Continent preparing for Brexit | 82 comments (82 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 1)

If anyone has more details on other continental EU countries preparation for Halloween Brexit (Spain,Belgium, Netherlands, Portugal...), could you please share?

by Bernard (bernard) on Sun Sep 1st, 2019 at 07:48:45 PM EST

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (4.00 / 2)

Thank you for this update.

Readers have been deeply skeptical of EU27 ability and willingness to enforce provisions of the WA. This, I maintain, is the result of relying almost exclusively on UK reportage which is wholly unreliable and a strange misconception that the UK would be the first third country, ever, from anywhere in the world, engaged in business with the EU.

I've responded to IE-NI (North-South) civil society/trade conferences to facilitate goods since publication of EU draft GFA protocol in '17. (See Sufficient Progress. Then as well, from time to time advisories from "government buildings" about modifications to citizens' benefits (eg. UK-Cyprus, UK-IE-NI) and port landings and deploy ~1,000 additional customs officers, while speculation poisoned the yella presses patrolling a border in the middle of the Irish Sea and bogus alternative arrangements.

tbh, telegraphing every police action to pirates hiding in the we wouldn't be the brightest strategy. Executive summary of competencies for "stakeholder", on the other hand, is always nice to know, but not mission critical.

The challenge for casually interested parties moving forward through UK separation is to record which "leaked" international customs in fact come to pass, regardless of WA ratification by UK. Like ThatBritGuy, my money's on EU finessing every.single.term of the WA set out.

Barnier informs the slow learners, again. We will only start work on alternative arrangements if the current deal is ratified. Ignorance of international law is not an affirmative defense.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Sep 1st, 2019 at 08:43:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

additional customs officers (none / 0)

Ireland raises prospect of some no-deal Brexit checks near border

on goods coming from Northern Ireland in a "no deal" scenario.
"There will be checks on goods and live animals and, as far as possible, they will take place in ports, airports and at businesses," Varadkar said in a speech in Dublin, according to a transcript sent by his office. "But some may need to take place near the border. We are working out the details of this with the European Commission."

Checks `near Irish border' in the event of a no-deal Brexit, Varadkar warns

He said the common travel area will remain in place, but outlined the changes he expects.
"There will still be plenty of food on shelves but perhaps not all of the same brands," he said."When you fly into Ireland from Britain, you will no longer pass through the blue channel.
"You will have to choose the green or red one and pay any taxes that may be due.

An Taoiseach @LeoVaradkar TD at tonight's British Irish Chamber Gala Dinner "the UK will remain a key trading partner with Ireland regardless of #Brexit" pic.twitter.com/Nefewk1rs5
— British Irish Chamber (@BrIreCham) September 5, 2019

Taoiseach promises financial supports for Brexit hit businesses in Budget

Proposals in recent days from the Ulster Unionist Party would be considered, said Mr Varadkar. These plans suggest a new north-south ministerial body could monitor and regulate trade across the border. It also proposed the creation of an offence in British law for knowingly transporting non-compliant goods to the EU. This would be a new type of insurance policy to protect the single market, former UUP leader Reg Empey has said.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Sep 5th, 2019 at 10:16:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Brtish tea leaves rations in Ireland (none / 0)

Irish Times | Is this the final Brexit straw? Lyons Tea may disappear with no deal

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Sep 6th, 2019 at 04:15:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brtish tea leaves rations in Ireland (none / 0)

Well, that will certainly help Ireland's balance of trade, if at the expense of the Irish population. But it may well create many opportunities for Irish agriculture and business to create import substitution. The Irish may be short of goods to consume, but the (still) UK will suffer more unemployment as firms cut back on production that can no longer profitably be exported.

The loss of access to one's favorite tea would be mitigated by the consideration that it was, after all, a British tea. And Coke and Heinz could always be imported from the USA, though I do not know what the tariff implications might be. But the EU is committed to doing all it can to mitigate harm to Ireland from a BREXIT and waiving tariffs for import substitution for Ireland would be both cheap and satisfying.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Fri Sep 6th, 2019 at 05:34:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brtish tea leaves rations in Ireland (none / 0)

Ireland grows tea leaves?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Sep 8th, 2019 at 06:48:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 0)

EU 'gradual approach' to border checks in no-deal Brexit - sources

It is understood a phased approach could be taken to how a no-deal situation is managed.
This would involve an initial period during which the Irish authorities carefully assess which checks are manageable and which are politically too sensitive in the immediate aftermath of a no-deal exit.
The Government could then make an assessment after several weeks or months which would be communicated to Brussels. If there remains a gap between limited compliance and full compliance with single market and customs rules, both sides would then work on how the gap can be bridged, taking all the "specificities" of the Irish border question into account. However, it is likely that the EU would resist an open-ended time gap in compliance.

archived
EU27 already have indicated to comical effect willingness to overlook low-value "slippage"
It needn't be pretty at first to be effective

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Sep 6th, 2019 at 10:40:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (4.00 / 4)

Sorry I didn't contribute to answering the question sooner.

There's not much to add to your summary. The French media don't consider Brexit as a hot topic. No politician or party seem to believe that there's anything to be gained by striking a pose about it.

One thing I have seen (but more in UK media) concerns fishing rights, where there may be quite severe conflict. A good many British fishermen seem to think Brexit means going back to some imaginary Middle Ages where "British fish" were in all kinds of places where the damn French fish now. They intend to steam off and fish in seas which have been opened to French and Belgian fishermen for decades if not longer (and not as a result of EU rules).

Things are going to slide, slide in all directions
Won't be nothing
Nothing you can measure anymore
L. Cohen

by john_evans (john(dot)evans(dot)et(at)gmail(dot)com) on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 04:10:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (4.00 / 3)

Update on French media: Boris being now in trouble with Parliament and his own party is making headlines. Vultures circling.

Things are going to slide, slide in all directions
Won't be nothing
Nothing you can measure anymore
L. Cohen

by john_evans (john(dot)evans(dot)et(at)gmail(dot)com) on Wed Sep 4th, 2019 at 08:17:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 1)

Oh and there was also some mentions of this fella ("l'europhobe Jacob Rees-Mogg") slouching on a bench in the HoC.

by Bernard (bernard) on Wed Sep 4th, 2019 at 06:50:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 1)

pic.twitter.com/mCh4rB8vtN
— The Irish Border (@BorderIrish) September 3, 2019

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue
- Queen Elizabeth II}

by eurogreen on Thu Sep 5th, 2019 at 09:29:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (4.00 / 3)

The iceberg always blinks at the last minute
— The Irish Border (@BorderIrish) February 5, 2019

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Thu Sep 5th, 2019 at 09:34:08 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Holland (4.00 / 4)

An Irish perspective on Dutch preparations...

Bye, Bye Britain: The Dutch get ready for a Brexit party

It's undoubtedly going to be one of those "where were you?" moments. And already almost 10,000 people in the Netherlands have decided: on October 31st, irrespective of the weather, they'll be at a giant beach party, facing across the North Sea, with a band playing We'll Meet Again.
The idea of a huge European "Bye, Bye Britain" party in Wijk aan Zee, a quiet seaside village west of Amsterdam best known for its annual chess tournament, started as a bit of a joke - until suddenly it went viral on Facebook.
Now, says one of the organisers, film maker Ron Toekook, it's caught the imagination. "Because so many Dutch people live in apartments, there's a tradition here: you take your deck chair and a bottle of wine and go to the beach to watch the sun setting. Everyone does it. We love it."
The plan is for plenty of European food and drink - French wine, German beer, Dutch cheese, Belgian fries, Italian pasta, even Austrian strudel - to remind the Brits what they're giving up, all to be consumed against a soundscape of nostalgic tunes from the previous Battle of Britain.

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Sun Sep 1st, 2019 at 08:09:28 PM EST

Re: Holland (none / 0)

I hope they also plan to eat lot of Irish Beef. Over 50% of our production goes to the UK, and won't be able to compete after Sterling devaluation and steep tariffs

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Sun Sep 1st, 2019 at 08:19:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Holland (4.00 / 2)

Market Irish Beef as grass fed and export it to the USA at a premium. Irish butter has led the way. And the EU already has an agreement with the USA in place.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sun Sep 1st, 2019 at 09:42:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Holland (4.00 / 2)

As an American, I love the Kerry Gold imports! They are so much more flavorful than US factory farm products and I trust Irish imports much more than Chinese food imports.
I don't understand the grass fed craze. Grass fed beef is tough and stringy compared with well-marbled corn fed beef which is getting hard to find. We mostly eat chicken now because of the outrageous prices for tough flavorless beef.
And Guiness forever!

NOTE: My family is from Southern Europe, no identified Irish genes. My wife, however, has 10% Irish genes despite no identified Irish ancestors for 170 years. Apparently they came from her Norwegian ancestry as I read on line that Norwegians are genetically very Irish due to large numbers of captives brought back to Norway by the Vikings a thousand years ago,

by StillInTheWilderness on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 03:06:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Holland (4.00 / 2)

Beef needs to be fattened with grain to properly finish. In the USA this is typically done with corn. Corn has some problems. IMO, oats would be a much more suitable grain to use for fattening.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 05:31:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Holland (4.00 / 4)

Except that processors have been using Roundup as drying aget and all oats have a detectable residue.
I'm not an organic fan, but eating weedkiller is a bridge too far.
BTW, due to the stress of family death andmedical emergency, I have neglected my garden this year, not even putting out the red sticky spheres to trap insects. I'm eating organic apples from the yard. After cutting around the worm holes, they are quite tasty. All varieties are two weeks early. Pears are two weeks early too. I think it's the hot summer we had. No peaches which are usually reliable. Must have been that minus 40 wind chill record that killed all the buds. The three trees have a big canopy now from new growth but I can walk upright under all the peach trees because all the previous years' (plural) growth died.

I think Global Warming came knocking in Illinois this year. Commercial corn farmers have extremely poor crops due to monsoon rains in Spring and Early summer. Now the Chinese don't want to buy what little corn and soybeans they have to sell.

by StillInTheWilderness on Thu Sep 5th, 2019 at 02:46:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Holland (4.00 / 3)

Germany set to ban glyphosate from end of 2023

The ban, agreed by the Cabinet on Wednesday, is part of an insect conservation program from Environment Minister Svenja Schulze.
It includes a "systematic reduction strategy" which would initially prohibit use of the chemical in domestic gardens and allotments, and on the edge of farmers' fields.
Germany's move comes after lawmakers in Austria passed a bill banning all use of the weedkiller, making the country the first to do so.

BASF, Bayer-Monsanto, Dow Agrosciences "growth" hammer.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Sep 5th, 2019 at 04:24:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Holland (none / 1)

I often wish I lived in Germany.

by StillInTheWilderness on Thu Sep 5th, 2019 at 02:30:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Holland (none / 1)

Use of the 'drying agent' is a technique to ensure that all grain is mature by a date certain. There are already grains grown for beer brewing that have not had drying agents used and this approach would have to be expanded to use oats as a finishing crop. Alternatively, cattle being finished could just be turned out to pasture in unharvested oat fields - or some combination.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Thu Sep 5th, 2019 at 06:02:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

The Ursula Comish Channel (4.00 / 5)

Protein discussion likely to be on next European Commission agenda

Indeed, while the EU imports the majority of its gas and oil, it is also totally dependent on imports of animal protein. European hens, cows and pigs consume no less than 37 million tonnes of imported plant-based protein.
[...]
[Juncker's] Commission ha[d] not proposed to reduce meat consumption, as it remains a taboo subject despite being at the root of the problem. Instead, it has identified that "soya is a particular problem because the EU can only cover 5% of its need for soya." This was pointed out last year by European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan.
[...]
In three years, the area cultivated in France for soybeans has increased tenfold to reach 160,000 hectares. That represents a drop in the ocean compared to the 29 million hectares of land cultivated in France. As the head of Europe's largest biodiesel group, [Avril pres Arnaud] Rousseau is calling on farmers to feed their livestock and other farmyard animals with rapeseed meals rather than soybean meals.
[...]
France imports only 45% of its plant-based proteins while the rest of Europe imports two-thirds. If France attempts to change things, mainly because of its predominant role on the biodiesel market, covering Europe's need for animal feed (i.e. 43 million tonnes per year, including 12 million tonnes of Brazilian soya), is not technically feasible.

Focus on EU soya beans imports from the US, April 2019
U.S. is now the EU's main supplier of soya beans with a share of 52%, Sep 2018

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 05:59:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Holland (4.00 / 2)

You beat me to the punch on Kerry Gold. Irish cheeses are a definite addition.

by rifek on Wed Sep 4th, 2019 at 08:53:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Holland (4.00 / 3)

you take your deck chair and a bottle of wine and go to the beach to watch the sun setting

Copied from Austin, TX (except for the beach). They even applaud the sun setting. I thought this was because there was nothing else to do there.

I'm sure England will also have Brexit parties. What will they eat at them?

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Sun Sep 1st, 2019 at 09:08:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Holland (4.00 / 3)

Brexiteers Brexit Party Menu Options:
1. Italian Pasta, Spanish Paella, French Pate de fois gras, washed down by a Chianti or Beaujolais

Everone else: Humble pie

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Sun Sep 1st, 2019 at 10:00:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Holland (4.00 / 3)

personally I expect to be pretty drunk.

The craft beer revolution in the UK will run into trouble pretty quickly cos a lot of breweries like using bamberg maltings for some of their flavour malts.

Also, british hops have fallen from favour in recent years. But barring a trade deal those exotic hops (US, Czech, Australian, NZ and Japanese) are going to be hard to source.

A return to good old fashioned English mild and bitter? Well, I don't mind, but not in these circumstances

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 01:59:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Holland (none / 1)

The USA grows hops. The Yakima Valley - Washington, Oregon and Idaho - I believe, is a major supplier.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 05:35:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Holland (4.00 / 2)

Lots of hops farms in the Lower Yakima Valley in Washington. Perhaps that can be in the opening round of Der Drumpfenfuehrer's big bilateral trade agreement with the UK.

by rifek on Wed Sep 4th, 2019 at 09:03:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Holland (none / 0)

British Investment in Netherlands Surges as Brexit Looms, 9 Sep

Last year, Dutch investment in the U.K. went negative with Netherlands-based companies pulling 11 billion euros ($12.1 billion) out of the British economy. On top of the declining Dutch investment, 98 firms have relocated from the U.K. to the Netherlands since the Brexit referendum.
"The ongoing growing uncertainty [of rubber stamp extensions] in the United Kingdom, and the increasingly clearer possibility of a no-deal, is causing major economic unrest for these companies. That is why more and more companies are orienting themselves in the Netherlands as a potential new base in the European market," said Jeroen Nijland, commissioner of the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency.
[...]
Sigrid Kaag, the Dutch trade minister, expressed frustration at the lack of a deal.
"At a certain moment, enough is enough. At some point the certainty offered by a worsening situation is better than continuing uncertainty with no new perspective," she told the Dutch newspaper the Financieele Dagblad.

parity watch last call

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Sep 9th, 2019 at 06:59:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 1)

Rotterdam harbor well prepared

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Sun Sep 1st, 2019 at 08:13:13 PM EST

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 0)

Will the Irish economy go Dutch after Brexit?
Hauliers welcome new Waterford to Rotterdam freight services
'Brexit Buster' sister ship begins sailings to mainland Europe

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Sun Sep 1st, 2019 at 08:26:26 PM EST

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 0)

Any ballpark estimate of the time difference between a direct to Dublin route from Rotterdam and the present two ferry + landbridge arrangement? One link offers 2.9 days sailing at 10nm/hr. I don't know what speed the ferries offer.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sun Sep 1st, 2019 at 09:57:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 1)

I believe, there are still operating aircraft in Great Britain.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Sep 1st, 2019 at 10:21:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 0)

Not American Boeing 737 MAX's, I hope!
Which brings up the question, "Will British Airways have to pay more for Airbus?"

by StillInTheWilderness on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 03:17:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

< wipes tears > (none / 0)

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 03:45:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 0)

"Will Ryan air transition to short-haul cargo carrier?"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 03:51:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 0)

In a no deal scenario the Blue skies agreement on landing rights also lapses. UK owned airlines like BA, Iberia and Aer Lingus may lose landing rights in EU airports leaving Ryanair as one of the few carriers connecting the EU/UK provide the UK don't retaliate by barring EU carriers. Depends on how bad things get post no-deal Brexit, I suppose.

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 04:11:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

archived (none / 0)

UK prepper desk, CH

Congratulations, Swissair!
EC Reg. 2407
--
How have IE, UK airline shareholders' proportional positions changed since 2017?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 04:29:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 0)

The level of contract analysis here should be moving with EU development and implementation of the ahhh four freedoms policies.

From nation-state to personal parties, "freedom of the individual".

atm, This strategy is clearest in modifications to directives separating interests of corporate persons (eg. air, finance, civil rights) from those of ahh govs (UK) estranged from the Union.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 04:47:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 0)

Over 100 London investment firms get EU licences for Brexit hubs - regulator

sset managers, trading platforms and investment firms in London have so far obtained licences to run new hubs in the European Union
[...]
Licences are granted by national regulators but the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ensures they don't offer sweeteners to UK-based firms that want a base to serve EU clients after Britain leaves the bloc, currently scheduled for Oct. 31.
[...]
ESMA, national regulators and Britain's [FCA] have already signed cooperation agreements in the event of a no-deal Brexit, he added.

archived
PART V, Financial Provisions

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Sep 5th, 2019 at 10:26:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (4.00 / 4)

Not so much as soon as the Airbus UK manufacturing footprint has gotten smaller ... 24k employees across 25 sites and important supply chain. It will take time to see effects. A cost calculation, sometimes just moving HQers helps. Substantial orders could help ... many aviation components are "Made In USA". Time will tell. 😒

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 04:08:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (4.00 / 2)

Sterling devaluation won't help...

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 04:13:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 0)

British Airways grounds nearly all flights as pilots strike, 9 Sep

The union accuses British Airways of making big profits at the expense of workers who made sacrifices during hard times. British Airways' parent company, IAG, made a net profit of 2.9 billion euros ($3.2 billion) last year.
Union leader Brian Strutton said pilots are determined to be heard.
"They've previously taken big pay cuts to help the company through hard times. Now BA is making billions of pounds of profit, its pilots have made a fair, reasonable and affordable claim for pay and benefits."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Sep 9th, 2019 at 06:51:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 0)

I think it will all depend on how great any delays at Dover turn out to be, and the relative costs. A lot of Irish freight is RO-RO (roll-on roll-off i.e. the truck travels with the load) rather than containers. This may have to change.

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Sun Sep 1st, 2019 at 10:30:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 1)

Since the UK has done nothing to prepare the ports of entry are going to be one gigantic mess.

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre

by ATinNM on Sun Sep 1st, 2019 at 10:37:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]

NOT TRUE! (none / 1)

Chris Grayling organised a traffic jam to demonstrate how Brexit would work!

His other great idea was not to conduct ant checks whatsoever and this subvert the whole process which is all a cunning EU plot in the first place...

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Sun Sep 1st, 2019 at 11:13:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: NOT TRUE! (none / 1)

Well, the important thing is to demonstrate just how confident the Brexiteers are that the EU will change their mind faced with British resoluteness.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sun Sep 1st, 2019 at 11:49:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: NOT TRUE! (none / 0)

...British resoluteness.

Rather like the People's Front of Judea's Crack Suicide Squad: We showed them!

by rifek on Wed Sep 4th, 2019 at 09:07:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: NOT TRUE! (none / 0)

I don't know about that.
The acronym needs a couple of vowels, more coke, possibly weed.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Sep 4th, 2019 at 09:26:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 1)

It would be possible to have Irish drivers take over the trucks in Ireland. Then there would be no need to pay truckers for the transit time at sea or to pay loading fees for cranes to move containers from truck to boat and then back again at Dublin.

BTW, does Ireland have adequate return cargo for these vessels? It would seem desirable to favor transport of goods to the EU over transport to England, especially where the transport to England is by English vessels. The exception would be if England paid more than the EU would pay.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sun Sep 1st, 2019 at 11:58:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 0)

Ireland runs large trade surpluses with most EU countries although much of Irish exports are services or high value/low volume items like pharmaceuticals which don't take up much container space. Our food exports are likely to require refrigeration and rapid distribution so there may be an imbalance in volumes and container types required for imports and exports. Not my specialist area!

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 03:43:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (4.00 / 4)

Technically, Ro-Ro doesnt mean the truck travels with the trailer. You can have Ro-Ro port tractors which extract the trailers from the ship. (disclaimer: I used to work for SISU Ro-Ro tractors).

"Dieu se rit des hommes qui se plaignent des conséquences alors qu'ils en chérissent les causes" Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet

by Melanchthon on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 12:28:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 0)

In Ireland the term is used to describe a kind of ship - a car/truck ferry where vehicles drive onto the ship rather than a container ship. Yes, port tractors can be employed instead - I don't know to what extent they are used in Ireland, but the vast majority of drivers - especially on the land-bridge across Wales/England - accompany their load and truck on the ferries.

As I said above, that may have to change with the much longer sailing times to Rotterdam. Some of the ships being put onto those longer routes are container ships.

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 01:34:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 0)

One complication may be if the load is carrying frozen or chilled food. I don't know whether container ships provide a power supply to keep the cooler running.

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 01:36:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (4.00 / 2)

Easier than solving the Irish backstop 😣
Refrigerated at -60 degr C

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 05:30:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (4.00 / 2)

Thanks for this! I'm learning more about international logistics than I thought I would ever have to!

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 08:02:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 0)

If tractors and drivers accompanied their vehicles the ship would have to have facilities for the drivers to eat, use the toilet, etc. And drivers would have to be paid for their time in some way. This could be different from the two ship passages on a land-bridge route.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 04:03:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (4.00 / 2)

I've been using the SeaRates site. From what I can tell travel time will about double which in a JIT world doesn't matter all that much as long as the increase is consistent. Don't know about travel costs.

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre

by ATinNM on Sun Sep 1st, 2019 at 10:32:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (4.00 / 3)

Ireland exports a lot of fresh and ready made food where travel time could be critical. I don't think Ireland is all that integrated into European JIT manufacturing processes. Costs would depend on how many competitors operate routes but there has to be some saving if Truck and driver don't accompany load. The new Cork Santander route has been a success, by all accounts, but it is actually a shorter sea route (1,000km) than Dublin Rotterdam (1,300km). Rosslare Le Havre, on the other hand, is only 750km.

Bloody England gets in the way. We need to chop off the lands end peninsula

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 12:40:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (4.00 / 4)

Goodness me, why go all the way to Le Havre? Unless your goods are travelling on to other maritime ports. If you're interested in just-in-time shipments to EU destinations, Brittany looks like an interesting option : Rosslare or Cork to Roscoff is quicker. Depends on final destination, and carrying capacity of the smaller ports. But I imagine there will be a lot of redeployment among the shipping companies, and they will come up with competitive offers.
Actually I can't imagine what cost advantage there could be in driving across the UK to get Irish goods to the Continent... ???

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue
- Queen Elizabeth II}

by eurogreen on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 02:24:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 1)

Cork Roscoff is 630Kn and Rosslare Roscoff is 540km. so offer a few hours saving on Le Havre. That said, last time I travelled the route (40 years ago!) the roads out of Rosscoff weren't great, especially for large container trucks.

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 03:22:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (4.00 / 2)

Snap! I did the same in 1980 (Roscoff to Cork) and the roads out of Cork didn't look wonderful for trucks either... Things have surely changed since then!

However, Roscoff can't compare in any way to Le Havre as a port.

Things are going to slide, slide in all directions
Won't be nothing
Nothing you can measure anymore
L. Cohen

by john_evans (john(dot)evans(dot)et(at)gmail(dot)com) on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 04:46:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (4.00 / 3)

I should add: there were trucks of fresh fish and shellfish going that route back then. West coast of Ireland - Cork - Roscoff - Parisian restaurants.

Things are going to slide, slide in all directions
Won't be nothing
Nothing you can measure anymore
L. Cohen

by john_evans (john(dot)evans(dot)et(at)gmail(dot)com) on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 04:49:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (4.00 / 2)

I did Cherbourg-Rosslare and Rosslare-Roscoff more recently (2003 I think) and the infrastructure was fine :)

Gigantism is fashionable for sea freight. I'm not sure it's optimal for the modern world. Particularly for high-value or perishable goods, lower-volume networked distribution systems rather than integrated and centralised supply chains must surely have their place.

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue
- Queen Elizabeth II}

by eurogreen on Tue Sep 3rd, 2019 at 09:15:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 1)

Define "fresh"

For fresh-fresh even 10 hours is too long. If Ireland does any of that they are already using air transportation.

Otherwise, "fresh" is picked green and then frozen or refrigerated until put on the shelf at the grocers.

I would think all meat and poultry would be frozen.

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre

by ATinNM on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 05:23:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 0)

Most meat and poultry sold in Ireland is not frozen and therefore suitable for home freezing. Air transport must add significantly to costs. I don't know to what extent it is used...

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 08:46:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 0)

I can't imagine exported meat is fresh.

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre

by ATinNM on Tue Sep 3rd, 2019 at 04:28:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (4.00 / 3)

Irish lamb meat can be found in French grocery stores. And no, it's not frozen (that would be New Zealand lamb), but it must have traveled in refrigerated containers/trucks for a couple of days.

by Bernard (bernard) on Tue Sep 3rd, 2019 at 08:32:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (4.00 / 2)

No problem with that, meat is left to "mature" several days in cold store before sale anyway. 2-3 days for a lamb carcass, 2 weeks (or more) for a beef carcass.

Things are going to slide, slide in all directions
Won't be nothing
Nothing you can measure anymore
L. Cohen

by john_evans (john(dot)evans(dot)et(at)gmail(dot)com) on Wed Sep 4th, 2019 at 06:15:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 0)

See how easy it is to lose one's mind?

One minute you're hacking off muscle from the rabbit you snared at 09:30 in your backyard for supper at 16:00. The next minute one's deliberating the "freshness" of refrigerated meat.

Who will think of the salt porkers? WHO?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Sep 4th, 2019 at 03:57:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Continent preparing for Brexit (none / 0)

Perhaps Cornwall and Devon will secede and petition to join with Ireland in the new Celtic United Commonwealth.

by rifek on Wed Sep 4th, 2019 at 09:16:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Britain preparing for Brexit (4.00 / 2)

Here is the UK government's website for checking on post-Brexit border crossing rules. It lists requirements for both EU and UK and other citizens, and a wide range of activities related to border control, work, residency, import/export, etc.

If you are a businessperson it is disconcerting to find many items marked "takes more than four weeks" or "takes up to six weeks." All other items are marked "Do it as soon as possible."

by asdf on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 01:34:19 AM EST

Re: Britain preparing for Brexit (none / 1)

Fortunately for Ireland this does not apply to shipments to and from EU ports.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Mon Sep 2nd, 2019 at 03:56:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Germany (4.00 / 5)

The German federal government had provided money to train an additional 900 customs officials. I suspect most of them will work at the German North Sea ports and German airports. Especially airports with a significant airfreight volume (Frankfurt, Leipzig).
Additionally plans were made so that in an emergency customs officials from "quieter" spots could be temporarily deployed to a crisis spot.

Pretty much every significant German federal ministry have their own Brexit websites and hotlines (telephone and email). Mostly dealing with questions under their overview but naturally with some overlap.
For example both foreign and interieur ministry dealing with questions of the rights of British citizens in Germany.

For businesses most of the preparations have been done by the Chambers of Commerce and Industry. There are 79 in Germany and regionally organized. Membership is mandatory for businesses except self-employed, craft businesses and agriculture. These three have their own organizations.

I saw the first signs back in autumn 2017 when national newspapers first reported about it.
The chambers started organizing information events, offered hotlines and offered meetings with experts. They all put questionnaires on their websites too. Based on your input it gave you a summary of possible problems and solutions, steps you should take and offered to put you in contact with experts.

One newspaper back then in 2017 reported that roughly 25% of German businesses had already started Brexit preparations, 50% wanted to start preparations before the end of 2017 and 25% had done nothing at all at that time.
(Based on a poll of members of the Chambers.)

I suspect the offers by the Chambers were mainly used by small and mid-sized businesses. Large multinational companies probably did everything in-house.

by Detlef (Detlef1961_at_yahoo_dot_de) on Wed Sep 4th, 2019 at 03:27:43 PM EST

Re: Germany (none / 0)

Standard, sensible stuff. These damned Germans are so sensible! Even the car industry has refused to panic, and they probably have a lot to panic about...

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Wed Sep 4th, 2019 at 03:46:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Germany (none / 0)

VW is the second (after GM) producer of vehicles in China by unit vol and val.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Sep 6th, 2019 at 12:17:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Continent preparing for uh oh (4.00 / 3)

French customs ["]struggles["] to cope with no-deal Brexit planning

On 26 August, the French Council of Ministers sacked Rodolphe Gintz after two years as customs chief. Meanwhile, the French customs office is facing up to the difficulties of preparing for a `no-deal' Brexit, which would mean the return of a hard border, EURACTIV France reports.

on-the-job training

During his two-year tenure, he managed to overcome the consequences of a corruption case against his office, which was led by the national intelligence and customs investigation department. He also had to deal with the consequences of an investigation conducted by the national prosecutor's office in a case involving a speedboat, which was bought by customs.

The Replacements: "8-hour shifts"

A strategic moment
The country's economic ministry admits that Brexit represents "a strategic moment for the customs administration." However, the department is also stating that the director general's departure is part of the regular rotation of posts across administrations. It is also assuring staff that continuity has been safeguarded given that the deputy director-general is keeping his job.This period is all the more sensitive as more employees are now being called upon. Between 15 September and 15 October, specific experiments will be carried out to try to understand how, in concrete terms, a 'no-deal' Brexit will pan out.
At this stage, 700 additional customs officers are planned to manage the border, with half of them to be deployed on the Channel's coastline. The other half will be placed in airports, as well as in train stations, where the Eurostar arrives from London.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Sep 5th, 2019 at 04:50:18 AM EST

Re: Continent preparing for uh oh (4.00 / 2)

I'm afraid that Euractiv is not seeing the forest for the trees here.

Gintz, a Hollande holdover, has not been fired over his management of the customs nor over Brexit preparedness either: the article does acknowledge "he managed to overcome the consequences of" various investigations related to fraud within the services.

As described in Les Echos, his firing is part of a larger spoil system "à la française", which Macron had made no mysteries he wanted to implement: over the past six months, several directors of major state administrations have been "rotated" alongside Gintz, such as the chief of Tracfin (investigating money laundering) or the fiscal administration last May.

As true blue neo-libs, the Macron regime is pushing hard to reduce the size of the government and reduce the numbers of civil servants, having been temporarily stopped by the yellow jackets protests last year. Les Echos do mention close to 5,800 positions to be eliminated at the ministry of finances (nickname: Bercy) alone.

Another fly in the ointment - besides the yellow jackets, that is - is Brexit: the government has been forced to add 700 customs agents to be deployed in French ports on the Channel, the EuroTunnel entrance and various train stations where the Eurostar trains operate. Even then, the customs agents will be strained, especially in case of no-deal where agents will have to work overtime. As Euractiv mentions, the government has agreed - reluctantly, you can be sure - to a monthly bonus.

by Bernard (bernard) on Sat Sep 7th, 2019 at 09:50:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]

DICTION CORNER (none / 0)

scare quotes

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Sep 7th, 2019 at 05:55:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: DICTION CORNER (none / 0)

Most of the time when I use quotes, it's just for that: quoting. Especially when I'm quoting a piece or comment verbatim (I also italicize sometimes, especially when it's Latin, or Italian).

by Bernard (bernard) on Sun Sep 8th, 2019 at 08:51:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: DICTION CORNER (none / 0)

proofreading, copyeditor, and editors marks

yes, there being no margins constructed for an automated HTML composition--therefore no standard notation for grammatical or semantic errors to emerge, lo, these many decades-- I have effected a "hack"* to communicate my amusement regarding the contexts of an error figuratively screaming for correction.

On the topic of bureaucratic struggles, annotating "wc" (or diction) in the text quoted (hyperlinked headline or blockquoted passage), using editorial brackets rather than carets to insert open and close quotation marks appeared to me appropriate. I presume that we agree.

Humor me, please.
--
* scare quoted jargon taken out of CS technical usage

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Sep 8th, 2019 at 07:35:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]

European Commision (none / 1)

h/t Oui:

We have just published our 6th #Brexit preparedness communication - this is our final call to all EU citizens and businesses to prepare for the UK's withdrawal on 31 October 2019.
More here → https://t.co/a3CPiTVoC9 #Prepare4Brexit pic.twitter.com/CWChQTAc5f
— European Commission 🇪🇺 (@EU_Commission) September 4, 2019

by Bernard (bernard) on Fri Sep 6th, 2019 at 07:25:45 AM EST

Continent preparing for Brexit | 82 comments (82 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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