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The Theresa May show
The Tory Euroskeptic base were supposed to be much harder to handle than this. Theresa May suffered a body blow Tuesday when the respected British ambassador in Brussels, Ivan Rogers, abruptly resigned...
View ArticleTheresa May’s EU adviser against Tim Barrow appointment: report
Theresa May’s senior EU adviser opposed the appointment of Tim Barrow as Britain’s ambassador to the EU as replacement for Ivan Rogers, the Financial Times reports Thursday. Oliver Robbins, the...
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Tim Barrow, invisible ambassador
MOSCOW — “Tim who?” That was the reaction of the majority of Russians asked about the four-year tenure of Tim Barrow — the career diplomat named this month as the United Kingdom’s new ambassador to the...
View ArticleTheresa May to trigger Article 50 on March 29
LONDON — So it’s official. Britain will formally begin the process of withdrawing from the European Union on March 29. The news was relayed in person to the office of European Council President Donald...
View ArticleUK could walk away without paying Brexit bill, ministers believe
LONDON — Theresa May’s government will go into Brexit negotiations believing the U.K. could legally walk away from the EU without paying a divorce bill, a Brexit minister signaled Monday. David Jones,...
View ArticleEU nationals May’s priority as she triggers Article 50
LONDON — Theresa May will pledge to fight with “fierce determination” for every single person in the U.K. — including the millions of EU nationals worried about their future status — when she triggers...
View ArticleThe 342 steps between UKREP and Brexit
Follow Playbook on a speedy walk between the UK’s Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels and European Council President Donald Tusk’s office around the corner. From POLITICO Europe on Vimeo.
View ArticleIt’s official: Britain tells EU ‘we’re leaving’
Britain officially told the EU on Wednesday it will leave the bloc, setting the clock ticking on a two-year period for negotiating its departure. Tim Barrow, Britain’s ambassador to the EU, handed over...
View ArticleEU’s Brexit goal to ‘minimize costs’: Tusk
The European Union’s objective in Brexit negotiations will be to “minimize the costs for EU citizens, businesses and members,” European Council President Donald Tusk said on Wednesday. “This is about...
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Brexit talks will be tedious, nasty and painful
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst — negotiators on both sides of the English Channel clutched that trite prescription like a security blanket on Wednesday as U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May...
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Catalonia faces obstacles to its independence dreams
Spain Catalonia’s bid for independence continues to dominate headlines. El País ran a story on infighting within the regional government’s ruling pro-independence coalition. It reported that Vice...
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UK says EU’s €2 billion China fraud estimate ‘inflated’
The U.K. is disputing an “inflated” estimate by the EU that it owes €2 billion in lost duties and VAT connected to a Chinese fraud network. In a robust four-page letter to the European Commission,...
View ArticleManfred Weber: May knows Brexit will cause damage
LONDON — Theresa May is willing to make an extra effort to get Brexit talks to the next phase but is also aware that leaving the European Union “is difficult and will cause damage,” a senior member of...
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Anatomy of a Brexit deal
LONDON — It was all set for Wednesday. Then Thursday. In the end the British deal with the EU to move forward with divorce talks was sealed before the sun rose on a cold Brussels Friday morning. For...
View ArticleBritain spent nearly £1,000 delivering Article 50 letter
The British government’s decision to hand-deliver a letter to trigger the start of its official exit of the European Union cost the country’s taxpayers nearly £1,000, according to figures disclosed to...
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Britain moves big into Brussels
Britain is leaving Europe, but it’s hardly leaving Brussels. The U.K.’s diplomatic footprint in the European capital — currently hidden behind a congested Brussels roundabout, stretched above a Lloyds...
View ArticleEU Brexit summit goes ahead as planned
EU leaders in Brussels reached an agreement with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Saturday to ease Spain’s concerns about Gibraltar and clearing the path for EU27 leaders to approve the Brexit...
View ArticleUK barred from EU cybersecurity meeting: report
The U.K. ambassador to the EU complained that British officials had been “disinvited” from an EU cybersecurity meeting addressing the risks posed by Chinese equipment maker Huawei, the Financial Times...
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Brussels can’t help but extend the Brexit horror show
The U.K. will almost certainly get another Brexit extension — but don’t ask the EU to admit it. In the meantime, officials in Brussels and other EU27 capitals will spend a few more weeks watching in...
View ArticleEU27 ponder how to deal with UK request for Brexit delay
EU27 leaders are considering Boris Johnson’s Brexit delay request and how to turn it to their own maximum advantage — though some are wondering if there’s any advantage left to gain. After the British...
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