country to move on.

Next Friday marks an important moment in the history of our United Kingdom, he said.

No matter how you voted in 2016, it is the time to look ahead with confidence to the global, trail-blazing country we will become over the next decade and heal past divisions.

The next stage of Brexit will also be a challenge, however.

Johnson wants to negotiate Britains new relationship with the EU, covering everything from trade to security cooperation, by the end of the year.

But Brussels says this is an impossible ask, arguing that London must either limit its ambitions or request more time.

Johnson has been an enthusiastic supporter of Brexit since leading the 2016 campaign, but he is wary of inflaming divisions with the celebrations.

Official events on Friday will be limited to a special prime ministerial address and a light display in Downing Street.

Ten million commemorative 50 pence coins will also be issued in the coming months, bearing the words Peace, Prosperity and friendship with all nations.

Previous batches had to be destroyed after Brexit was delayed three times due to political wrangling in London.

Some eurosceptics had pressed for parliaments famous Big Ben bell, which is being renovated, to be brought back into action to ring out on Brexit night.

But it was dropped after concerns about the cost. Johnson initially asked for public donations, only for officials to admit this was not possible.

A countdown clock will instead be projected onto the black bricks of Downing Street, while Nigel Farage, another key figure in the 2016 campaign, will hold a rally in nearby Parliament Square.

Britain has always had an uneasy relationship with Brussels and refused to join either the EUs single currency or the Schengen free travel area.

A minority of politicians have campaigned for decades to free Britain from what they see as an overly bureaucratic and unaccountable institution.

Concerns grew as large numbers of EU citizens moved to Britain to work, while for many, Brexit was also a protest against a political establishment they felt was ignoring them.

Yet for others across the continent, Brexit day will be a traumatic moment, ending any lingering hopes that the break-up could somehow be stopped.

We still love you, tweeted Donald Tusk, the former president of the European Council, this week after the divorce treaty was formally signed.

Many of the estimated 3.6 million EU citizens living in Britain, and one million Britons elsewhere in the bloc, fear an uncertain future.

Brexit has also severely strained ties between the four nations that make up the United Kingdom.

The devolved assemblies in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales all rejected the terms of the divorce, although for different reasons.

In Scotland, where pro-European sentiment remains strong, the nationalist government is pressing for a second referendum on independence.

Many in Northern Ireland meanwhile are concerned about special trading arrangements intended to keep open its land border with EU member Ireland.

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Britain readies to leave European Union - newagebd.net

Britain will not align with European Union rules after Brexit, the UK's Home Secretary has insisted, as the country prepares to leave the bloc on Friday.

Priti Patel said Britain would take back control of its laws, money and borders and will diverge from EU rules as it carves out free trade agreements.

The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has warned that the UK's access to the single market would be weakened if it diverged from Brussels' rules.

But Ms Patel, in an interview with Sky's Sophy Ridge On Sunday, said: "In terms of divergence, we are not having alignment. We will be diverging. We want to take control of our laws, money and our borders.

"And to do that we will not be rule-takers - we will be setting our own laws and that is a fundamental feature of leaving the European Union."

However Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay appeared to adopt a softer approach, saying the UK would not diverge "just for the sake of it".

He told BBC One's The Andrew Marr Show: "We're coming out of the single market, we're coming out of the customs union. We're not just going to diverge just for the sake of it - we need to look at where the opportunities are.

"But it is true that we are going to have control of our approach to regulation and that's the very essence of Brexit: that we can do things differently, particularly where, for example, there is innovation, there is new technologies, there's things where we want to move quickly.

"Brexit at its very core is that we will have control of our laws, our regulation and that is why we can't be a rule-taker: we need to have that opportunity."

He said the UK's objective is to have a zero-tariff, zero-quota, ambitious trade policy - but to do that in "parallel in our talks with the rest of the world - and in particular with the US".

Read more:Negotiating post-Brexit trade deal will be challenging - McEntee

Business groups have raised concerns about the prospect of divergence from the single market, after the Chancellor Sajid Javid said last weekend there would not be alignment.

Their comments came as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain will become a global, trail-blazing country after it leaves the EU and unveiled the government's full plans to mark Brexit day.

Mr Johnson said he will "look ahead with confidence" to the future on Friday when the UK formally leaves the bloc - nearly four years since the referendum.

He will deliver a special address to the nation to mark the historic day and Downing Street will be illuminated with a light display designed to symbolise the strength and unity of the UK's four nations.

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Britain will diverge from EU rules after Brexit - Patel - RTE.ie