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  • 3 trade deal deadlines missed, no more please

    “We voted to Leave and to Take Back Control”, says Brexit Facts4EU.Org

    “Prime Minister, it’s Time to Take our Leave.”

    © Brexit Facts4EU.Org 2020

    Brexit Facts4EU.Org looks at the three EU trade deal deadlines – all missed
    – and concludes that the UK must walk away if no deal is done by Thursday, when EU leaders meet

    Three EU trade deal deadlines, all missed. Below we summarise how we got to this point, review Lord Frost’s latest views, and propose a line in the sand this Thursday.

    Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

    Deadlines for the UK-EU trade deal

    • 30 June 2020 – fishing agreement, and ‘heads of terms’ for the trade deal – MISSED
    • 31 July 2020 – ‘heads of terms’ for the trade deal – MISSED
    • 15 October 2020 – ‘heads of terms’ for the trade deal – MISSED
    • 19 November 2020 – ‘heads of terms’ for the trade deal agreed by EU27 leaders – ???

    The lead up to the Brexit trade talks

    On 04 September last year, the Government lost a vote against Labour and Tory Remainers, whose Bill then blocked the Government’s intention for a 31 October 2019 deadline for Brexit talks failing which we would leave on WTO terms.

    Readers will recall the weeks of shambolic Parliamentary proceedings with Tory Remainer MPs huddling on the backbenches in their whispered plottings like excited schoolchildren, and then voting with Labour to force the Prime Minister to ask the EU for a three-month extension to the already-extended Article 50 deadline.

    This meant that the PM’s “31st October, do or die” pledge would be broken, and prompted the General Election in December. In that election on 12 December, Labour was trounced in its northern heartlands, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn announced he would step down, the fanatical pro-Remain LibDem leader lost her seat to the SNP, and Boris Johnson secured an 80-strong majority for his “Get Brexit Done” message.

    After the General Election – the events of 2020

    The PM signed the disastrous EU Withdrawal Agreement on 24 January 2020 and the UK formally ceased to be a member of the European Union at 11pm on 31 January, with a ‘Transition Period’ set to run until 31 December 2020. During this year the UK has had to endure all the obligations and costs of EU membership, but with no say in any of this. In effect, the UK has been and still is a colony state of the EU.

    Formal trade negotiations began on 02 March 2020, in Brussels. This is in itself a travesty, given that the British people had voted to leave the EU three years and eight months previously, as we showed in our 3-part series which started last Thursday. These talks with the EU were difficult from the start and after only two-and-a-half months relations had deteriorated to such a degree that on 19 May David Frost wrote a damning and accusatory letter to the EU (PDF), using words such as “unworthy” and “unbalanced”.

    © No.10 – click to download PDF of letter

    The ‘deadlines’ for the trade talks

    30 June was the deadline in the Transition Period agreement for a deal to be made on fishing, and for any extension to the Transition Period to be agreed. This date was widely described as being the crunch point, after which the UK would walk away if no deal had been reached.

    The 30 June deadline came and went. The PM then signalled the end of July as the deadline, after which the UK (paraphrasing) would walk away and ‘Go WTO’.

    The 31 July deadline came and went. On 07 September the PM then set 15 October as the deadline, after which the UK would walk away and ‘Go WTO’.


    (Click to enlarge)

    The EU announces legal action against the UK

    On 01 October the EU Commission announced it would be taking legal action in the ECJ against the UK over its ‘Internal Markets Bill’. It initiated this action when the Bill had not been (and still hasn’t) been passed, thereby directly interfering in the internal Parliamentary processes of an independent country as if it were still a member state.

    In the House of Commons this Bill had been famously described by Remainer Minister Brandon Lewis, clearly aided and abetted by another Conservative Remainer Bob Neill MP, as something which will “break international law in a very specific and limited way”. The Bill does not do that, as we have explained in previous articles.

    The 15 October deadline came and went. On 16 October the PM halted the talks, saying that the EU had “refused to negotiate seriously for much of the last few months” and stating that the UK would be pursuing an ‘Australia-type’ trading relationship. Nevertheless, the talks then resumed on the following Tuesday, despite the EU failing to provide the assurances sought by the British side for this to happen.

    The talk was then of the new deadline being this coming Thursday 19 November when all 27 leaders of EU countries meet by video-conference, due to COVID-19. Now it seems that even this deadline is set to be missed. Brexit isn’t even on the agenda.

    What does Lord Frost say?

    Here is the full text of Lord Frost’s four tweets on Sunday 15 November:

    “Arriving once again in Brussels shortly for another round of negotiations with EU and Michel Barnier this afternoon. I and our British team have been in talks almost every day since 22 October.

    “We are working to get a deal, but the only one that’s possible is one that is compatible with our sovereignty and takes back control of our laws, our trade, and our waters. That has been our consistent position from the start and I will not be changing it.

    “There has been some progress in a positive direction in recent days. We also now largely have common draft treaty texts, though significant elements are of course not yet agreed. We will work to build on these and get an overall agreement if we can.

    “But we may not succeed. Either way, as the Prime Minister Boris Johnson made clear on 16 October, people and businesses must prepare for the change that is coming on 31 December, most of which happens whether there is a deal or not.”

    Observations

    It is now almost impossible to achieve a UK-EU trade deal by Thursday, when the EU27 leaders meet by video-conference. Talk in Brussels is now turning to the next Summit, on 10-11 December – just three weeks before the final date for the UK’s departure. In our view this is wholly unacceptable to businesses both in the UK, and in the EU27 countries.

    Any trade deal agreed at EU Council level then has to be finalised by the negotiators and then debated and ratified by the EU Parliament – and this is far from being a foregone conclusion. At the very least it will take many days for the 1500+ word document to be translated into the EU’s 24 official languages. It is therefore impossible to see how any new trade deal will be in place in sufficient time for businesses and government agencies to plan for it.

    The uncertainty being caused by these interminable and deadlocked trade talks together with all the uncertainty surrounding COVID regulations is highly damaging to the UK’s economy and to jobs, as well as to those of the EU27 countries.

    We voted to Leave and to ‘Take Back Control’.  Prime Minister, it’s Time to Take our Leave.

    The Big Brexit Initiative – Phase Two

    Regular readers will recall our ‘Big Brexit Initiative‘ (BBI) which started on Monday 02 November. Brexit Facts4EU.Org brought together the largest-ever number of major Brexit campaigning organisations combined behind one message to Government:

    “We call on you, Prime Minister, to rescind and void the Withdrawal Agreement
    in order to deliver on your General Election manifesto promises of December 2019,
    or else face millions of voters who will feel utterly betrayed.
    Please do not let the country down.”

    Now we are starting Phase Two of the Big Brexit Initiative

    We hope to mobilise Brexit groups and the public in support of another simple message: “Three missed trade deal deadlines… No more please, Prime Minister. A deal this week, or walk.”

    We will be announcing more about this tomorrow, so please make sure you come back!

    Urgent – we need you now

    If we are to see this thing through to the end, after almost five years of seven day-a-week work, we need your help.

    The level of our donations has dropped significantly in the last month, probably partly due to the impact of the measures the Government has taken regarding COVID-19. These kind donations are currently at an unsustainably low level. We know that these are difficult times for many people but we have to ask any reader who can, to support us with a donation today so that we can continue our fight for a free, independent, and sovereign United Kingdom as we approach the end game. Quick, secure, and confidential donation methods are linked to below this article and you will receive a very warm email from a member of our team. Thank you so much.

    [ Sources: No.10 | EU Council | EU Commission ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

    Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Tues 17 Nov 2020

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  • EU wants our land & waters in return for trade deal – final proof of bad faith

    Third and final part of Brexit Facts4EU.Org’s series reveals EU’s shocking demands

    © Brexit Facts4EU.Org 2020

    Further detailed facts, flatly contradicting BBC claim that EU did not set out to punish UK

    Correcting the BBC about Brexit – Part Three

    The final part in a series of three articles demonstrating the EU’s bad faith in negotiating with the United Kingdom
    Evidence for use by UK Government in rescinding the Withdrawal Agreement

    The full series:-
    Part One – Fact 1   |   Part Two – Facts 2-6   |   Part Three (this article) – Facts 7-10

    In our article on Thursday, we called out the BBC for its latest pro-EU stance. In the Saturday edition of Brexit Facts4EU.Org (yesterday) we provided further evidence. In this third and final part we provide yet more evidence demonstrating that the EU has never acted in good faith or with goodwill towards the UK and its people since the vote to leave on 23 June 2016.

    Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

    10 key facts which show how the EU set out to punish the British people

    Evidence in Part One – read it here.

    • Fact 1 – From Day One the EU made it perfectly clear that it would punish the UK

    Evidence in Part Two – read it here.

    • Fact 2 – EU banned UK from speaking to member states and delayed talks by a year
    • Fact 3 – Numerous hostile announcements have been made by the EU and leaders of member countries
    • Fact 4 – EU banned discussion of trade until Withdrawal Agreement was signed
    • Fact 5 – EU insisted on three arbitrary items to be agreed before trade talks could start
    • Fact 6 – EU weaponised and endangered the Belfast Agreement, threatening peace in Northern Ireland

    Evidence in Part Three – This concluding article

    • Fact 7 – The Northern Ireland Protocol has the effect of colonising part of the sovereign territory of the UK
    • Fact 8 – EU still claims UK territorial waters as its own, or no trade deal
    • Fact 9 – For the vast majority of the time, the EU has made the “trade talks” about other issues
    • Fact 10 – The demands of the EU Commission and Parliament are unprecedented in any Free Trade Agreement

    Fact 7 – Evidence – Northern Ireland Protocol ‘colonises’ part of sovereign territory of the UK

    Here was the Prime Minister in September:-

    “We are being told that the EU will not only impose tariffs on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, but that they might actually stop the transport of food products from GB to NI.

    “I have to say that we never seriously believed that the EU would be willing to use a Treaty, negotiated in good faith, to blockade one part of the UK, to cut it off; or that they would actually threaten to destroy the economic and territorial integrity of the UK. This was for the very good reason that any such barrier, any such tariffs or division would be completely contrary to the letter and the spirit of the Good Friday agreement. By actively undermining the Union of our country, such an interpretation would seriously endanger peace and stability in Northern Ireland.”

    British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, writing for the Daily Telegraph, 12 Sept 2020

    As we reported in Part Two of this series, the EU’s ‘Northern Ireland Protocol’ foisted on the UK breaks the terms of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, as it rides roughshod over the basic principle of consent contained in the Agreement in addition to many other egregious clauses.

    A new treaty – the Withdrawal Agreement – cannot and should not contravene or replace the terms of another treaty, especially not the Belfast (‘Good Friday’) Agreement. Yet that is what the EU’s Withdrawal Agreement does.

    It needs repeating: a foreign power is effectively threatening to annex part of the United Kingdom.

    Fact 8 – Evidence – EU still claims UK territorial waters as its own, or no trade deal

    As if the quasi-annexation of part of the United Kingdom’s land mass were not enough, the EU has pursued its claim for unfettered access to the UK’s coastal waters.

    For a foreign power to assume rights over UK waters is in and of itself quite extraordinary. Yet that has been the default position of the EU since the beginning. Even at the time of writing the EU Parliament continues its insistence that no trade deal will be approved unless the UK meekly hands over its new international rights to its coastal waters to the EU from 31 December 2020.

    The EU Parliament is at one with the EU Commission’s negotiating mandate regarding fishing. Here is their resolution in June of this year about this:

    “The European Parliament… reaffirms that no trade agreement can be concluded between the EU and the UK if it does not include a complete, sustainable, balanced and long-term fisheries agreement, upholding the continuation under optimal conditions of existing access to waters, resources and markets in accordance with common fisheries policy (CFP) principles and adopted before the end of the transition period.”


    – Adopted text by EU Parliament, 18 June 2020

    In other words, the extraordinary demands of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy must stay in place – full access, everything – or the EU will not approve a trade deal. It almost defies belief, but we have it all from them in black and white.

    Fact 9 – Evidence – For the vast majority of the time, the EU has made the “trade talks” about other issues

    One example of how the EU machine has never been serious about maintaining its member countries’ trading relationship with the UK is its strange insistence on discussing a wide range of non-trade issues in the ‘trade talks’.

    We chose a week from this year at random. In the week commencing 29 June 2020, only two 2-hour sessions took place specifically on trade issues. In that week there were:

    • Two hours negotiating on trade in goods
    • Two hours negotiating on trade in services

    The rest of the time was spent on a range of side issues, at the EU’s insistence.

    Fact 10 – Evidence – Demands of EU Commission and Parliament are unprecedented in any Free Trade Agreement

    On 12 Feb 2020 in Strasbourg, the MEPs of the EU Parliament debated the draft negotiating guidelines put forward by the EU Commission, as strengthened by their own even stronger demands. The eventual motion passed with ease.

    • EU Parliament demands full UK subservience – or no trade deal
    • 93% of MEPs impose impossible conditions on UK, in punishment vote

    MEPs voted by 543 to 39 in favour of a motion which would destroy any hope of a reasonable EU-UK trade deal by the end of this year.

    Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

    The demands of the “Trade Prevention Officers” of the EU Parliament

    • UK laws must follow EU laws – existing and future
    • The European Court of Justice will arbitrate on all matters of EU law imposed on the UK
    • UK must give up its rights to its own territorial waters, or no deal
    • UK must guarantee to have equal laws on social, environmental, tax, state aid, consumer protection, climate matters, competition, labour standards, environmental protection, and more
    • UK must follow EU actions on almost everything
    • Gibraltar will not be included, so that the Spanish can use it to claim sovereignty once again

    The EU Parliament’s full list of demands is here
    The EU Commission’s full list of demands is here

    Here is Michel Barnier last month, in typically intransigent form

    In its latest debate on Brexit on 21 October 2020, MEPs stressed the need to reach an agreement on EU-UK future relations that does not compromise EU interests and values. Here is Chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, addressing the EU Parliament on that day, and going even further:-

    “The European Union’s attitude to these negotiations has in no way shifted and will not shift, not up until the very last day and not even then. We will remain calm, constructive and respectful, but we will also remain firm and determined when it comes to defending the principles and the interests of each of the EU member states and the EU itself.”

    – EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier, 21 Oct 2020

    Never to our knowledge has any party to a trade negotiation ever insisted that its demands from the start to the end of the process are so immovable. To do this would be to remove the element of ‘negotiation’ from the term ‘trade negotiations’. Yet this is effectively what the EU has done.

    Observations

    We would like to thank the EU’s Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier for making it so clear that the EU has never acted with goodwill or in good faith in the course of its ‘negotiations’ with the United Kingdom. “The European Union’s attitude to these negotiations has in no way shifted and will not shift, not up until the very last day and not even then.“ With an inflexible attitude like this from the EU, what was the point of having ‘trade talks’ with them in the first place?

    It is now essential that the UK Government abandon the trade talks and put all its time and energies into preparing for a WTO terms exit from the EU’s Transition Period on 31 December 2020.

    We suggest Lord Frost and his team could use the remaining time wrapping up some simple side deals with the EU to ensure that life continues as normally as possible from 01 January 2021, in the interests of the citizens of both the EU and the UK.

    In conclusion

    This three-part series has highlighted the unacceptable way the EU has acted towards the UK since the moment the British people voted to leave. The evidence we have provided completely discredits the BBC’s claim that “the EU is not setting out to punish the UK in post-Brexit trade talks.”

    It also provides an excellent summary of some justifications to be used by HMG, if it proceeds with rescinding and voiding the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration. We urge them to do that now and to walk away from any further, futile trade talks without further ado.

    Urgent

    As readers will be able to imagine, the research, writing, and presentation of all this information took a great deal of time. If we are to see this thing through to the end, after almost five years of seven day-a-week work, we need your help.

    The level of our donations has dropped significantly in the last month, probably partly due to the impact of the measures the Government has taken regarding COVID-19. These kind donations are currently at an unsustainably low level. We know that these are difficult times for many people, but we have to ask any reader who can to support us with a donation today so that we can continue our fight for a free, independent, and sovereign United Kingdom as we approach the end game. Quick, secure, and confidential donation methods are linked to below this article and you will receive a very warm email from a member of our team. Thank you so much.

    [ Sources: No.10 | EU Commission | EU Parliament ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

    Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Sun 15 Nov 2020

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  • “The EU is not setting out to punish the UK in trade talks,” says BBC

    “Oh really?” says Brexit Facts4EU.Org. “Where have you been for the last four years?”

    © Brexit Facts4EU.Org 2020

    We take the BBC to task and put the record straight, with facts

    Correcting the BBC about Brexit/>Part One of a series of three articles demonstrating the EU’s bad faith in negotiating with the United Kingdom

    The full series:-
    Part One – Fact 1 (this article)   |   Part Two – Facts 2-6   |   Part Three – Facts 7-10

    This article forms Part One of a three-part series. In this Part One we summarise the BBC’s position and the basic facts which contradict it, and provide our first piece of evidence.

    In Part Two and Part Three we will provide more chapter and verse in factual form to back up all the other the assertions we make below. We hope readers will find this useful in rebutting some of the continuing claims made by die-hard Remainers. Facts are facts.

    This series of articles is not only about BBC bias

    This short series will also form a record of the lack of goodwill and good faith displayed by the EU during the negotiations for the UK’s exit from the EU and the subsequent ‘trade talks’. As such it forms part of the case which could be used by the UK Government for the rescinding and voiding of the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration.

    The BBC’s love of the EU

    “Self-interest is also – contrary to the belief of some in the UK – the reason the EU is not setting out to punish the UK in post-Brexit trade talks.”

    On Monday 09 Nov 2020, the above was published by a Remainer organisation which readers may have heard of, called the BBC. It was written by their ‘Europe Editor’, Katya Adler.

    The BBC’s position seems to be that the EU has not acted in an adversarial way towards the UK, and has not sought to punish the British people for voting to leave their organisation.

    When Ms Adler says “contrary to the belief of some in the UK”, she is talking about people like us, and probably the vast majority of our readers. In the interests of balance, we must therefore publish the following facts, all of which we have reported on before, and all of which are in the public domain.

    Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

    10 key facts which show how the EU set out to punish the British people

    • Fact 1 – From Day One the EU made it perfectly clear that it would punish the UK
    • Fact 2 – EU banned UK from speaking to member states and delayed start of talks by a year
    • Fact 3 – Numerous hostile announcements have been made by the EU and leaders of member countries
    • Fact 4 – EU banned discussion of trade until Withdrawal Agreement was signed
    • Fact 5 – EU insisted on three arbitrary items to be agreed before trade talks could start
    • Fact 6 – EU weaponised and endangered the Belfast Agreement, threatening peace in Northern Ireland
    • Fact 7 – Northern Ireland Protocol has the effect of colonising part of the sovereign territory of the UK
    • Fact 8 – EU still claims UK territorial waters as its own, or no trade deal
    • Fact 9 – For the vast majority of the time, the EU has made the “trade talks” about other issues
    • Fact 10 – Demands of the EU Commission and Parliament are unprecedented in any Free Trade Agreement

    The evidence for our 10 points

    In this article we will publish our evidence in support of ‘Fact 1’ above, showing that the EU machine has acted with ill-will and hostile intent towards the United Kingdom starting from Day One, in direct contravention of its Treaty obligations.

    In Part Two to be published on Saturday (14 Nov 2020) we will provide factual and incontrovertible evidence for more of the points above, concluding with a final part on Sunday.

    Fact 1 – Evidence – From Day One the EU made it perfectly clear that it would punish the UK

    On the morning after the EU Referendum, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker gave an interview to the German TV channel ARD and also gave an EU press conference in Brussels.

    1.1 Interview with German TV channel ARD, 24 June 2016:

    “This is not an amicable divorce.”

    – Jean Claude Juncker, EU Commission President, 24 June 2016

    Readers will note that President Juncker did not employ the future tense, nor did he suggest any doubt by using a word such as ‘might’ or ‘could’. This was a declaration. Given that President Juncker had had no contact with the UK Government at this point, his statement was clearly one of hostile intent, not a reaction to anything said or done by the British Government.

    1.2 Press conference, Brussels, same day:

    Herr Juncker started with: “Ladies and gentlemen and – for some of you – dear friends….”
    The EU Commission President commonly used the term ‘Dear friends’ when addressing a room. The clear implication of his qualification on this occasion – “and for some of you” – was that any British people in the room were no longer friends.

    He then announced that a meeting had already taken place earlier that morning at the highest levels to discuss “the situation we are in after the British people expressed its views on their… er… [long pause…] next situation.” Readers will note that speaking ad lib like this, President Juncker could not even bring himself to utter the words “decision to leave the European Union”. Instead he refers to the British people’s “next situation”.

    The angry walkout

    When asked a question by a journalist about the implications of Brexit for the EU as a whole, Jean-Claude Juncker abruptly closed his papers and angrily walked out of the press conference.

    And the journalist who prompted Herr Juncker’s petulant departure? Why, none other than Katya Adler, the same BBC Europe Editor who is now telling the British public that the EU is not setting out to punish the UK. What’s more, Ms Adler has been witness at first hand to numerous subsequent examples of the anger and hostility exhibited by the EU over the many years since the Referendum result was declared.

    In Part Two (to be published on Saturday 14 Nov 2020) we will provide factual and incontrovertible evidence for the other nine points above.

    The EU has had over four years to agree a future relationship – how have they behaved overall?

    The EU has had four years and four months to agree a future trading relationship with its second-largest market for goods exports: the United Kingdom. Last year (2019) this was worth €318.1 billion to the EU27 – a sum 60% higher than the EU’s sales to its third-largest customer: China.

    © Brexit Facts4EU.Org – click to enlarge

    It might be thought that the EU would have been keen to secure this trade with the United Kingdom on an ongoing basis. Given that the EU hasn’t shown such willingness or enthusiasm, it is clear there are other factors in play.

    Observations

    This is about impartial journalism and the BBC, not about Ms Adler

    We do not single out Ms Adler for special criticism. She is mainstream BBC and should not be demonised in any way on an individual basis. The problem of anti-Brexit bias in the BBC is endemic, not personal. This is not about Ms Adler alone, but about the rotten edifice which is BBC News and Current Affairs.

    The BBC is a state-funded and licence fee-funded broadcasting organisation and has a statutory duty of impartiality. By contrast, Brexit Facts4EU.Org receives no funding from the government and we do not even sit behind a paywall. Readers can enjoy our work for free every week. All we can do is ask for voluntary donations from the public. (Quick, secure, and confidential donation links are below this article, and we badly need your help to continue our work.)

    Impartiality isn’t that difficult

    If we wished, members of the Facts4EU.Org team would be perfectly capable of writing and presenting balanced pieces covering both sides of the argument, as the BBC should do.

    After years of observing the anti-democratic and sclerotic EU – and its avowed desire to subsume all member countries to create one superstate – we made the decision to present the case for independence for the UK. This was an argument won across the entire country on 23 June 2016, when the majority of the British people backed our stance in the largest democratic vote in British history.

    The BBC’s anti-Brexit bias is endemic

    Over four years later, it seems that the nation’s state broadcaster is still populated with those who believe in the Establishment’s view that the UK should become part of a United States of Europe.

    If anyone is in any doubt, we recommend reading the output of the highly-respected News-Watch, run by David Keighley. Their latest report, “The BBC and Brexit – the BBC’s coverage of Brexit and the EU, July 2020” is well worth studying.

    Root and branch reform of the BBC is needed. Those in the BBC who wish to embrace impartiality should stay. Those who don’t, might perhaps be advised to seek alternative employment where news and facts take second place to opinions. We would prefer a BBC which can be trusted to impart news and facts in an objective manner.

    PART TWO – Please do not miss Part Two of this piece on Saturday, where we provide more detailed evidence for the assertions in our summary above.

    [ Sources: BBC | EU Commission ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

    Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Thur 12 Nov 2020

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    has been the most prolific researcher and publisher of Brexit facts in the world.

    Supported by MPs, MEPs, & other groups, our work has impact.

    We think facts matter.
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  • The EU’s attempted ‘punishment beating’ of the UK – the evidence

    Part Two of Brexit Facts4EU.Org’s series reveals how the four year torment was created

    © Brexit Facts4EU.Org 2020

    Further detailed facts, flatly contradicting BBC claim that the EU did not set out to punish the UK

    Correcting the BBC about Brexit – Part Two

    The second in a series of three articles demonstrating the EU’s bad faith in negotiating with the United Kingdom
    Evidence for use by UK Government in rescinding the Withdrawal Agreement

    The full series:-
    Part One – Fact 1   |   Part Two (this article) – Facts 2-6   |   Part Three – Facts 7-10

    In our article on Thursday, we called out the BBC for its latest pro-EU stance. In this Saturday edition of Brexit Facts4EU.Org we provide further evidence that the EU has never acted in good faith or with goodwill towards the UK and its people since the vote to leave on 23 June 2016.

    Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

    10 key facts which show how the EU set out to punish the British people

    Evidence in Part One – read it here.

    • Fact 1 – From Day One the EU made it perfectly clear that it would punish the UK

    Evidence in Part Two (provided in this article, see below)

    • Fact 2 – EU banned UK from speaking to member states and delayed talks by a year
    • Fact 3 – Numerous hostile announcements have been made by the EU and leaders of member countries
    • Fact 4 – EU banned discussion of trade until Withdrawal Agreement was signed
    • Fact 5 – EU insisted on three arbitrary items to be agreed before trade talks could start
    • Fact 6 – EU weaponised and endangered the Belfast Agreement, threatening peace in Northern Ireland

    And more evidence is coming in our concluding Part Three tomorrow (Sunday)

    Fact 2 – Evidence – EU banned UK from speaking to member states and delayed talks by a year

    After the UK voted for Brexit in June 2016, in a normal world informal talks would have started within weeks. So why didn’t they? In the UK’s case, action was relatively swift.

    • The UK’s Chief Negotiator, the Rt Hon David Davis MP, was appointed within 3 weeks of the Referendum
    • The EU didn’t have a negotiator in place for almost 6 months

    Meanwhile, the unelected EU Commission gave a diktat that there would be

    “No negotiations before notification [of Article 50].”

    There was no basis in EU law nor in any Treaty provisions for this EU diktat.

    Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

    Timeline

    23 June 2016 – The EU Referendum

    13 July 2016 – The Rt Hon David Davis MP was appointed Brexit Secretary

    It is a simple fact that informal dialogue could have been opened by the Rt Hon David Davis MP in July 2016, just three weeks after the Referendum, but the EU wasn’t ready or wasn’t willing to engage.

    15 Dec 2016 – After almost 6 months, EU finally chose its negotiator

    It wasn’t until the EU Council meeting of 15th December that Michel Barnier was appointed as the official Chief Negotiator for the EU – almost six months after the UK’s EU Referendum.

    17 January 2017 – UK issued its 12 principles of Brexit

    Theresa May outlined 12 principles of what the UK was seeking to achieve in its vision of Brexit. These were widely publicised and freely available to all – including the EU.

    02 Feb 2017 – UK Government White Paper on Brexit was published

    David Davis published an official White Paper. Running to 77 pages, it set out the previously announced Brexit principles in more detail. The EU continued to decline to hold any talks.

    29 Mar 2017 – UK formally invoked Article 50

    The UK government formally triggered Article 50 on 29 March 2017. Mrs May’s six page letter to the EU reconfirmed the UK’s position in line with what had previously been announced.

    By this time, the EU’s spin machine was in overdrive. On Sunday 11 June EU Commission President Juncker gave a classic example of this to the German magazine Der Spiegel: “We have been ready to negotiate for months.” This was a gross falsehood and Juncker knew it. It wasn’t even remotely close to the truth.

    The UK broadcast media then merely parroted the EU’s position as usual, without the slightest attempt to find out how false it was. Here’s the Sky News then Europe Editor Mark Stone, on the day of Juncker’s German interview, 11 June 2017: “The EU wants the negotiations on Brexit to begin. They have been ready for months and have been waiting only for the UK to come to the table.”

    The EU didn’t even publish their negotation position papers until the next day, 12 June, and they delayed talks for a further week. A modicum of journalistic competence would have uncovered the truth.

    Negotiations finally started on 19 June 2017

    The EU finally sent its first approved ‘position papers’ to the UK government on 12 June 2017. That was almost one year AFTER the UK voted to leave the EU. Negotiations then commenced on 19 June 2017.

    So, the EU was not ready until almost 12 months after the EU Referendum

    The above shows how at all stages the EU had NOT been ready to start negotiations for almost a year. If it had acted efficiently it would at the very least have been ready to start the day after Article 50 was triggered – on 30 March 2017. After all, it had been given six months’ notice of this by the UK government, and it was nine months since the British people’s decision in the EU Referendum.

    A year of Brexit negotiating time was lost – and the slowest player was the EU.

    Fact 3 – Evidence – Numerous hostile announcements have been made by the EU and leaders of member countries

    Below we show just three out of many examples of the hostile attitude from the EU to the UK, before the EU would even allow any talks of any kind to start.

    “We intend to teach people… what leaving the Single Market means”

    Chief EU Negotiator Michel Barnier, 2 Sept 2017

    “There needs to be a threat, there must be a risk, there must be a price.”

    Former French President Francois Hollande, 15 Sept 2016

    “This is not an amicable divorce.”

    (This was on the day of the Referendum result.)

    EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, 24 June 2016

    The above are just three examples of the aggressive and bullying attitude of the EU since the UK voted for Brexit.

    Fact 4 – Evidence – EU banned discussion of trade until Withdrawal Agreement was signed

    Even before the EU was ready to start negotiations, they demanded that no discussions of the future relationship could begin before the Withdrawal Agreement was agreed. They reiterated this many times, and here is just one example:

    “Discussions on the framework for a future relationship with the United Kingdom will only begin once sufficient progress has been made in the first phase of the negotiations. It will be for the European Council to decide whether there has been sufficient progress.”

    – EU Commission, 03 May 2017

    Fact 5 – Evidence – EU insisted on three arbitrary items to be agreed before trade talks could start

    A few months after the Referendum, the EU suddenly insisted that three items should be agreed upon before anything else could be discussed. These were:-

    • The financial settlement, aka the ‘Divorce Bill’
    • Citizens’ rights
    • The Northern Ireland border

    None of these were in any way required by the terms of Article 50 of the EU Treaty which defined the exit process. These were three arbitrary items chosen and insisted upon by the EU, and which prevented any trade talks even commencing until three years and eight months after the British people had voted to leave the European Union.

    In fact the UK had already offered to guarantee citizens’ rights in November 2016. This offer was rejected on 29 Nov 2016 by the then EU Council President Donald Tusk and by Angela Merkel, German Chancellor.

    Fact 6 – Evidence – EU weaponised and endangered the Belfast Agreement, threatening peace

    Regrettably the EU colluded with the government of the Republic of Ireland to capture part of the sovereign territory of the United Kingdom, as part of its intended punishment of the people of the UK for voting to leave the EU. Any objective look at the facts demonstrates this beyond a doubt.

    Our Irish border summary

    • ”The Withdrawal Agreement clearly rips the Good Friday Agreement apart” – Lord Trimble, Peace Prize winner
    • The Irish border is only mentioned once – in passing – in the Good Friday Agreement (GFA)
    • The GFA does not require membership of the EU, Customs Union, Single Market [NI court ruling]
    • HMRC, Irish Customs, and the EU Parliament’s expert report all saw no problem & no hard border
    • The EU and the Irish government then prevented HMRC and Irish Customs from talking to each other
    • Brexit for Northern Ireland presents almost no risk to the EU or its Single Market
    • The N.I. exports over the border will account for only 0.2% of total EU imports
    • The EU and the Irish Government prevented UK and Irish Customs from agreeing a simple solution

    It is worth reading what one of the two main architects of the Belfast Agreement, The Rt Hon The Lord Trimble PC had to say on what the EU has done. Lord Trimble received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work leading to the Good Friday Agreement, so his words carry weight.

    The EU’s Withdrawal Agreement breaks the Good Friday Agreement
    Says Nobel Peace Prize Winner – and one of the two main architects of it

    “The Withdrawal Agreement clearly rips the GFA [Good Friday Agreement] apart.

    “Since the laws governing 60 per cent of economic activity in NI will no longer be made at Westminster or by the devolved Assembly, but by an outside law-making body, the EU, and those laws will be subject to interpretation by a non-UK court, clearly the constitutional position of NI has been changed without the consent of the people of NI as required by the GFA.

    “Furthermore, there is no way in which the people affected by those decisions will even have a say in the making or application of them.”

    – The Rt Hon The Lord Trimble PC, 11 July 2020, CBP Report

    IMPORTANT – Don’t miss the finale of this series tomorrow (Sunday 15 Nov 2020), which concludes with a damning quotation from Michel Barnier which sums up everything that has been wrong with the EU’s punishing treatment of the United Kingdom.

    Observations

    This is the second part of our series exposing the BBC’s wrongful claim that the EU has not been set on punishing the UK over the exit and trade talks. The evidence is incontrovertible and we will let it speak for itself.

    One aspect which is worthy of mention in this section of the evidence, however, is the last item above. When one of the two main architects of the Northern Ireland peace process, the highly-respected Lord Trimble, tells the World that the EU’s dictatorial Withdrawal Agreement “rips apart” the Good Friday Agreement, then all decent politicians must surely sit up and take notice.

    Naturally the intervention of Lord Trimble has received virtually no coverage from the BBC, nor from other broadcast media, and nor has it been used by any of the Government’s communications departments. As a result, Senator Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the United States are still under the impression that it’s the UK Government who are at fault. In reality it’s the bullying and hostile EU that is threatening peace in Northern Ireland, as it continues its attempts to “make the UK pay” for voting to leave the sclerotic and dysfunctional EU.

    Brexit Facts4EU.Org continues to work behind the scenes – in addition to what you read on our website and in social media – to pressure the Government and MPs to rescind and void the Withdrawal Agreement, and to leave the EU on 31 December on WTO terms.

    We badly need your help to continue this work into the final battle campaign. Readers who have not already donated to fund our work (which involves no limos, no secretaries, no long lunches – unlike the EU Commission) could do so in a two shakes of a Juncker’s martini. Quick, secure, and confidential donation links are below this article. We only survive on public donations – unlike some Remainer organisations no foreign billionaires have ever funded us, sadly. Come to that, no domestic billionaires have ever funded us either…

    [ Sources: EU Commission | EU Council | Elysée Palace | Her Majesty’s Government | Sky News | CBP ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

    Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Sat 14 Nov 2020

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  • Why the Irish border is no barrier to a Brexit deal

    Brexit Fightback Initiative – One-pager no.4 – Nine Brexit groups endorsing

        

    © Brexit Facts4EU.Org – Click left image for larger version. Click right image for the one-page factsheet.

    This whole thing is an EU fabrication to keep the UK prisoner, and to punish it

    As part of our Brexit Fightback Initiative, Brexit Facts4EU.Org is pleased to announce that once again some great Brexit organisations have come together to endorse the fourth factsheet in the series.

    © Logos are the copyright of each organisation

    This one-pager summarises the question of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and how this whole issue has been blown up out of all proportion by the EU and by the Irish government.

    You can now download this information as a simple, one-page PDF leaflet

    Or you can read it below. We hope you find it useful.

    This has nothing to do with peace, and everything to do with EU politics

    The EU and the Irish government have colluded over one issue and made it into a cause célèbre to keep the UK in the EU – or to punish the UK if it dares to leave.

    Our Irish border summary

    • The Irish border is only mentioned once – in passing – in the Good Friday Agreement (GFA)
    • The GFA does not require membership of the EU, Customs Union, Single Market [NI court ruling]
    • HMRC, Irish Customs, and the EU Parliament’s expert report all saw no problem & no hard border
    • Brexit for Northern Ireland presents almost no risk to the EU or its Single Market
    • The N.I. exports over the border will account for only 0.2% of total EU imports
    • The EU and the Irish Government prevented UK and Irish Customs from agreeing a simple solution

    Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

    Here is the evidence

    The EU Parliament’s own commissioned expert told its Exiting the EU Committee:-

    “There would not need to be any necessary infrastructure and not need to be either CCTV cameras or number plate readers.”

    – Lars Karlsson, commissioned expert to the EU Parliament, Brexit Border/Customs Report, Mar 2018, former Director Of The World Customs Organization.

    “Declarations would be electronic. Most transactions would be immediately approved and that would be the end of that.”

    – Liam Irwin, then Irish Revenue Commissioner, evidence to the Dáil Committee, 16 May 2017

    There is no quantifiable risk to the EU’s Single Market

    Northern Ireland’s goods sales across the border are so small they will amount to a rounding error in the EU’s accounts, post-Brexit.

    After Brexit, NI’s cross-border sales will account for just 0.23% of total imports into the EU. [Sources : Eurostat | HMRC | NISRA ]

    0.23% is NOT any kind of threat to the integrity of the EU’s Single Market.

    Click to enlarge chart – © Brexit Facts4EU.Org

    How the EU and Irish government colluded in this deception

    The EU and the Irish Government deliberately prevented a solution for three years

    Irish Deputy, Committee of the Dáil: “Could Mr Cody clarify whether there is a legal impediment to negotiations between us [and the UK] so we can have discussions?” Mr Niall Cody (then head of Irish Customs): “Yes.”

    Sir Jon Thompson, Head of HMRC, evidence to Exiting the European Union Committee, 29 Nov 2017 : “There are no formal conversations with either the French or the Irish. We cannot talk to Customs or taxation management organisations in either of those countries.”

    UK Parliament Committee question to the EU’s commissioned customs expert, Lars Karlsson: “The proposal you’ve put here hasn’t actually been tested at any location anywhere in the world.”

    Lars Karlsson: “No that’s not correct. It actually has.”

    Peace in Northern Ireland is vital. Playing politics with that peace to punish the UK is a disgrace.

    Endorsed by a NINE Brexit organisations with big reach

    We are pleased to tell readers that we have received endorsements for this factsheet from eight other Brexit organisations, each acting independently. With us that makes nine

    © Logos are the copyright of each organisation

    These are: Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Alliance of British Entrepreneurs, Get Britain Out, Economists for Free Trade, Fishing for Leave, Global Britain, Veterans for Britain, Better Off Out (part of The Freedom Association), and Campaign for an Independent Britain . We recommend visiting their websites and following them on Twitter and Facebook, if you haven’t already done so.

    © Brexit Facts4EU.Org – click for full-size PDF version

    Further action: This factsheet follows on from the first three in the ‘Brexit Fightback Initiative’. More factsheets are coming, with several of them nearing completion. In the meantime we hope that readers will do everything they can to promote them.

    We would like to thank the following readers for their specific support of the Brexit Fightback Initiative :-

    VIP Sponsors (£100 donation or more): Geoffrey Burwood, Barbara Jell, David Hurlbut, Jon from Wales, Patrick Ford, Michael Garland, Sydney Ashurst

    Gold Sponsors (From £50 donation): Linda Thorpe, Margaret Dennis, David Warren, Jean Shaw, Keith Hartrick

    Sponsors (From £10 donation): Nigel Wright, Jennifer Sayer, Ian Etheridge, Christine Baxendale, Mick Davies, Mel, Kevin Burrell, DM Hedley, Elaine Grant, Patrick Lane, Maureen Cooper, Rob Dilly, Geoffrey Bastin, Elizabeth Ford, Gary Bruce

    P.S. If we have inadvertently missed you off the list, please let us know!

    Want to see all factsheets in this series? Click here!

    Observations

    One-pagers like this take far more time to produce than they look. Perhaps this is why they are so rare. They ARE, however, very effective in getting the key messages to the public and to MPs.

    Nine Brexit organisations have come together again to endorse this work. We hope readers feel the effort is worth it.

    This is the fourth in the Brexit Fightback Initiative series and we desperately need to get the rest completed and endorsed. Other subjects will include the Single Market, Defence, Fishing, and several more fundamental areas where we have powerful arguments to make. Many will contain official facts and figures, and simple charts, to illustrate the points at a glance.

    We are very grateful to readers who have supported the Brexit Fightback Initiative with donations. We need more readers to become Sponsors if we are to complete this essential task urgently.

    We are inviting readers to help by becoming a Sponsor (£10 donation), a Gold Sponsor (£50 donation), or a VIP Sponsor (£100 and above). We will not publish your name unless you give express permission, naturally, and your contact details are never used.

    To become a Sponsor, please just use the quick and secure donation methods below this article. Thank you.

    Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

    [ Sources: NISRA | HMRC | The Dáil (Irish Parliament) | Eurostat | UK Parliament ] Brexit Facts4EU.Org, 09 October 2019

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  • “Prime Minister, this is the biggest single Brexit initiative since the EU Referendum”

    16 major Brexit campaigning organisations unite in common message to PM and MPs

    © Brexit Facts4EU.Org 2020

    Join the ‘Big Brexit Initiative’ today and promote a free, independent, and sovereign UK

    With the new lockdown announced by Boris Johnson on Saturday night, here’s an important new Brexit announcement to break things up. The largest-ever number of major Brexit campaigning groups have united behind a simple message to the PM and MPs:-

    Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

    “We call on you, Prime Minister, to rescind and void the Withdrawal Agreement
    in order to deliver on your General Election manifesto promises of December 2019,
    or else face millions of voters who will feel utterly betrayed.”

    “Please do not let the country down”

    – 16 Brexit organisations, including Facts4EU.Org, The City for Britain, and the Bruges Group, plus 25 key individuals

    You can download the entire letter to the Prime Minister here.

    16 major Brexit organisations, 25 key individuals have all signed

    Never before have so many major Brexit campaigning organisations combined behind one message to Government. Collectively these organisations reflect the views of millions of voters who took the PM at his word that there would be no political alignment with the EU.

    All logos are © of each organisation

    The names of the Brexit organisations who have signed the Big Brexit Initiative are: Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Alliance of British Entrepreneurs, Brexit-Watch, The Bruges Group, Get Britain Out, Global Britain, Green Leaves, Invoke Democracy Now, Labour Leave, Out and Proud, Scientists for Britain, Scots for Leave, The City for Britain, The Time Party, Think Scotland, and Veterans for Britain.

    Individual signatories

    25 key individuals, including a former Minister of State, five professors, and 13 former MEPs (who have a unique insight into how the EU really works) have all signed the letter in a personal capacity.

    Pictured right: The Rt Hon Ann Widdecombe DSG, former Minister of State, former MEP, and one of the signatories

    With just 60 days to go, the Prime Minister must act

    Today, Monday 02 November, there are just 60 days until the end of the Transition Period, at which point the UK will enter into a new relationship with the EU. As things stand, this new relationship will be governed by the EU’s ongoing Withdrawal Agreement, including its Northern Ireland Protocol.

    “Any trade deal struck by the UK Government with the EU before 31 December must NOT leave in place the onerous and unacceptable obligations of the Withdrawal Agreement, several of which fail to meet normal standards for international treaties between sovereign countries. These failings will become increasingly apparent as the country nears the next general election,”

    – The 16 Brexit groups to the Prime Minister and MPs

    The Brexit organisations lay out the legal facts

    The letter to Boris Johnson includes a legal page which asserts that:

    “The EU’s Withdrawal Agreement splits the United Kingdom, leaves it subject to EU law for generations to come, and involves a massive and complex divorce bill.

    “Unless specific steps are taken to rescind this Agreement, it will continue to apply to the UK for the long term with debilitating effects on our laws, freedom of action, and sovereignty – with or without a trade deal.”

    – 16 Brexit organisations, including Facts4EU.Org, The City for Britain, and the Bruges Group, plus 25 key individuals

    The Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration were predicated on the EU acting in good faith in the prompt negotiation of a trade deal with the UK.

    The EU has failed to use its best endeavours in fulfilling this obligation and is therefore in material breach of the Agreement. This gives the right to the UK Government to rescind the Agreement and it must do so before 31 December 2020.

    Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

    What can ordinary voters do?

    Today we are urging all those who voted for a free, independent, and sovereign United Kingdom to stand up and be counted. If you would like to do something positive to help, there are two things you can do:-

    © No.10

    © Parliament

    Letter to the Prime Minister

    Please sign and send

    Letter to your MP

    Please add his/her name, your details, sign and send

    You can find your MP’s contact details here.

    Observations

    The ‘Big Brexit Initiative’ has taken weeks of solid and persistent work to put together and the Brexit Facts4EU.Org team is proud to have created and led this.

    We have received so many emails and messages from the public that the strength of feeling is clear. Now we must ensure that the Prime Minister and all MPs know, and act accordingly. We have not been through four-and-a-half years, repelling repeated attempts to overturn the largest democratic vote in UK history, to be sold out at the last minute.

    The ‘Big Brexit Initiative’ demonstrates that the major Brexit organisations feel strongly enough about the Withdrawal Agreement and its effect on the UK’s future that they have put small differences aside. They have now urged the Prime Minister to do the right thing on perhaps the single most important issue facing our country after Covid-19.

    Will you, personally, act now?

    We know that doing nothing, or sending an email, is so much easier than sending a physical letter, but if you could make the effort to email and send letters this will make far, far more impact. Let’s inundate No.10 – and MPs’ pigeon-holes in the Commons – with letters.

    Please print off, sign, scan, and email this letter to the Prime Minister today. Then please physically post your letter. These days online petitions get almost ignored. Tens of thousands of emails and sackfuls of physical mail are much harder to ignore.

    Then please do the same with the letter which we have bespoked for you to send to your MP.

    Finally, if you value this initiative, could we ask you to do one final thing? We must keep going and see Brexit through. The only way we can do this is with your help. Please make a donation to our work today – particularly if you have never done so before.

    Less than 1% of our readers donate and we have no foreign billionaires backing us. (Or domestic billionaires, come to that.) If we could treble this percentage we would be able to keep going and do so much more to ensure a free, independent, and sovereign United Kingdom. Quick, secure, and confidential donation methods are linked to below this article. Thank you so much.

    Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

    Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Mon 02 Nov 2020

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  • EU Parliament demands full UK subservience – or no trade deal

    93% of MEPs impose impossible conditions on UK, in punishment vote

    EU Commission President von der Leyen and Michel Barnier, empty chamber at start of debate, © EU Parliament

    The fanatical Europhiles of Brussels and Strasbourg show their blue and gold colours

    Yesterday in Strasbourg, MEPs voted by 543 to 39 in favour of a motion which would destroy any hope of a reasonable EU-UK trade deal by the end of this year.

    The MEPs were debating the draft negotiating guidelines put forward by the EU Commission, as strengthened by their own even stronger demands. The eventual motion passed with ease.

    Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

    The demands of the “Trade Prevention Officers” of the EU Parliament

    • UK laws must follow EU laws – existing and future
    • The European Court of Justice will arbitrate on all matters of EU law
    • UK must give up its rights to its own territorial waters by June, or no deal
    • UK must guarantee to have equal laws on social, environmental, tax, state aid, consumer protection, climate matters, competition, labour standards, environmental protection, and more
    • UK must follow EU actions on almost everything
    • Gibraltar will not be included, so that the Spanish can use it to claim sovereignty once again

    The EU Parliament’s full list of demands is here

    The EU Commission’s full list of demands is here

    What does the EU Parliament’s vote mean?

    For the benefit of international readers (and ‘Rejoiner’ readers from the UK ) we must explain that the EU Parliament contains representatives (‘Members of the European Parliament’) who are elected by the voters across the 27 EU member countries. These voters cannot vote for individuals, only for a list of candidates on each party’s ticket.

    Despite having some claim to democratic legitimacy, the MEPs of the EU Parliament cannot propose and implement legislation. Votes in the Parliament are mostly advisory, or are rubber stamps on legislation put forward by the unelected bureaucrats of the EU Commission.

    Observations

    This is one of those occasions when we find ourselves having to use what might sound like hyperbole.

    These MEPs are stark, staring mad. Deluded.

    There, we said it. This is not, we grant you, moderate or ‘academic’ language. The problem is that when we are faced with something so far removed from day-to-day reality and normality, we really must call it out for what it is. It’s a joke.

    The faster the UK trade teams agree some quick and simple sectoral deals with all the other countries of the world, the better.

    In the meantime we would issue an invitation to the EU. “Do please give us a call when you’d like to pop over to the UK to talk trade properly. Happy to discuss your £100 billion annual trade surplus with us any time. You might want to do this fairly soon though, because as you know, ‘ze clock eez teecking’.”

    Brexit isn’t done. The UK is no longer a member of the EU – BUT THIS IS STILL AN EXIT IN NAME ONLY. We are still bound by EU laws until the end of this year, assuming the Government doesn’t extend the Transition Period. Please help us to keep going for our fifth year, so we can see things through. We rely 100% on public donations and we badly need your help. Quick and secure donation methods are below. Thank you.

    [ Sources: EU Parliament | EU Commission ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

    Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Thur 13 Feb 2020

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  • Driven mad? EU27 car makers panic over EU’s backfiring trade negotiations

    UK is EU’s largest world export market – UK consumers buy 26% of EU27 cars

    © Brexit Facts4EU.Org 2020

    ‘Only weeks left to save industry from Brexit disaster,’ says EU’s automotive association

    Brexit Facts4EU.Org reveals the extent of the impact of a no deal Brexit
    on the EU’s massive automotive sector

    The reality of the years of the EU Commission’s intransigent and hostile approach to the United Kingdom in its trade negotiations is finally starting to be driven home within the EU. In particular it is now being felt by the EU27’s huge and failing motor manufacturing sector. We reveal the latest EU industry report, the statements, and the shocking numbers.

    Brexit Facts4EU.Org’s analysis of the latest official figures from the EU’s official statistics agency and from the 2020/2021 report by European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) shows the severity of the impact they are now facing, unless the EU Commission wakes up and smells the fumes coming from their own industry.

    Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

    The facts about the EU’s car makers and the Brexit threat

    • The UK is the largest export market in the world for EU27 car manufacturers
    • 26% of the EU’s world exports of cars are to UK consumers
    • In 2018, 6.7% of the EU’s manufacturing jobs were in or were reliant on the automotive sector
    • That’s 14.6 million people’s jobs at stake
    • Almost 12% of Germans working in manufacturing are employed by their automotive industry
    • EU car exports were worth €124.6 billion in 2019

    © Brexit Facts4EU.Org – click to enlarge

    The figures above come from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association and Eurostat (the EU Commission’s official statistics agency). Job totals include direct manufacturing jobs, plus those jobs in other companies which supply the automotive manufacturing sector.

    Who does the EU sell its cars to?

    As ever, Brexit Facts4EU.Org went to the EU’s official source of data – its statistics agency Eurostat. Here is what they say about the figures for last year.

    From the EU Commission’s statistics agency

    “In 2019, the United Kingdom was the main export destination of the EU’s cars (26% of the total), ahead of the United States (20%), China (13%), Japan, Switzerland (both 5%) and South Korea (4%). These six made up three quarters of extra-EU exports of cars.”

    EU car manufacturers are starting to panic

    The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association has called on the EU urgently to secure a trade deal with the UK.

    “Negotiators on both sides must now pull out all the stops to avoid ‘no deal’ at the end of the transition, which according to new calculations would cost the pan-European automotive sector some €110 billion in lost trade over the next five years, putting jobs at risk in a sector that supports 14.6 million livelihoods.”

    The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association’s Director General, Eric-Mark Huitema, said:

    “The stakes are high for the EU auto industry – we absolutely must have an ambitious EU-UK trade agreement in place by January. Otherwise our sector – already reeling from the COVID crisis – will be hit hard by a double whammy.”

    – Director General, European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, 14 Sept 2020

    Last year (2019) EU countries derived €440.4 billion of income from taxes on motor vehicles. The EU27’s exports to non-EU countries were worth €135.9 billion.

    The impact on direct employment in the automotive sector alone could be severe

    • 2,519,250 people from EU27 countries were directly employed in the automotive industry in 2018
    • Germany has over five times as many workers (882,046) directly employed than the UK (166,228)
    • The total EU workforce reliant on automotive manufacturing in 2018 was 14.6 million

    © Brexit Facts4EU.Org – click to enlarge

    The EU’s automotive sector was declining even before COVID-19

    Unfortunately for the EU’s automotive industry, things were already going badly before Brexit and even before the COVID-19 crisis. Below are the number of all types of motor vehicles exported by the EU.

    • 2018 – 6,023,116
    • 2019 – 5,610,731 (-6.8%)

    Last year the EU’s exports of all types of vehicles fell by nearly 7% – in one year – and this was before the COVID-19 crisis. To make matters worse, from 01 January 2021 the EU is facing major threats to its sales to its largest export market – the United Kingdom – unless it agrees a serious and sensible trade deal along the lines of the ones it has recently struck with countries such as Canada and Japan.

    As we’re talking cars, what about the EU’s green agenda?

    The EU Commission led by its anointed President, the German Ursula von der Leyen, has the “European Green Deal” as its top priority for the next seven years. This is the first item on the agenda and is apparently more important to the EU Commission than jobs, individual prosperity, or the serious societal problems now evident across the continent.

    When it comes to vehicles, the “European Green Deal” has a long way to go. Currently, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, only 3% of all passenger cars on EU roads are electrically-chargeable.

    Observations

    Thanks to Theresa May’s disastrous pro-Remain Government, the EU’s manufacturing sector seems to have believed that the UK would ultimately acquiesce to the Commission’s dictatorial ‘punishment beating’.

    Much can be written about the current UK Government of Boris Johnson on many levels, but so far there has at least been some robustness from Lord Frost and his team of negotiators.

    Now it seems that some of the major players in manufacturing and commerce across the continent are at last speaking up – to the EU Commission and to their own governments.

    The EU’s vehicle makers and almost 15 million workers

    The report issued by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association must be taken in context. It refers to the risk of damage to both the EU27’s and the UK’s motor industry. It does not help that the UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders have consistently supported the Remain position, of course, and that they are part of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association. (Known as the ACEA, because it’s based in Brussels.)

    The statement accompanying the 2020/2021 report from the ACEA is clear. The EU’s car manufacturers are now deeply worried, as the quotations above show. With exports falling significantly before COVID was even on the horizon, and with the UK no longer part of the EU from the end of this year, the EU’s importance as a global car manufacturer will be much reduced.

    The UK is the EU’s largest car market by some margin. As things stand, the obdurate and unreasonable stance of Monsieur Barnier and his colleagues may yet deliver what many of us have said would happen all along: a normal WTO terms trading relationship. This will mean a tariff of 10% on cars.

    For millions of car workers across the EU whose jobs are already threatened, they just might start having something to say about the EU.

    Then Bundeskanzlerin Merkel might have to wake up quickly and smell ‘den Kaffee’….

    You have just read another serious, well-researched report which informs the whole debate about Brexit and trade deals. These reports take a lot of time to research, and then a lot more time to present them in an easily digestible format for the public and for MPs. If you appreciate our work to ensure a free, independent, and sovereign United Kingdom, could we ask you just to pause for a moment and go to the donation links below this article? Every donation, no matter how small, is vital to our continued operations. Thank you so much.

    [ Sources: European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association | EU Commission’s official statistics agency, Eurostat ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

    Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Tues 10 Nov 2020

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  • “Covid, democracy, truth, and freedom”

    Guest article by Andrea Hossó, pro-Brexit economist, finance professional, former Trade Negotiator

    © Brexit Facts4EU.Org 2020

    Some stimulating thoughts for a Sunday on where we are with Covid

    Below we present a guest article by Andrea Hossó, a respected pro-Brexit economist. In it she summarises what has happened to the country since March, provides a societal and economic perspective, and congratulates the 38 MPs who voted against the second national lockdown.

    Covid, democracy, truth, and freedom

    By Andrea Hossó
    Economist, Financial Professional, and Former Trade Negotiator

    As the country has now been mandated to enter Lockdown 2, it is essential that citizens express their views regarding these harsh measures that will lead to consequences beyond “merely” health and unemployment and which could very well change the nature of our society.

    Where we are and what we’ve learnt

    The Covid virus has now been present in Europe for the better part of 2020. The UK went through a 3-month lockdown period in the first half of the year.

    All this time has provided us with valuable experience in learning about and dealing with the virus. It has also shown the effect of Covid-related measures on society.

    As most – but not all – European countries seem to be moving in lock-step, tightening and relaxing restrictive measures, there is by now a rich source of evidence showing the impact of these.

    Following the science?

    The government claims to follow the science. The science, however, is proving to be neither certain nor entirely reliable. The modelling approach used has been shown to be faulty. The effectiveness of testing has been called into account. Case and death statistics have been disputed and shown to be often inaccurate.

    A large number of doctors and medical experts have cautioned against lockdowns. The Great Barrington Declaration launched by eminent experts from Oxford, Harvard and Stanford advises against lockdowns. The WHO itself has cautioned against lockdowns as blunt instruments that will not stop the spread of the virus.

    Most of all, evidence shows the futility of lockdowns. Europe and a number of US states have implemented long periods of lockdowns, the ineffectiveness of which is proven by the very resurgence of positive test results. A growing number of scientists claim that the virus cannot be “suppressed” or “eradicated” and the best defence is sensible caution and robust health.

    The science applied is at best ambiguous. The lockdown did not help before and will not now.

    The cure is now worse than the disease

    It is certain, however, that the effects of lockdowns – tiered, regional or national – reach deep into society ruining our health, quality of life, our economies, and our freedom and democracy. The cure is more harmful than the virus itself.

    The number of extra deaths resulting from not diagnosing and treating diseases other than Covid cases has been well-documented. Mental health problems have been surging. Poverty, hopelessness, isolation and a relentless propagation of fear are opening the way to poor health and death.

    The virus measures are killing our economy

    The economy is suffering another disastrous setback, as I explained in my article for the Daily Telegraph last month. Businesses, especially SMEs, and many self-employed people are forced off the market, leaving behind crippling unemployment and poverty en masse. Skills and talents such as those in the arts are being annihilated. More and more families will depend on frugal government largesse, which in turn will increase dependency and helplessness.

    At the same time, the mass bankruptcies of small businesses open the way for more market concentration and domination by large companies, increasing the danger of more autocratic governance and an eclipse of society-wide democracy.

    Society is ripped even further apart as those with scarce resources are most impacted and fall even deeper into poverty and despair. The young contemplate a future of reduced opportunities.

    Is a Covid quality of life worth having?

    People are experiencing an unheard of level of intrusion into their private lives and relationships. Old people are locked into care homes, cut off from their families, hastening them on their way out of life. Pregnant women are forced to give birth without the comforting presence of the father.

    People are told whom and when they can meet and love. Our daily life is being micromanaged, we are encouraged to spy on neighbours to help enforcement, and public demonstrations are discouraged.

    Loss of privacy and a severe curtailment of civil liberties have an infinitely demoralising effect.

    More of the public are now concerned, but only 38 MPs voted ‘no’ to Lockdown 2

    The government has now had a parliamentary vote and its proposed lockdown measures were approved by the majority of Tory and Labour votes, by 516 to 38.

    The MPs who voiced doubts and voted against the lockdown represent more than their own views and constituencies. They represent large swathes of the public who consider the measures unfounded, the evidence scant, and the damage inflicted on the country horrendous in terms of health, wealth and democracy.

    I thank these MPs for taking a stance. I and many others like me support you.

    – Andrea Hossó, Sunday, 08 November 2020

    Permission to re-use this article

    Any organisations wishing to reprint Andrea Hossó’s article may do so, subject to a simple request using our contact form. Prior permission must be sought but it will almost always be granted.

    Please note that we welcome a rebuttal article from any individual of note, presenting an alternative view.

    The public has not been given all the facts, says UK Statistics Regulator

    © UK Statistics Authority

    Finally on Thursday last week (05 Nov 2020) the official regulator of such things, the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR), issued a statement criticising the Government for its use of statistics in supporting its policy decisions and pronouncements.

    The OSR stated that “the use of data has not consistently been supported by transparent information being provided in a timely manner.” This is frankly a very British understatement. We would have gone much, much further. We agree with Sir David Spiegelhalter, the eminent statistician and non-executive board member of the UK Statistics Authority (under which the OSR sits), who described the Government’s presentation of coronavirus data as “a mess”.

    Observations

    Polling shows that the majority of the public backs lockdowns such as the current one the country has been placed under by Mr Johnson’s Government and which is overwhelmingly backed by MPs. The level of public support might be gradually reducing, but it is still there.

    At Brexit Facts4EU.Org we therefore recognise that many readers do not agree with our position on COVID-19, and will not agree with Andrea Hossó’s article above. However, as the bulk of our readers are pro-Brexit they are also almost always in favour of freedom of expression. These readers may not agree with Ms Hossó, but they will at least agree that she has the absolute right to put forward a dissenting opinion for readers to consider.

    Needless to say, we will publish a rejoinder article from a prominent person who is pro-lockdown, if one is offered to us.

    Where we stand

    Our own stance on COVID-19 is based on the research we started doing in late February and which we have continued off and on ever since. We may not be epidemiologists but we have spent almost five years, seven days-a-week, probing and analysing the official reports and data from the EU in relation to Brexit. We would like to think we know a thing or two about data and how to interrogate and interpret it.

    When we applied our rigorous methods to COVID, we found that the data and the facts simply did not match the rhetoric.

    We first published our concerns on 04 March 2020 and believe we were the first respected media outlet to do so. We completely understand that when the public is bombarded on a daily basis by the broadcast media, (who have never knowingly questioned what they were being fed by the Government and its scientists), it is hardly surprising that the majority of the public take the view they do.

    We continue to stand ready, with open minds, to assess any official information which proves that we have been wrong about COVID-19 for the last eight months. Until then, we will plough on with our full-time job of Brexit – and trying to ensure the achievement of a free, independent, and sovereign United Kingdom.

    Back to Brexit

    We hope that we may continue to count on your support for our Brexit work. It is absolutely vital that we continue. There are things going on behind the scenes which concern us greatly and we must continue to fight for what the great British public voted for on 23 June 2016. If you could help us with a donation, we really need you. Quick, secure, and confidential donation methods are linked to below this article. Please support our work if you can, thank you.

    [ Sources: Andrea Hossó | Office for Statistics Regulation | UK Statistics Authority | Lancet | Centre for Mental Health | Hansard | The Great Barrington Declaration ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

    Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Sun 08 Nov 2020

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  • “Brexit-in-law”:  Why Boris’s Brexit does not currently mean Brexit

    Ultimate summary for the layman and MPs of the legal case showing why the Government MUST now rescind the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration

    © Brexit Facts4EU.Org 2020

    A Brexit Facts4EU.Org Saturday summary of essential reading for MPs and the public

    Even the Brexit Facts4EU.Org team’s lawyer friends will admit that for most people the law can be a dull subject. However when the legal aspects of the UK’s Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration mean that the United Kingdom will not be a fully free, independent, and sovereign country on 31 December, this makes the legal aspects much more interesting.

    For more than four and a half years Brexit Facts4EU.Org has summarised many complex aspects of Brexit into one-pagers suitable for busy readers with busy lives, including for MPs.

    Below we are publishing a “summary of the summaries” regarding the Government’s current plans to let the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration stay in place. This directly affects our freedom from the EU at the end of this year.

    It’s the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration which define Brexit, not a trade deal

    The main determinants of the freedoms supposed to be delivered to the British people by their decision to leave the European Union are the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration.

    Below we summarise and link to some of the numerous articles we have researched and published on this subject, many of which were peer-reviewed by highly experienced lawyers who are specialised in the EU arena. You will find 12 great articles explaining how Brexit cannot be delivered with the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration still in place, all written in layman’s language, with bullet points for speed and ease of reading. Some of the key ones are highlighted in red text.

    Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

    Below is the list of a “top 14” of our Withdrawal Agreement articles to date,
    with the most recent shown first:

    27 Oct 2020: The EU won’t let us trade normally – either with a deal or on “Aussie terms”‘

    ‘We won’t even be able to trade like Australia unless we ditch or amend Withdrawal Agreement,’ says Brexit think tank – includes IDS statement to Facts4EU.Org

    24 Oct 2020: “Brexit–in-law”: Why Boris’s Brexit does not currently mean Brexit

    Ultimate summary for the layman and MPs of the legal case showing why the Government MUST now rescind the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration – links to all major articles. (This page.)

    22 Oct 2020: Current UK Government policy is not to deliver Brexit

    What’s the likelihood of British people being presented with a sickly-sweet Brexit fudge?

    18 Oct 2020: “It’s time to complete the job, Prime Minister”

    12 Brexit organisations urge the scrapping of the Withdrawal Treaty.

    17 Oct 2020: “Trade talks are over,” says no.10, but where’s the statement revoking the Withdrawal Treaty?

    The EU is now in de facto breach of the Withdrawal Treaty, which must be repudiated immediately

    11 Oct 2020: “THE EU DEAL UNMASKED: Twelve Reasons Why the UK Will Fail to Get a Canada-Style Deal”

    Another devastating indictment of the EU’s negotiating position with the UK is published. Our one-page summary of the 18-page report by the CBP.

        

    © Brexit Facts4EU.Org – click to enlarge. These tiles are free to distribute provided you link to https://facts4eu.org/news

    01 Oct 2020: STOP PRESS: Ever-hostile EU to take UK to its own EU-biased court over Withdrawal Treaty

    We summarise once again why it’s the EU that should be facing charges

    22 Sept 2020: The Unlawful EU – The Shocking Truth – We Present The Evidence

    Revealed: The international law-breaking EU has been at it for years. Seven major points of evidence which are a ‘must-read’. Also sent to Senator Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the US.

    15 Sept 2020: “A hostile foreign power seeks to annex part of the UK – bad faith or bad manners?”

    Bad faith in friendly relations between states, written for us by a specialist EU lawyer

    13 Sept 2020: Urgent: Act NOW if you want a free, independent, sovereign United Kingdom

    Major campaign launched by 14 Brexit organisations to support the Government’s action

        

    © Brexit Facts4EU.Org – click to enlarge. These tiles are free to distribute provided you link to https://facts4eu.org/news

    11 Sept 2020: It’s the EU that has broken the Good Friday Agreement, not the UK

    Facts4EU.Org summarises the uncomfortable truth for the EU and for US Democrats crying foul

    10 Sept 2020: Top legal opinion: It’s the EU which has broken international law, not the UK
    For months the EU has been in material breach of its obligations under the Withdrawal Treaty – Our summary following the Government’s statement in Parliament that the Internal Markets Act breaks international law. (It doesn’t.)

    18 Jul 2020: “EU breached Withdrawal Agreement, UK must revise or revoke,” say lawyers

    How to tear up the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration – the legal case. Our 2-page summary of the 102-page report by the CBP. A must read.

    18 Oct 2019: Forget Westminster politics, is Boris’s new EU treaty Brexit? No, it’s not

    Layman’s one-page summary of the EU’s ‘UK colonisation treaty’ agreed by the PM in 2019

        

    © Brexit Facts4EU.Org – click to enlarge. These tiles are free to distribute provided you link to https://facts4eu.org/news

    Meanwhile, Michael Gove and the Government are going full steam ahead in implementing the Withdrawal Agreement

    Despite all the evidence that the Withdrawal Agreement is not fit for purpose, is a disaster for the UK, and that the EU has been in serious breach of it for months, the Government continues to go all out to implement it.

    Here is Michael Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, responsible for the Withdrawal Agreement, making a statement to the House of Commons on Monday:-

    “I would like to update the House on the Government’s negotiations with the European Union on our future trading relationship and also the work of the UK/EU Joint Committee established under the withdrawal agreement.”

    “Our officials have since held numerous sessions and today in London I reiterated the UK’s commitment to upholding all our obligations under both the withdrawal agreement and the Belfast agreement.”

    “A lot remains to be resolved before the end of December, but we have made substantial progress on implementation.”

    – Michael Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, statement to the House of Commons, 19 Oct 2020

    The Government has ignored all the evidence above that we and others have presented during the past year and – regardless of any trade deal – clearly continues to be fully committed to the Withdrawal Agreement. Mr Gove even sounds enthusiastic about it.

    Observations

    It is a fact that the type of Brexit we achieve involves legal texts. It is equally a fact that politics very often trumps the legal texts – or at least how they are interpreted.

    In the EU’s case, for example, its European Court of Justice which rules over everything is one of the most political courts in the world. Judgements so often seem to be made on the basis of what would advance the cause of EU federalism and the creation of one homogeneous superstate. Year after year the judges have extended their sphere of influence to the point where the ECJ (CJEU) is unrecognisable from its original state when created. It now makes case law which dominates UK law, without a British MP or even an EU27 MEP in sight.

    Background

    In light of the speed of developments between the UK and EU negotiators in this last week, readers asked us if we could bring together in one place some of the information we have published on the Withdrawal Agreement & Political Declaration.

    The possibility of a UK-EU trade deal is one thing, and a tariff-free deal with no strings attached is certainly a desirable outcome even if we always predicted that the EU would never allow this for ideological reasons. Failing that, a ‘SuperCanada’ deal would have been acceptable. However that is not enough.

    How does all this affect Brexit?

    When it comes to Brexit, the public has received limited information about the legal niceties. These popped up briefly the other day over the Internal Markets Bill, mostly because the pro-Remain media saw this as an opportunity to attack Brexit once again. Aside from that, however, the basic legal framework of Brexit as proposed is a mystery to most people.

    Most people assume that the United Kingdom will be a fully free, independent, and sovereign country again from 31 December 2020. Sadly this is not destined to be the case under the Government’s current policies.

    In a great number of articles, some of which are linked to above, Brexit Facts4EU.Org has tried to explain the importance of the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration for the future freedom of our country.

    We very much hope that MPs and a large number of the public will consider this summarised evidence, and pressure the Government to act to rescind the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration before it is too late. We haven’t waited four and a half years to remain under the legal framework of the EU.

    We stand ready to assist any MP or journalist who requires further information.

    Finally, we hate to ask, but we continue to need your help to see this thing through. If you have not already donated towards our seven day-a-week work, could you please consider doing this now? It only takes a couple of minutes and it’s quick, secure, and confidential. The links to do this are below this article. You will then receive a warm and friendly thank you email from a member of our team.

    [ Sources: See individual articles linked to above ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

    Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Sat 24 Oct 2020

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    Supported by MPs, MEPs, & other groups, our work has impact.

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