[0762]

It appears that the EU are gonna 'throw another spanner in the Brexit works' tomorrow by suggesting that the reunification of Ireland is distinctly possible bearing in mind the predicament of NI and how to easily resolve it with sympathetic assurances and approval of such a process! That would also add an element of optimism from a Scottish (Scot Indy 2) perspective if it is confirmed in the next 24 hours!

[St Charles Owl]

It appears that the EU are gonna 'throw another spanner in the Brexit works' tomorrow by suggesting that the reunification of Ireland is distinctly possible bearing in mind the predicament of NI and how to easily resolve it with sympathetic assurances and approval of such a process! That would also add an element of optimism from a Scottish (Scot Indy 2) perspective if it is confirmed in the next 24 hours!

The reunification of Ireland has nothing to do with the EU and certainly they should nor will have any say in whether this will happen. That is a question for the UK, Ireland and in particular the people of NI to decide, they are the ones who must ultimately decide if this is what they want or not.

[hibeejim21]

It appears that the EU are gonna 'throw another spanner in the Brexit works' tomorrow by suggesting that the reunification of Ireland is distinctly possible bearing in mind the predicament of NI and how to easily resolve it with sympathetic assurances and approval of such a process! That would also add an element of optimism from a Scottish (Scot Indy 2) perspective if it is confirmed in the next 24 hours!

The reunification of Ireland has nothing to do with the EU and certainly they should nor will have any say in whether this will happen.  That is a question for the UK, Ireland and in particular the people of NI to decide, they are the ones who must ultimately decide if this is what they want or not.

How does it have "nothing" to do with the EU? One of its member state is in the union.

A united Ireland is for the People of Ireland to decide,the EU have merely offered Recognition of a United Ireland. That's a separate matter altogether

They will offer Recognition of an Independent Scotland too. In which case, Libertarian free,democracy loving Brexiteers wouldn't mind at all. As they morph into the Singapore of western Europe.

[0762]

Spot on Jim! That's precisely the point (s) that was being made re their recognition of a united Ireland if it came about!

[0762]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39770328

Who d'ya believe eh? Tories telling 'porkies' again, for obvious reasons, or Juncker's scepticism? I'd laugh if the EU market suddenly rose in positivity, together with the valuation of the Euro, simultaneously with the UK's final formal exit - that would be so ironic and fitting!

[hibeejim21]

This is the real problem that cruella has - she would like the negotiations to be kept secret for obvious reasons (the weakness and incompetence of our position and the tories suppression of it) but this is impossible. The commission has to brief 27 different Governments and leaks are inevitable.

The EU is going for transparency and have been up front about what they want. The UK to settle its bill and guarantee the rights of EU citizens in the UK. Until that happens we are out in the cold.

I really don't think a lot of people have grasped how many UK manufacturers, though not technically exporting to the EU, are dependent on customers whose core markets are in the EU.

[St Charles Owl]

This is all just posturing by both sides, this sort of rhetoric should have been expected from both sides but in the end they will overall meet somewhere in the middle. Some topics will be driven hard by one side, other topics by the others, but as with all negotiations you will take a loss on some things to win on others depending on the goals you set and the importance of the topic to each side.

As regards keeping the negotiations secret, then it would be naive and foolish to lay all your cards on the table before they actually get going!! As you say keeping the EUs stance on issue will be virtually impossible considering the number of people involved but May should keep her cards close to her chest in the hope of getting as good a deal as she can, doesn't mean it will be a great deal or even a good one, but it might be the best we can get. The EU are not going for transparency either, they are putting out some particular points that they intend to push hard but that doesn't mean they won't compromise on them if they need to.

As regards trade between the UK and EU, then this will have to be worked out because its too important to both sides. We import more from the EU than we export to them, so we have more to lose but when you consider the value of our exports to the EU (230b in 2015) then neither side can afford to lose this trade. We have a trade deficit with Germany of over 25 billion, it is not in Germany's interests to not strike a deal to allow German companies to continue to benefit from the UK market, just as much as its not in our interests either. Sure some companies will possibly move to keep their share, but likewise you may see some EU companies who are reliant on the UK market to move to the UK to maintain their sales there.

[hibeejim21]

The EU are in a much better position to absorb any losses than the UK. Which is something that seems to be getting overlooked.

I think executives of companies in the EU27 are rather more concerned about how the average British worker will be able to afford to buy their goods after the sort of hard brexit that St Theresa & eton mess are pushing for. So should you be.

[hibeejim21]

Shehab Khan
✔ ‎@ShehabKhan

Unconfirmed reports of an investigation into Theresa May's husband's financial group making millions from sensitive info from Brexit...

[0762]

This is gonna be theeeeee biggest mistake in British economic history and you don't need to hold an economic degree to realise that fact!! Of course May wants to be as secretive as she can be and remember that this is somebody who had absolutely no plan whatsoever together with her group of Tory Brexit 'huddies' who have never impressed 'from the off' and indeed never expected to win the EU referendum vote at all - it's called 'caught with your pants down' and it's mainly an English problem full of xenophobia, English nationalism tendencies and huge misinformation that has damaged the UK beyond belief! That's my 'take' on it and I see no reason to change that view. I've previously commented that we definitely have the wrong govt in place to handle this problem and that will exacerbate this whole problem even more particularly with no strong political opposition in parliament!! One can only hope that it will change but I'm not holding my breath' in great anticipation'.