Connect with us

World

Northern Ireland Protocol: EU launches new legal action against the UK

Published

on

Northern Ireland Protocol: EU launches new legal action against the UK

The European Fee on Friday launched 4 new infringement procedures towards the UK over the implementation of the Northern Eire Protocol.

The EU’s government accuses London of failing to adjust to the relevant customs necessities, supervision necessities and danger controls on the motion of products from Northern Eire to Nice Britain.

It additionally says the UK authorities has did not implement EU guidelines on Worth Added Tax (VAT) for e-commerce and did not notify that they may implement EU guidelines associated to oblique taxes, specifically on alcohol and alcoholic drinks.

In brief, the UK is just not offering the EU with export declarations Northern Eire companies are alleged to fill in when sending items to Nice Britain, together with for managed items topic to prohibition and restrictions.

“That is in fact essential to in order that to make sure that the EU can adjust to its personal worldwide obligations in relation to prohibitions and restrictions on the exports of products to 3rd international locations. The UK, as of at present, has not carried out these necessities,” Fee spokesperson Ariana Podestà stated.

Advertisement

The UK authorities, which described the brand new procedures as “disappointing”, now has two months to answer to the letters from Brussels demanding “swift remedial actions to revive compliance with the phrases of the Protocol”.

If the reply is unsatisfactory, the Fee might then refer the matter to the European Courtroom of Justice.

Draft invoice vs infringement procedures

These 4 new infringement procedures add to the three already launched final month

These have been associated to the UK’s draft invoice to unilaterally override elements of the worldwide treaty, the continued lack of infrastructure and staffing to hold out customs checks within the UK, and London’s failure to share buying and selling knowledge as required below the Protocol.

The British laws unveiled final month and at present making its approach by way of parliament would override elements of the settlement by creating so-called inexperienced and crimson channels to waive customs checks for items travelling between Nice Britain and Northern Eire and are supposed for the Northern Irish market solely. It has been branded “unlawful” by Brussels.

Advertisement

The Fee confirmed on Friday that they haven’t but obtained a reply from the UK. 

The Northern Eire Protocol — a key Brexit settlement that leaves Northern Eire inside the bloc’s Single Market– has been a supply of continued strife between London and Brussels for the reason that UK formally left the European Union on 1 January 2021. 

The UK authorities, which negotiated and agreed to the protocol, now says it endangers the Good Friday Settlement it was made to guard and which ended a long time of bloody sectarian violence in Eire. 

London calls for that the entire treaty be renegotiated which Brussels has steadfastly rejected, calling for options to be discovered inside its framework. 

EU has ‘bent over backwards’

Brussels’ new infringement procedures come within the midst of a management contest within the UK to switch Prime Minister Boris Johnson who resigned two weeks in the past after a mass walkout of ministers over his dealing with of a number of scandals into lockdown-breaking events held at Downing Avenue and inappropriate behaviour by a few of his MPs.

Advertisement

Solely two individuals at the moment are left within the operating: former Chancellor Rishi Sunak and International Minister Liz Truss who can also be in control of Brexit.

Eric Mamer, the Fee’s Chief Spokesperson, burdened to reporters that the EU’s government “launches infringement when it considers that the circumstances are met and when it’s prepared to take action.”

He stated that Brussels has “been extraordinarily affected person” and has “engaged with the UK over a really lengthy time period” to search out options.

“We’ve got bent over backwards by way of making proposals to unravel these points. We’re nonetheless within the scenario the place actually the UK is just not implementing its a part of the deal in respect of most of the variables,” he went on.

“If we thought that the prospects have been nice of sitting collectively on Monday and coming to an answer, we might not be launching the infringements, proper? That is the logic.”

Advertisement

A UK authorities spokesperson in the meantime stated that they “will assessment the EU’s arguments and reply in the end.”

“It’s disappointing that the EU has chosen to convey ahead additional authorized motion, notably on items leaving Northern Eire for Nice Britain which self-evidently current no danger to the EU single market.

“A authorized dispute is in no person’s curiosity and won’t repair the issues dealing with the individuals and companies of Northern Eire. The EU is left no worse off on account of the proposals we’ve made within the Northern Eire Protocol Invoice,” they added.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

World

Jon Hamm’s Your Friends & Neighbors Renewed at Apple TV+ Ahead of Series Premiere — Get Release Date

Published

on

Jon Hamm’s Your Friends & Neighbors Renewed at Apple TV+ Ahead of Series Premiere — Get Release Date


Jon Hamm ‘Your Friends and Neighbors’ Apple Series Cast, Release Date



Advertisement





















Advertisement






Advertisement

Advertisement

ad



Advertisement






Advertisement


Quantcast



Continue Reading

World

Israel keeping its ‘eyes open’ for Iranian attacks during Trump transition period, ambassador says

Published

on

Israel keeping its ‘eyes open’ for Iranian attacks during Trump transition period, ambassador says

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon tells Fox News Digital that his country is keeping its “eyes open” for any potential aggression from Iran during the Trump transition period, adding it would be a “mistake” for the Islamic Republic to carry out an attack. 

The comments come after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi vowed earlier this week that Iran would retaliate against Israel for the strategic airstrikes it carried out against Tehran on Oct. 26. Araghchi was quoted in Iranian media saying “we have not given up our right to react, and we will react in our time and in the way we see fit.” 

“I would advise him not to challenge us. We have already shown our capabilities. We have proved that they are vulnerable. We can actually target any location in Iran. They know that,” Danon told Fox News Digital. 

“So I would advise them not to make that mistake. If they think that now, because of the transition period, they can take advantage of it, they are wrong,” he added. “We are keeping our eyes open and we are ready for all scenarios.” 

ICC REJECTS ISRAELI APPEALS, ISSUES ARREST WARRANTS FOR BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, YOAV GALLANT 

Advertisement

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon tells Fox News Digital that his country is “ready for all scenarios” coming from Iran during the Trump transition period. (Fox News)

Danon says he believes one of the most important challenges for the incoming Trump administration will be the way the U.S. deals with Iran. 

“Regarding the new administration, I think the most important challenge will be the way you challenge Iran, the aggression, the threat of the Iranian regime. I believe that the U.S. will have to go back to a leading position on this issue,” he told Fox News Digital. 

“We are fighting the same enemies, the enemies of the United States of America. When you look at the Iranians, the Houthis, Hezbollah, Hamas, all those bad actors that are coming against Israel… that is the enemy of the United States. So I think every American should support us and understand what we are doing now,” Danon also said. 

IRAN HIDING MISSILE, DRONE PROGRAMS UNDER GUISE OF COMMERCIAL FRONT TO EVADE SANCTIONS 

Advertisement
House Speaker Mike Johnson and Rep. Elise Stefanik

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is acknowledged by President-elect Donald Trump alongside Speaker of the House Mike Johnson during a meeting with House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 13, 2024. Stefanik has been chosen by President-elect Donald Trump as the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. (Allison Robbert/Pool via REUTERS)

Danon spoke as the U.S. vetoed a draft resolution against Israel at the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday. 

The resolution, which was overseen by Algeria, sought an “immediate, unconditional and permanent cease-fire” to be imposed on Israel. The resolution did not guarantee the release of the hostages still being held by Hamas within Gaza. 

Israeli military planes

Israeli Air Force planes departing for the strikes in Iran on Oct. 26. (IDF Spokesman’s Unit)

 

“It was a shameful resolution because… it didn’t have the linkage between the cease-fire and the call [for] the release of the hostages. And I want to thank the United States for taking a strong position and vetoing this resolution,” Danon said. “I think it sent a very clear message that the U.S. stands with its strongest ally with Israel. And, you know, it was shameful, too, to hear the voices of so many ambassadors speaking about a cease-fire but abandoning the 101 hostages. We will not forget them. We will never abandon them. We will continue to fight until we bring all of them back home.” 

Fox News’ Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report. 

Advertisement

Continue Reading

World

Fact-check: What do we know about Russia’s nuclear arsenal?

Published

on

Fact-check: What do we know about Russia’s nuclear arsenal?

Moscow has lowered the bar for using nuclear weapons and fired a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead into Ukraine, heightening tensions with the West.

ADVERTISEMENT

Russia’s nuclear arsenal is under fresh scrutiny after an intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of carrying an atomic warhead was fired into Ukrainian territory.

President Vladimir Putin says the unprecedented attack using the so-called “Oreshnik” missile is a direct response to Ukraine’s use of US and UK-made missiles to strike targets deep in Russian territory.

He has also warned that the military facilities of Western countries allowing Ukraine to use their weapons to strike Russia could become targets.

The escalation comes days after the Russian President approved small but significant changes to his country’s nuclear doctrine, which would allow a nuclear response to a conventional, non-nuclear attack on Russian territory.

While Western officials, including US defence secretary Lloyd Austin, have dismissed the notion that Moscow’s use of nuclear weapons is imminent, experts warn that recent developments could increase the possibility of nuclear weapons use.

Advertisement

Here’s what we know about Russia’s inventory of atomic weapons.

How big is Russia’s nuclear arsenal?

Russia holds more nuclear warheads than any other nation at an estimated 5,580, which amounts to 47% of global stockpiles, according to data from the Federation of American Scientists (FAS).

But only an estimated 1,710 of those weapons are deployed, a fraction more than the 1,670 deployed by the US. 

Both nations have the necessary nuclear might to destroy each other several times over, and considerably more atomic warheads than the world’s seven other nuclear nations: China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and the United Kingdom.

Of Moscow’s deployed weapons, an estimated 870 are on land-based ballistic missiles, 640 on submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and potentially 200 at heavy bomber bases.

Advertisement

According to FAS, there are no signs Russia is significantly scaling up its nuclear arsenal, but the federation does warn of a potential surge in the future as the country replaces single-warhead missiles with those capable of carrying multiple warheads.

Russia is also steadily modernising its nuclear arsenal.

What could trigger a Russian nuclear response?

Moscow’s previous 2020 doctrine stated that its nuclear weapons could be used in response to an attack using nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction “when the very existence of the state is put under threat.”

Now, the conditions under which a nuclear response could be launched have changed in three crucial ways:

  1. Russia will consider using nuclear weapons in the case of a strike on its territory using conventional weapons, such as cruise missiles, drones and tactical aircraft.
  2. It could launch a nuclear attack in response to an aggression by a non-nuclear state acting “with the participation or support of a nuclear state”, as is the case for Ukraine.
  3. Moscow will also apply the same conditions to an attack on Belarus’ territory, in agreement with President Lukashenko.

Is there a rising nuclear threat?

The size of the world’s nuclear stockpiles has rapidly decreased amid the post-Cold War détente. The Soviet Union had some 40,000 warheads, and the US around 30,000, when stockpiles peaked during the 1960s and 70s.

ADVERTISEMENT

But FAS warns that while the overall number is still in decline, operational warheads are on the rise once again. More countries are also upgrading their missiles to deploy multiple warheads.

“In nearly all of the nuclear-armed states there are either plans or a significant push to increase nuclear forces,” Hans M. Kristensen, Director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), said in June this year.

Advertisement

Is the West reacting?

When Putin approved the updated nuclear protocol last week, many Western leaders dismissed it as sabre rattling.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Germany and its partners would “not be intimidated” and accused Putin of “playing with our fear.”

ADVERTISEMENT

But since Russia used a hypersonic ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead in an attack on Dnipro, European leaders have raised the alarm.

“The last few dozen hours have shown that the threat is serious and real when it comes to global conflict,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Friday.

According to Dutch media reports, NATO’s secretary-general Mark Rutte is in Florida to urgently meet President-elect Donald Trump, potentially to discuss the recent escalation.

NATO and Ukraine will hold an extraordinary meeting in Brussels next Tuesday to discuss the situation and the possible allied reaction, according to Euronews sources.

Advertisement
ADVERTISEMENT
Continue Reading

Trending