Brexit

[RTH10260]

So, Simon and Steve, did you vote for Brexit, or did you see this coming and advise the members of your association that this was a bad idea?

Even when some entrepreuneurs might have wanted the Brexit they probably did not forsee the stupidity of their politicians. The UK would have had the possibility to remain a member of many special EU agencies, like the REACH. They ould have opted to retrat step by step, one agency at a time while they created their own replacements. But the geniuses went essentially for a hard Brexit and cancelled all memberships in all agencies. Losing their decade long investment of paying for those agencies over the years while contributing tho the work products, and profiting from those products. Now the UK is starting from ground zero, with no possibility to transfer knowlege out of these agancies. Worse, the UK has had since 2016 time to build up their own agencies but preferred to wait until 2019, just months before separation.

[RTH10260]

this British vlogger with longtime residence in France comments on Brexit issues, and often posts his script too

The UK has NO GPS since BREXIT

8 Feb 2022

BREXIT BRITAIN made a "mistake" by leaving the EU's Galileo project, Labour's Shadow Science Minister has said, adding that the current plans for an alternative are not up to scratch…

The alternative that Dominic Cummings advised the UK government to spend 400 million of taxpayers' money on... the one web satellite constellation... Saving it from bankruptcy… Since then more investment has been sourced from India… The original error was that it's not a replacement… OneWeb is designed to supply the internet to rural areas... And that was supposed to replace a global positioning system GPS as per the EU Galileo Project…

The truth is that they thought you could retrofit the satellites with GPS but the truth is the satellites are too small… Besides, what you are going to do?.. fly up there and your little space suit a jetpack on the back and retrofit every single little satellite that has already been launched…
But investing in one web may not have been such a stupid idea after all since countries like India and that's not to forget the continent of Africa and other areas have no access to fast internet and this could be the solution...

One web is a broadband constellation first and foremost and will provide rural 4G, and one day 5G, Internet...

But the astronomers are angry since OneWeb has just announced their intention to launch around 100000 satellites which are considerably more than the original intention of 648... The sky will be peppered with them…

Britain’s space sector took a blow when it left the EU's Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)... And this was after investing 9 billion of taxpayers money in Galileo…and the UK just walked away from it… go figure…

British businesses were also deep in the Galileo Project and They have been hung out to dry and the scientists... Many who have relocated into the EU... another brain drain...

Shadow Science Minister Chi Onwurah says, “I don’t want to look back too much, but looking forward we need a plan, and I don’t see that. “The space sector is a really important industry. There are big jobs, growth, satellite communications, spaceports- the opportunities are there but we just see the confusion.”...

When we left the EU and the Galileo Project “We had all this confusion about ‘we’re going to set up our own Galileo and then we’re not….and then we bought OneWeb instead’...

“OneWeb is about delivering broadband in hard-to-reach areas. It requires a major technological change to support global positioning, so it is not a replacement for Galileo...and so the UK has no GPS capability for defence... But OneWeb does have communications capability so not all is lost... What is very interesting is that scientists are exploring the possibility of data transfer by laser for super fast communication with the satellites… another 61 million are marked for that research… Considering OneWeb was bought in error do you think that it has a future please leave it in the comments we all would like to know...

video clip

► Show Spoiler

[Uninformed]

“Jacob Rees-Mogg made Brexit opportunities minister as PM reshuffles team”:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-60305006

“Mr Rees-Mogg, a prominent Leave campaigner during the 2016 EU referendum, will now be a full member of the cabinet, with his full title being minister for Brexit opportunities and government efficiency.”

Not sure whether to or

[RTH10260]

Government says it could use Brexit ‘freedom’ to ditch new EU car safety regulations
Package of measures aimed to reduce head injuries and pedestrian deaths

Jon Stone Policy Correspondent
23 hours ago

The government has said it could use its new Brexit “freedoms” to ditch planned EU car safety rules.

The UK was involved in drawing up the General Safety Regulations, which include higher standards for cars and lorries to make them less deadly for pedestrians.

But ministers have now said they could “capitalise on our regulatory freedoms” and decide not to implement the safety measures after all.

The regulations include requirements to build buses and lorries with better lines of sight so that they are less likely to accidentally crush pedestrians and cyclists – known as the “Direct Vision” standard.

They also require cars and vans to have advanced emergency braking systems to help prevent collisions, go through more comprehensive crash tests, and include design changes to prevent head injuries for pedestrians and cyclists.



https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/p ... 09217.html

[RTH10260]

Fun fact: if a UK resident were to purchase one of these new "less safer" cars and then were to relocate to the EU with his car then the vehicle would be not get licensed.....

[Azastan]

Fun fact: if a UK resident were to purchase one of these new "less safer" cars and then were to relocate to the EU with his car then the vehicle would be not get licensed.....

So, better to purchase the new vehicle with EU standards, and not support British automakers? Brilliant!

[Dave from down under]

Brexit - creating new opportunities to kill people in the UK!

[RTH10260]

Why the panic? The global economy is embracing UK trade relationships with wide open arms....

Brexit damaging trade with EU, says public accounts committee
Border checks said to have increased business costs and ‘suppressed’ trade, and the situation could worsen

Phillip Inman
Wed 9 Feb 2022 00.01 GMT

Brexit red tape has damaged Britain’s trade with the EU and the situation could worsen unless the government works with Brussels to reduce hold-ups at UK ports, parliament’s spending watchdog has said.

Only hours after Jacob Rees-Mogg was appointed minister for Brexit opportunities, a report by the cross-party public accounts committee (PAC) said border checks in place since the beginning of the year had increased business costs and “suppressed” trade with the EU.

The PAC said there was a risk that the situation would worsen in September, when stricter checks are implemented by the EU and a forecast post-Covid recovery in global trade increases traffic through UK ports.

Urging ministers to upgrade port systems and infrastructure, especially at Dover, the committee’s chair, Meg Hillier, said it had “repeatedly raised concerns about the impact of changes to trading arrangements on businesses of all sizes, and we remain concerned”.

The warning came after a haulage industry boss said lorry drivers may have to get used to queueing for four hours at Dover on busy days. Mile-long queues of HGVs waiting to get into the crucial trade port have been a regular sight in the first weeks of 2022.

Measures that force lorries to stop on the A20 to prevent Dover from becoming clogged have been implemented 20 times already this year, compared with 69 times in the whole of 2021.

Rod McKenzie, executive director for policy and public affairs for the Road Haulage Association, said post-Brexit border checks “mean friction where none existed” and hauliers were becoming familiar with long delays at peak times.

Under the terms of the Brexit deal negotiated by Boris Johnson in December 2020, the EU introduced full import controls in January 2022 after a yearlong transition period. The UK government intended to do the same, but has delayed three times over the last year and the PAC report said officials could not give a “complete assurance that it would not do so again”.




https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... -committee

[RTH10260]

UK goods into Germany down 8.5% in further sign of Brexit damage
Britain slides out of top five of Germany’s largest trade partners as imports fall to €32.1bn in 2021

Phillip Inman and Graeme Wearden
Wed 9 Feb 2022 11.42 GMT

Imports of UK goods into Germany fell 8.5% last year, in the latest signal that extra costs and red tape related to Brexit are damaging British trading relationships.

Britain also fell out of the top five of Germany’s largest trade partners as the EU’s biggest economy turned to its neighbours inside the eurozone for machine tools, car parts and components for the aerospace industry.

The German statistical office, Destatis, said UK imports fell in 2021, the first year since the Brexit free trade deal was agreed in late December 2020, to €32bn (£27bn).

However, the situation improved for many of Germany’s other trading partners, which enjoyed a big rise in sales to Germany.



https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... xit-damage

[Uninformed]

For those with chronic insomnia, inherently masochistic, or with a peculiar sense of humour, I give you the “The Benefits of Brexit”, 105 pages of dire propaganda complete with deliberate obfuscation and the occasional outright lie, masking the the repercussions of the future deregulated UK.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... -of-brexit

[RTH10260]

[RTH10260]

UK will be told to lift ban on hormone-treated beef to join key trade bloc, leaked memo suggests
‘Canada asked some probing questions and stated this will be an important issue for Canada in judging the UK’s compliance with CPTPP’

Rob Merrick Deputy Political Editor
2 days ago

The UK will be told to lift its ban on hormone-treated beef to achieve its post-Brexit dream of joining a key trade bloc, a leaked government memo suggests.

Ministers hope to be admitted to the 11-nation Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), as they seek to ease the huge trade damage from leaving the EU.

But Canada has raised the stakes by asking “probing questions” about the controversial issue of hormones in beef to boost meat production – which London has vowed will remain outlawed.

A note of a meeting of officials at the end of last week reads: “On hormone treated beef Canada asked some probing questions and stated this will be an important issue for Canada in judging the UK’s compliance with CPTPP.”

Canada has the power to veto British accession. The memo, obtained by the Politico website, adds: “Canada stopped short of describing the UK as non-compliant in this area.”



https://www.independent.co.uk/politics/ ... 10031.html

[RTH10260]

Brexit cost the EU a quarter of exports to UK
Monday, 24 January 2022

Brexit has severely disrupted trade between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK), with total UK imports from the EU falling by almost a quarter (24.8%) and exports to the EU falling by 13.1%, according to a report for the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee.

European companies are already suffering export losses due to Britain’s departure from the EU, even though additional customs controls (mainly for agriculture) will only be introduced from this year.

Last year was still considered a transition year, with physical checks and new administrative requirements coming into force throughout 2022.

On 1 January, the British government tightened the certification requirements for most agricultural products, with new requirements to take effect between 1 July and 1 November 2022.

Agri-food companies exporting to the UK will need a UK importer or their own branch in the UK to arrange certification. An exception applies to trade with Northern Ireland.

A UK survey found that only one in four small importers is ready for the impending changes, while one in eight said they could not prepare for the introduction of controls.

It is already known that UK Customs have not even trained the staff they need and that the software programmes of their computer equipment are not compatible with European systems, according to reports from Nieuweoogst, a Dutch outlet covering agricultural news.



https://www.brusselstimes.com/news/busi ... orts-to-uk

[RTH10260]

supplychain problems ?

'Fed up now!' Lorry drivers' quitting en-masse over red tape as they lament UK treatment
LORRY drivers in the UK are leaving the profession en-mass after being forced to queue at Dover and facing hostility from Britons.

By ALESSANDRA SCOTTO DI SANTOLO
15:42, Fri, Feb 18, 2022 | UPDATED: 18:25, Fri, Feb 18, 2022

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The UK and other countries in the EU faced a shortage of lorry drivers since the end of last year. Now more and more experienced HGV drivers are leaving the profession.

Speaking to the Independent, a group of drivers said they had become fed up at the way they are viewed in the UK, as well as the increase in paperwork while entering and leaving Britain.

Colin Merrick, a lorry driver with 36 years of experience in the industry said: “There is a lot of bureaucracy and red tape now for us drivers. I have to check all the relevant paperwork before I go into Calais. It takes longer and longer to do.

“Sometimes the left and right hand aren’t speaking to each other. Something can be checked on one side and it’s fine, you get to the other side and it’s not. The system allows them to just park you up.”

He went on to complain about conditions in the UK, saying that in many service stations they do not even get refreshments.

He said: “We drive 44-tonne killing machines. We are professionals, and in Europe we are treated like professionals, but in the UK we aren’t. You don’t even get a cup of coffee at most services here.

“All we are is a pain to everybody on the road, we are seen as a boil on the backside of life.”



https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics ... r-rules-eu

[RTH10260]

Third world country rules - we need to speak the local language???

Bitter France snubs Britons for jobs – and creates new exam only available in French
BRITISH ski and snowboard instructors are being asked to take a new French exam as their UK qualifications no longer apply in the EU.

By ALESSANDRA SCOTTO DI SANTOLO
14:30, Sat, Feb 19, 2022 | UPDATED: 14:37, Sat, Feb 19, 2022

The Brexit Withdrawal Agreement signed between the UK and Brussels left out mutual recognition of professional qualifications, sparking fury among British ski and snowboard instructors.

UK professionals hoping to work in France, Italy and Austria for the ski season are being rejected by EU member states authorities as their qualifications, fully recognised until December 2020, are now being trashed.

France is demanding UK professionals take an exam in order to qualify for jobs, but the examination can only be taken in French, making it even harder for UK nationals to apply.

Robert Greatbach, a British ski instructor who worked in Italy before the pandemic, said France is not recognising his qualification.

He told the FT: “I always wanted to work in Tignes.

“After leaving the EU, my British qualification is not recognised in France.

"The procedure for getting it recognised still will not be formalised until the summer.”

Snow sports training manager at Interski Andy McIntosh said his work permit applications was turned down by Italy, after 40 years of experience working in the Alps.

He said: “My job requires me to be in the UK for seven months and in Italy for five months, where I deliver instructor training.

“I am now in a position where I can’t work in Italy; this is very frustrating and also very sad for me personally, and for the wider profession.”

He added: “We were the largest British ski school in the Alps, employing up to 400 British ski instructors a season and covering 1,200 instructor teaching weeks.

ps. this was already coming a year ago when it was announced that ski instructors need to retake EU compatible exams

[Azastan]

ps. this was already coming a year ago when it was announced that ski instructors need to retake EU compatible exams

Ski bums gotta ski bum?

Don't the British ski bums know how to speak French anyway?

[RTH10260]

There was a whole British ecosystem of touroperators packaging in planes or buses to hotels run by Brit with British food and British instructors, no need to leave your bubble.

[Azastan]

There was a whole British ecosystem of tour operators packaging in planes or buses to hotels run by Brits with British food and British instructors, no need to leave your bubble.

One of my relatives was a travel agent years ago, and he operated in a similar fashion (trips to Disneyland/Disney World). Just a continuation of Cook's Tours!

Too bad for the British ski bums, though LOL.

[Foggy]

Don't the British ski bums know how to speak French anyway?

Especially if they're going to be ski instructors IN FRANCE?

[jcolvin2]

Especially if they're going to be ski instructors IN FRANCE?

Isn’t off-piste as much French as most of the UK ski bums know?

[Sam the Centipede]

Especially if they're going to be ski instructors IN FRANCE?

Isn’t off-piste as much French as most of the UK ski bums know?

I dunno, you'd have to ask someone at the après-ski.

[RTH10260]

UK facing shortage of vets to sign health certification for animal-based goods exports to the EU
23 February 2022 (0 Comments)
Posted by: William Barns-Graham

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) is warning of a potential logjam for exporters of animal-origin products to the EU due to a shortage of vets to authorise customs documentation.

Since the end of the transition period at the end of 2020, firms sending meat, eggs, dairy and other animal-based goods to Europe must get a vet to sign an export health certificate to show that their goods meet EU sanitary standards.

European vets

However, new data from the BVA shows that the number of EU-registered vets coming to work in the UK fell by 68% from 1,132 in 2019 to just 364 in 2021.

The UK’s veterinary workforce is highly reliant on EU registrants, with data from 2021 indicating that 29% of the total existing workforce graduated in the EU.

The BVA attributes the recent fall to both the pandemic and the end of free movement between Britain and the EU following Brexit.

Surge in certificate applications

The BVA adds that the requirement for firms exporting goods to get export health certificates has also led to a surge in demand for vets.

Its data shows a 12-fold increase in applications for veterinary certification, from 22,990 in 2029 to 228,558 by the end of 2021.




https://www.export.org.uk/news/596490/U ... the-EU.htm

[RTH10260]

Bottom trawling triples in key marine protected area despite Brexit promise
Analysis by the Marine Conservation Society shows dredging at England’s Dogger Bank site has increased despite government pledge to ban the practice

Karen McVeigh
Mon 28 Feb 2022 06.01 GMT

The government is under pressure to safeguard Britain’s marine conservation areas after analysis showed the Dogger Bank protected site has seen a threefold increase in destructive bottom trawling since Brexit.

A year ago, conservationists welcomed government proposals to ban trawling and dredging fishing practices, which involve dragging weighted nets over the seabed, in 14,030 sq km (5,400 sq miles) of English waters, an area equivalent to the size of Northern Ireland. The area includes Dogger Bank and three other marine protected areas (MPAs).

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) analysed fishing data tracked by Global Fishing Watch and found bottom trawling and dredging had increased at the site from about 1,700 hours a year between 2015 and 2018, to 5,500 hours a year between 2020 and the end of 2021.

It accused the government of “broken promises and delayed action” over the proposed fishing ban, which is not yet in place a year on. The ban was introduced via a bylaw, which is typically passed within 12 months.

In a statement, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said new bylaws to ban bottom trawling in the four MPAs were “being finalised”, but did not give a timescale.

The Dogger Bank MPA, one of the largest sandbanks in Europe, at 12,300 sq km, is a vital breeding ground for commercial species including cod and whiting, as well as sand eels, which are a food source for puffins, porpoises and kittiwakes. It is also an important site for blue carbon, the CO2 sequestered and stored in coastal and marine ecosystems.

Nearly a quarter of UK territorial waters are covered by MPAs, set up to protect vital ecosystems and species, including harbour porpoises and dolphins. This network is a symbol of the government’s target to protect 30% of ocean biodiversity by 2030.



https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... it-promise

[RTH10260]

Sovereignity bites

Brexit border delays impacting Norfolk businesses

Derin Clark
Published: 12:29 PM February 13, 2022 Updated: 10:45 AM February 14, 2022

Norfolk firms are finding that they are being impacted by delays at the boarder caused by Brexit.

The Tapas Lunch Company, which specialises in selling food and drink products imported from Spain, has found post-Brexit price increases and additional hold ups has made trading more complicated.

Valeria Navarro, who does logistics and supplies at the Colton-based firm said that they were being "punished" because of Brexit.

"Since Brexit came we've been having more issues. We import things from Spain. We have found our deliveries have been delayed."

A government report has just been published which warned that small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) faced additional costs and administration when shipping goods to and from the EU due to Brexit.

However, some Norfolk firms have already found that they have been impacted

Ms Navarro has found that the added admin and costs involved in importing goods from Spain after leaving the EU has had a massive impact on her business.

She explained that additional certificates are now needed on the Spanish side and they "take time and money" to get.

"There have been lots of delays. You never know when items will be with you. It could be 15 days, it could be 20 days.

"Most of our suppliers are Spanish. They don't want to take responsibility as they say Brexit was our choice. This means we pay the export costs, the import costs, the certificate costs.

"Items will be more expensive.

"In the end it's you and me who pay for this. It's the people who pay for this amount."

The Tapas Lunch Company was set up in 2005 with the aim of supplying Spanish products at a cheaper price than supermarkets. But with the added costs since leaving Brexit the firm is struggling to keep prices competitive.

Mark Kacary, managing director of The Norfolk Deli which stocks products from Italy, France and Spain said that he does not "envy" importers.

He said: "We use specialist wholesalers whose business is all about importing and stocking products from France Spain and Italy. If there are delays or stock issues they will be feeling the pain. We tend to order whatever it is that they have in stock and as we like to change our customer offering on a regular basis we will replace anything which is out of stock with something different. I do not envy importers though."

He added that he has also seen prices going up, not just on imported European products but on locally produced goods as well.

"Many people think that price increases only come about due to the increase in raw ingredients, but local producers will have to work harder to find alternate sources for packaging. Prices of jars and packaging in general have seen substantial price rises.




https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/business/b ... es-8683436

[RTH10260]

Car parts maker TMS blames Brexit for closure of UK site
BY:LILY RUSSELL-JONES

A supplier of car parts to the likes of Range Rover and BMW is reportedly closing its UK plant and setting its sights on Europe.

Thermal Management Solutions (TMS) has told staff that it intends to develop capabilities at manufacturing sites in France and Germany and axe its UK division, Sky News has learned. The closure of the company’s site in Reading will reportedly affect 140 jobs.

“Over recent years the automotive industry has experienced unprecedented turbulence and uncertainty, with some markets hit harder than others,” Mark Franckel, TMS’s chief executive, told Sky News.

“It was against this challenging backgroup that the decision to transfer production from the Uk to Europe was made,” he added.

According to an insider the company has decided to pivot towards manufacturing bases in Europe because of supply chain issues which have worsened as a result of Brexit. A growing heap of paperwork, higher distribution costs and greater complexity expedited the decision the insider told Sky News. The desire to increase its presence in Europe as TMS makes the transition from diesel and petrol vehicles to hybrid and electric cars was also a factor.

The closure of the UK plant after over 60 years, is a sign of Brexit’s damaging impact on the automotive industry. In a particularly hard blow Honda closed its Swindon plant in 2019, slashing 3,500 jobs in the process.




https://www.cityam.com/car-parts-maker- ... f-uk-site/