Now French President and minister say “non” to TTIP negotiations too August 30, 2016 Two key French political figures have cast doubt on trade talks between the EU and the US, shortly after a German minister voiced the same concerns. French President Francois Hollande told ambassadors today he did not think it would be possible to conclude on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) by the end of the year. "The [...]
Eurozone economic sentiment fell to a five-month low in August after June’s Brexit vote August 30, 2016 Economic sentiment among the 19 members of the Eurozone fell during August to its lowest level since March, according to new EU data. The European Commission's Eurozone Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) fell to 103.5 over the past month, from 104.5 in July – well below the 104.1 forecast by a Reuters poll of economists. Confidence was [...]
Ireland “profoundly disagrees” with the EU’s Apple ruling August 30, 2016 Ireland's finance minister has said he "disagrees profoundly" with the verdict handed down from the EU in its Apple tax probe. Brussels has told Ireland to recover up to €13bn (£1.1bn) in back taxes from the tech giant for breaching rules on state aid. Michael Noonan said the country maintains that all tax due has [...]
Dithering on airport capacity is choking British businesses, Theresa May needs to take urgent action August 30, 2016 The decision on whether to construct a new runway in the south east of England has been parked for too long. That cannot remain the case for much longer – a lack of airport capacity in the south east is acting a major constraint upon business and economic growth. Business leaders have become increasingly exasperated [...]
Brexit negotiation “pettiness” would push UK and Europe into recession, says Mohamed El-Erian August 30, 2016 The UK and Europe will fall into recession and become less significant globally if Brexit negotiations become the victim of "pettiness", according to Mohamed El-Erian, Allianz's chief economic adviser who chairs President Obama's Global Development Council. El-Erian said that in a "rational world, the UK would end up with a free trade arrangement with the [...]
Amber Rudd is set to dig in her heels and fight for British borders in Calais as she visits France in her first trip as home secretary August 29, 2016 Home secretary Amber Rudd is set to dig her heels in to defend British borders in Calais as senior French politicians call for existing agreements to be reviewed. Rudd will visit Paris tomorrow in her first trip overseas as home secretary, just days after former French President Nicolas Sarkozy questioned the agreement, known as Le Touquet, which allows UK border [...]
Apple is facing a huge tax bill in Ireland after the EU ruled against the tech giant August 29, 2016 Apple could be handed a bill of more than €1bn (£853m), as the European Commission is set to announce it has ruled against the tech giant's tax dealings in Ireland. European officials have been concerned Apple has benefited from generous tax policies since 2014 because of its size as an employer in the country. Apple employs more [...]
UK now front of the queue for deal with the US, as trade deal with EU dubbed a failure by key German minister August 29, 2016 The EU's loss is the UK's gain for trade deals, as the country now finds itself first in line for a transatlantic hookup, one expert has said. The comments come after Germany's economy minister and vice chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said over the weekend that talks to forge a trade deal between the US and the EU – the Transatlantic Trade and Investment [...]
Brexit: No “nice things” for UK without responsibility says top German minister August 29, 2016 One of Germany's top politicians has warned that negotiations for Britain's exit from the EU should not allow it to "keep the nice things" but take no responsibility, while handling the process badly could send Europe "down the drain". Sigmar Gabriel, the number two of Chancellor Angela Merkel and economic minister, made the comments at [...]
Hammond to take on Cabinet colleagues over access to the EU single market August 28, 2016 Chancellor Philip Hammond is to set out plans for Britain to stay in the single market at a meeting of Cabinet ministers this week, but is likely to face resistance from his colleagues. According to the Sunday Times, Hammond will look for access to the single market "on a sector by sector basis" – with financial services [...]