EU referendum, brexit and the aftermath

Similarly:

I have no idea how you can read that and have that opinion. It certainly didn't read as though he was beatifying the Netherlands to me anyway.

No. I´ve lived a short ride away from the Dutchies for a decade now and have yet to meet one who doesn´t like a bit of a moan about his homeland despite the fact things are pretty fucking good up there. They´re up there with the Nordics when it comes to quality of life.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/01/gibraltar-colony-row-flares-as-eu-makes-travel-visa-free-for-britons

and a comment from the Guardian;
'That whole episode about Gibraltar is laughable. The actual Gibraltar government with the support of the UK Government argued in front of the ECJ last year that they were in fact a colony of the UK. Why? Because they were using the legal basis of a 'colony' under international law to continue to run gambling businesses outside of EU regulations. They won i.e ECJ agreed that they were a British colony and therefore outside of EU regulations.'

Anyone know about that tax avoiding court case?

https://www.ft.com/content/ab72fb3a-2578-11e9-b329-c7e6ceb5ffdf

this gives a bit more detail on that but not exact cort references or anything like that

^Unfortunately paywalled for freeloaders like me.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p06zmb8d

Has a few key dates coming up for both the EU27 and individual members' leaders.

https://www.demorgen.be/buitenland/lia-van-bekhoven-en-joris-luyendijk-de-brexit-heeft-het-laagje-beschaving-eraf-gehaald-b7d51c0e/

Luyendijk and Bekhoven (our woman in London) having a good laugh over the blitz spirit myth. Grim: "Ik wil eens zien hoe ze reageren wanneer de insuline in de ziekenhuizen op is." (Luyendijk)

Also, Luyendijk appears to relish the prospect of a humbled Britain wanting to rejoin what will be a closer union: "Ze zullen snel ontdekken hoe weinig ze voorstellen en dan kunnen ze alsnog terugkeren, maar intussen zullen wij naarstig gebouwd hebben."

Fuck this is maddening, I understand about 90% of the words but the remaining 10% are just enough to make it hard to follow...

oh I'm a freeloader too. wonder why I could see it and you cant

Text from the above FT article:

The 300-year Anglo-Spanish dispute over Gibraltar is again threatening to disrupt the Brexit process, as the EU prepares to brand the Rock as “a colony of the British Crown” in its legislation to cope with a no-deal exit.

Britain officials hit back at the “completely inappropriate” language to describe Gibraltar in a spat over the territory that underlines how it could still pose a serious obstacle to an orderly Brexit.

Some EU diplomats fear Madrid’s relentless pursuit of the “colony” reference is a sign that it will press for even more difficult concessions on Gibraltar if Britain reopens its Brexit deal, or requests to delay its March 29 exit date. “The Spanish are gearing up for a Gibraltar fight when there is an extension request,” said one senior EU diplomat. “It could be dangerous.”

After extensive negotiations that significantly delayed the progress of the legislation, Spain won support this week for adding a footnote regarding Gibraltar to a proposed EU law that would provide visa-free access to UK nationals if Britain leaves without a deal.

“Gibraltar is a colony of the British Crown,” the text said, according to a copy seen by the Financial Times. “There is a controversy between Spain and the UK concerning the sovereignty over Gibraltar, a territory for which a solution has to be reached in light of the relevant resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly of the United Nations.”

Recommended

Brexit
Spain sets Brexit challenge with Gibraltar demands
Spain has forcefully pressed its demands on Gibraltar’s status at opportune moments in the Brexit talks, often to the annoyance of some other member states. Once it is formally approved, Spain would expect such a footnote to be used in all future EU legislation regarding the UK after Brexit.

A UK government spokesperson said: “Gibraltar is not a colony and it is completely inappropriate to describe in this way. Gibraltar is a full part of the UK family and has a mature and modern constitutional relationship with the UK. This will not change due to our exit from the EU.”

The reference to Gibraltar being “a colony of the British Crown” emerged as a compromise between Spain and France. The latter had raised objections to the original text proposed by Madrid earlier in January.

This had referenced a UN list of “non-self-governing territories . . . subject to decolonisation”, which proved awkward for Paris because the list also included French Polynesia and New Caledonia.

The Franco-Spanish compromise uses potentially more provocative language for the UK, while watering down the reference to the UN decolonisation list.

EU officials point out that the reference to Gibraltar being “a colony of the British Crown” was made in a European Court of Justice decision from 2017. During the proceedings, the government of Gibraltar used the UN decolonisation list to argue that it should be treated as “separate and distinct” from the UK when it came to applying EU gambling laws.

The UK and Gibraltar governments argue that the territory has a right to self-determination. In a 2002 referendum on sharing sovereignty with Spain, 98.9 per cent of Gibraltar voters voted to reject the proposal. “All parties should respect the people of Gibraltar’s democratic wish to be British,” the UK spokesperson said.

The inclusion of the language has underlined the inbuilt advantage that members of the EU have in pressing home points of national interest in negotiation with countries outside the bloc.

In November Spain threatened to hold up approval of Britain’s draft withdrawal agreement as it sought further guarantees over the status of Gibraltar after Brexit. Josep Borrell, Spain’s foreign minister, hailed the eventual agreement as “the most important” since the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, under which Gibraltar was ceded to the UK.

UK officials said that the revisions to the proposed EU visa law would not stop British nationals from Gibraltar being able to travel visa-free “for short stays” to Spain and other countries in the Schengen area after a no-deal Brexit.

Many thanks.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A62016CO0192

I think...thats the ruling...I cant read legalise though so I might be totally wrong

It's an interesting piece but it misses the point that in 2016, Brexit was sold to poorer Brits as a way of SAVING money - stop sending money to the EU and we can fix the NHS, get jobs for our people, etc. This idea that we voted to be poorer is a much more recent invention.

Give Gibraltar to Spain, reunite Ireland and let Scotland join Europe. It's a fair price for SOVEREIGNTY

^ Sweet baby blue passports for all.

I was chatting to one of my colleagues the other day who lives in Scotland, I suggested that the SNP were likely to win a second Indy Ref - his view was that Scotland was sick of the SNP and that in his view Scottish Tories were going to win the majority of the seats at the next election.

Any Scots/Scottish residents able to comment on that?

Nicola Sturgeon's popularity is low but that doesn't seem to have had much effect on the party's overall ratings - still polling better than the other parties. There's a chance they'd lost their overall majority next time around, but no sign of the Tories getting more seats than them. Sounds like wish-fulfilment to me.

My friends back in Alex Salmond's former constituency, where I grew up, think his Tory replacement will lose next time to the SNP. That might also be wish fulfilment, Understandable, though, as the current incumbent is a noxious wee shit.

Rather be poor and racist than not-quite-so-poor and not-quite-so-racist then?

in his view Scottish Tories were going to win the majority of the seats at the next election.

He's quite clearly clinically and possibly psychotically insane. Run away.

He lives in Scotland, minimal fleeing required.

What the team has tried to do in this infographic is identify Brexiters most positive emotions and at the same time isolate their greatest fears and distil that in to an understand-at-a-glance format.

1 Attachment

Unfortunately, and as our own referendum travails reflect, we're about as united a nation as anywhere else in the UK at the moment; i.e everything the SNP does is bad to c50% of the population. Raise taxes? Unacceptable. Don't raise them, but have to cut funding to match austerity rUK? Mismanagement. Disagree with Brexit? Just seeking Independence. Make positive representation to deliver Brexit without fucking the economy into the sea? Ignored.

The budget was delivered yesterday on the first vote in cooperation with the Greens-reflecting consensual government in a system not designed to even have a majority, which to me is quite a positive thing. Media predicting snap general elections because it wouldn't pass, etc etc. Not likely to happen until maybe 3rd vote, with extended stalemate, so a bit premature to say the least.

It was won with some quite minor concessions on introducing workplace parking charges on businesses with 11+ spaces, with fees starting at 450 odd quid a year. Quite sensible, works out at about 40 quid a space. You'd think Sturgeon had just burnt a baby on a satanic altar from all the McGammons spouting rage over it in the media though, which is the fundamental issue plaguing our times; whether UK media dominated by rightwing Tory interests, or domestic Scottish media all set against the dominant Independence seeking governing party, there's vested interests sowing division where otherwise more pragmatic people would find compromise or at least engage in sensible dialogue.

I've a lot of time for Sturgeon simply because she consistently acts with dignity and doesn't engage in PR driven gutter politics, and if your pal is saying everyone hates her it's because he prefers to believe the comically stilted coverage of whatever unionist driven shitrag he reads, if not just the BBC's own SNPbaaad 24/7 showreel.

On a no deal brexit the country side will be over run with muck
Officials warn of putrefying piles of rubbish after no-deal Brexit

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/01/revealed-plan-to-deal-with-putrefying-stockpiles-of-rubbish-after-no-deal-brexit?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard

Every nation has its challenges. Except the Netherlands, presumably.

In the Netherlands they recently had a BBQ/smoker (very similar to a Green Egg) called The Black Bastard.

They've renamed it now to "The Bastard" but frankly the fact anyone ever thought it was OK to call it that in the first place says much about the challenges of the Netherlands.

I'm away with three rabid hibs/SNP supporters (fortunately not just them) and I can confirm that is definitely not universally true.

As Bruce says Sturgeon may be having a slightly difficult time right now but the party retains huge support because it's supporters very much believe in the project and an independent Scotland.

We're in the Philippines and last night a small boy asked me if I'd heard of Duterte and (assuming I was also Scottish) asked if Scotland has a president.

I enjoyed explaining that because of the Royal Family it has a First Minister but Sturgeon and Duterte aren't actually all that different, both being populist, nationalist politicians...