Finance & Trade

French Party Leader Supports EU-UK Talks on Customs Union

April 23, 2019

Politico reports that the lead candidate for the French President’s party for European elections, Nathalie Loiseau, has pointed to a post-Brexit EU-UK permanent customs union, limiting the UK’s ability to negotiate trade deals with other countries, as a compromise option the EU is prepared to discuss with UK negotiators.
UK Official: No-Deal Brexit Tariff Plan Complies with WTO Rules

April 23, 2019

The Guardian reports that UK Environment Secretary Michael Gove has argued that waiving tariffs on goods crossing the Irish border in case of a no-deal Brexit would be legal under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules due to the special nature and needs of the Good Friday Agreement.
UK Authorities: WTO Rules Protect Post-Brexit Energy Flows

April 23, 2019

According to Reuters, the UK’s National Grid has confirmed that electricity and gas flows between Europe and Britain would continue unabated under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules in case of a no-deal Brexit.
EU Institutions Agree to Bolster Authority of Financial Supervisors

April 22, 2019

In another step toward EU officials’ goal of forming a centrally governed Capital Markets Union, the European Parliament and EU governments have broadly agreed on the reinforcement of powers of the finance-focused European Supervisory Agencies that “keeps pace with further integration” of the eurozone.
UK, EU Bank Regulators Reach Post-Brexit Cooperation Deal

April 22, 2019

Highlighting continued cooperation between UK and EU regulators to limit the negative impacts of a no-deal Brexit, bank watchdogs in each jurisdiction have reached a deal on “uninterrupted information-sharing and supervisory cooperation” in the event Britain leaves the EU without a withdrawal deal.
UK Reaches Trade Deals with Iceland, Norway

April 22, 2019

Reuters reports that the UK government has reached an agreement with Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, to apply current rules to British trade in case of a no-deal Brexit.
EU Council Approves No-Deal Brexit Contingency Measures

April 22, 2019

The Council of the EU has approved legislation preparing for a potential “no-deal” Brexit scenario by, among other policies, providing for social-security rights of EU and UK citizens and uninterrupted transport between Britain and the Continent in case the UK leaves without a broad withdrawal agreement.
EU Institutions Agree Future Funding for Climate Action

April 22, 2019

The European Parliament and Council of the EU have reached a provisional agreement on funding for the EU’s “Environment and Climate Action” program for 2021 to 2027, as the bloc expands its investments in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and Paris climate plan in a bid to become “climate neutral” by the year 2050.
UK Official Opposes Post-Brexit EU Customs Deal

April 10, 2019

The Independent reports that, according to a letter from UK Secretary of International Trade Liam Fox, agreeing to remain in a customs union with the EU would leave Britain “stuck in the worst of both worlds,” with drastically reduced influence in Brussels and no say over its own trade policy.
NGOs Oppose EU Fossil-Fuel Funding in Developing Regions

April 03, 2019

A group of nongovernmental organizations has called on EU lawmakers to exclude from the bloc’s future Cohesion Policy - development funds targeting European regions that struggle economically - investments in fossil fuel infrastructure, arguing such funding will sink the EU’s commitment to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.