Browsing: Brexit

The UK and European Union have announced a comprehensive agreement aimed at resetting relations post-Brexit. Key elements include a commitment to work towards a common sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) area, and aligning UK rules with EU standards on plant and animal health.

Sir Keir Starmer described the new UK-EU Cooperation Agreement as a “landmark deal,” with potential economic contributions estimated at £90 billion by 2040, though the specifics remain to be confirmed.

The UK and EU have reached a new trade deal after extensive negotiations, with key provisions including improved travel for British passport holders and the reinstatement of pet passports for easier pet travel.

The UK and EU have finalised a post-Brexit trade deal after extensive negotiations, addressing contentious issues including fishing rights, which will now allow EU access to UK waters for 12 years.

The UK and EU agreed a new 10-year fishing deal, giving EU boats continued access to British waters, in a major breakthrough, years after Britain left the EU. The agreement was seen as key to unlocking progress in wider trade discussions.

Friday’s headlines are dominated by the debate around legalising assisted dying in England and Wales (Scotland has its own separate bill). Politicians, health experts and scholars are offering their opinions ahead of Friday’s debate.

The bill passed the first stage of the Commons last November – but since then there have been dozens of amendments added by both sides. A vote to pass or reject the bill is not likely to take place on Friday, but rather in June.

UK businesses are calling on the government to reset relations with the EU ahead of a summit hosted in London next week. More than 400 UK firms have urged the government to take “practical steps” to reduce red tape, ease staff mobility, and coordinate on climate, defence and energy.

On the international front, there’s widespread coverage of the humanitarian crisis facing Gaza as Israel continues to block aid (including food) and continues to heavily bomb the strip. Donald Trump is concluding his tour of the Middle East where he has signed huge investment deals.

The UK’s leading business lobbying group, the CBI, is calling for a major reset in relations with the EU, saying the current post-Brexit setup is “no longer fit for purpose”. Ahead of a UK-EU summit on 19 May, the group has urged both sides to rebuild trust and take “practical steps” to reduce red tape, ease staff mobility, and coordinate on climate, defence and energy.

Kemi Badenoch’s team acknowledged flaws in post-Brexit plans for returning illegal migrants, highlighting the challenges faced after leaving the EU and the Dublin regulation.

King Charles and Camilla are in Italy for a state visit, meeting with politicians and the pope and delivering a historic speech to both houses of the Italian parliament. The UK media is suggesting it is an exercise in Britain’s soft powers and that the royals are being used to help reset the UK’s relationship with the rest of Europe following the fraught and turbulent times of the Brexit era.

The state visit also coincides with the pair’s 20th wedding anniversary, and several of the royal-supporting news media offer insights into the couple’s marriage – the ups and downs and how they finally got together. There is also commentary on the King’s relationship with his youngest son, who is back in Britain for a court case regarding his personal security. The pair reportedly did not meet before Charles headed to Italy.

Keir Starmer is leading a “coalition of the willing” that pledges military support for Ukraine amid a shifting geopolitical landscape, reflecting a strategic comeback for the UK in European affairs since Brexit.

The King and Queen have arrived in Rome for their state visit to Italy, coinciding with their twentieth wedding anniversary and amid concerns about the monarch’s health.

How a fraudster helped fund Farage’s US trip to meet Musk Nigel Farage’s trip to Florida to meet tech billionaire Elon Musk was partly funded…

Brexit divisions among farmers are endangering fight against Reeves’ tractor tax Anybody in Westminster on Monday watching the battalions of tractors being driven down Whitehall and around…

Sir Keir on Monday will become the first prime minister to attend a dinner with EU leaders since Brexit EU to ‘play tough’ with Starmer…

Exclusive: PM urged for a radical rethink of Brexit to boost economic growth as it’s revealed government won’t calculate loss of the UK’s biggest market…

Brexit five years on: What was promised vs what we got Five years after Britain officially left the European Union, Brexit is less popular than…

The Independent’s latest virtual event explored Brexit’s impact nearly five years post-EU departure. Experts clash over Brexit’s impact five years on in The Independent’s latest…

Exclusive: Nearly two-thirds of Labour voters say that with Donald Trump about to enter the White House, they back closer post-Brexit connections to Europe Starmer…

The Independent’s political editor David Maddox and White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg were at the Hay Adams hotel opposite the White House as Brexiteer Brits…

The Conservative leader is set to make a major speech on Thursday where she will accuse Labour of repeating the mistakes of the Tory government…

Will the Brexit headache ever end? Join our exclusive panel as we discuss five years of Britain outside the EU Nearly five years have passed…

How Farage lost the Brexit Party and why it means Reform is not inevitable Nigel Farage has lost the rights to the Brexit Party name…

Brexit reset: five business leaders on how they’d like relations with the EU to change Rachel Reeves has spoken of a reset in EU relations.…

Majority of Brexit voters ‘would accept free movement’ to access single market Europe-wide polling finds UK and EU leaders now out of step with public…

Chancellor Rachel Reeves will call for stronger economic ties between the UK and the European Union (EU) during her landmark address to the Eurogroup finance ministers on Monday.