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EC Announces Accession Talks with Albania, Macedonia
March 21, 2018
EUobserver reports that the European Commission (EC) has announced upcoming accession negotiations with Albania and the Republic of Macedonia, paving the way for these countries to become members of the EU.
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UK Group Demands Post-Brexit Break with EU Rules
March 20, 2018
Business Insider reports that 62 members of the euroskeptic UK Parliamentary organization the European Research Group have signed a letter to Prime Minister Theresa May calling for her to reclaim immediately after Brexit the authority to negotiate new trade deals and to regain "full regulatory autonomy" with the authority to break from Brussels' rules.
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Lord Trimble Dismisses Brexit Threats to UK-Ireland Peace
March 20, 2018
Hugh Bennett writes that Lord Trimble, an architect of the Good Friday Agreement, has dismissed claims that Brexit is threatening the landmark peace deal between the UK and Ireland as "rubbish" and argues that the Irish border issue will only be a problem if EU officials impose trade restrictions between the two countries.
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Former EU Official: UK Must Make Choice on Financial Rules
March 20, 2018
Former European Commissioner for finance, UK peer Jonathan Hill writes that the UK must abandon the negotiation of impossible terms of financial "access" with EU officials and must instead spell out the choice between taking rules from the EU, with access to its markets, and having the final say over financial rules, with short-term market disruption.
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May Calls for UK-EU Security Treaty
March 20, 2018
AP reports that, at the recent Munich Security Conference, UK Prime Minister Theresa May called for the EU to agree a wide-ranging security treaty with Britain as part of her push for the UK to remain part of EU security structures, including the European Arrest Warrant, subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the EU after Brexit.