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The European Union accused the United Kingdom Wednesday of seeking to maintain a relationship with the bloc similar to that of an EU member after Brexit. The EU said they found this idea unacceptable.

"Britain is demanding a lot more from the EU than Canada, Japan or other partners," the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier told a forum in Brussels. "We cannot and we will not allow this cherry picking."

He also said that the UK "cannot have the best of both worlds" and stressed the point that "we will never compromise on our European values or on our economic and trade interests to the benefit of the British economy."

"In many areas it is looking to maintain the benefits of being a member state without the constraints," Barnier said. "It is looking to pick and choose the most attractive elements of the [EU]single market without the obligations."

UK pandemic recession will hit hard

Barnier also expressed bewilderment that the UK remained inflexible despite the predicted economic fallout from coronavirus pandemic.

The UK has seen the most deaths in Europe andone of the longest lockdowns and is expected to see its economy hit harder than most other European countries, according to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The forum comes ahead of high-level talks on Friday when the European Parliament will urge the UK to "urgently revise its negotiating position" after months of talks have yielded little consensus.

'No real progress' so far

The UK officially left the EU in January 2020 and is currently in a transition period due to expire at the end of the year. The EU is open to an extension of this period if trade deals cannot be agreed; UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly dismissed the idea of an extension.

Johnson is set to hold a video conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen later in the month to review talks.

Speaking last week, Barnier said he "regrets that, following four round of negotiations, no real progress has been achieved" and accused the UK of "not engaging in detailed on the level playing field."

Key sticking points in negotiations are fisheries and the issue of the land border the UK shares with the EU between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Barnier also said he hoped that the next round of talks could take place face-to-face as Europe re-opens borders closed owing to the coronavirus pandemic. This has yet to be confirmed.

ed/aw (AFP, Reuters)

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It's essentially a choice of a harder or softer Brexit. Harder prioritizes border control over trade. UK firms would pay tariffs to do business in the EU, and vice versa. The softest Brexit would see access to the single market, or at least a customs union, maintained. That would require concessions including the payment of a hefty "divorce bill" to which the UK has provisionally agreed.

Businesses have expressed concern about a "cliff edge" scenario, where Britain leaves the EU with no deal. Even if an agreement is reached at the EU bloc level, the worry is that it could be rejected at the last minute. Each of the 27 remaining countries must ratify the arrangements, and any might reject them. That could mean chaos for businesses and individuals.

If there is no agreement at all, a fully sovereign UK would be free to strike new trade deals and need not make concessions on the rights of EU citizens living in the UK or pay the financial settlement of outstanding liabilities. However, trade would be crippled. UK citizens in other parts of the EU would be at the mercy of host governments. There would also be a hard EU-UK border in Ireland.

The EU and the UK could reach a deal on Britain's exiting the bloc without an agreement on future relations. This scenario would still be a very hard Brexit, but would at least demonstrate a degree of mutual understanding. Trade agreements would be conducted, on an interim basis, on World Trade Organization rules.

Most trade tariffs on exported goods are lifted, except for "sensitive" food items like eggs and poultry. However, exporters would have to show their products are genuinely "made in Britain" so the UK does not become a "back door" for global goods to enter the EU. Services could be hit more. The City of London would lose access to the passporting system its lucrative financial business relies on.

Under the Swiss model, the UK would have single market access for goods and services while retaining most aspects of national sovereignty. Switzerland, unlike other members of the European Free Trade Area (EFTA), did not join the European Economic Area (EEA) and was not automatically obliged to adopt freedom of movement. Under a bilateral deal, it agreed to do so but is still dragging its feet.

As part of the European Economic Area, Norway has accepted freedom of movement something that no Brexit-supporting UK government would be likely to do. Norway still has to obey many EU rules and is obliged to make a financial contribution to the bloc while having no voting rights. Some see this as the worst of both worlds.

Turkey is the only major country to have a customs union with the EU, as part of a bilateral agreement. Under such an arrangement, the UK would not be allowed to negotiate trade deals outside the EU, instead having the bloc negotiate on its behalf. Many Brexiteers would be unwilling to accept this. It would, however, help minimize disruption at ports and, crucially, at the Irish border.

Author: Richard Connor

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Brexit: EU accuses UK of trying to maintain economic benefits amid coronavirus recession - DW (English)

EU Air Bridge to Sudan

The ambassadors of France, Sweden and the European Union welcomed the first flight of the European Humanitarian Air Bridge to support Sudan to tackle the impact of the COVID 19. The event was attended on the Sudanese side by a government delegation led by Undersecretary Mr Mohamed Elshabik of the Ministry of Labour and Social Development as well as colleagues from the Ministry of Health and Foreign Affairs.

The EU Humanitarian Air Bridge to Sudan consists of two flights and is the single largest operation of the European global Air Bridge initiative. The second flight, bringing in cargo and humanitarian aid workers is scheduled to arrive in Sudan on 24 June next.

At the event tonight, 10 June, a European Boeing 747 carrying some 90 tons of cargo touched down at Khartoum International Airport. The cargo contained medical equipment, vaccines, water purifiers, medical kits, medicine, and medical staff protective equipment.

All the equipment will be distributed and used by the international organizations of Mdecins Sans Frontires (MSF), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and International Medical Corps (IMC), in coordination and cooperation with the federal and local health authorities of Sudan.

Mr Mohamed Elshabik, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Labour and Social Development thanked on behalf of the government and people of the Sudan the European Union, Sweden and France for their generous support and commitment to helping Sudan to fight the COVID 19.

Ambassador Robert van den Dool, Head of Delegation of the European Union to Sudan, told the press the launching of the European Humanitarian Air Bridge to Sudan is a very tangible illustration of how the European Union is supporting Sudan on fighting COVID 19. This is one of the largest humanitarian cargo planes which has landed in Khartoum Airport since the beginning of the COVID 19 crisis. We have been supporting the Sudanese Government through a partnership with WHO on the COVID 19 response until now and we plan to further strengthen this partnership. We are proud to help organizations such as UNICEF, UNFPA, MSF and IMC to assist and accelerate their humanitarian work to save lives and ease the suffering of vulnerable people, especially those in the remote states and regions of Sudan.

Thanks to Sweden, France and the EUs Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid

Ambassador Van den Dool thanked wholeheartedly Sweden for taking the lead and working with EU humanitarian colleagues in the facilitation and coordination of this Humanitarian Air Bridge with the Sudanese authorities. He also commended France for all their efforts and support in making this important Air Bridge possible. Finally, he stated this unique Air Bridge would not have been possible without the support of the EUs Humanitarian Aid office in Khartoum.

Team Europe support

Being a part of the Team Europe approach, the EU Humanitarian Air Bridge operations are part of the EU's global response to the coronavirus pandemic. Team Europe's support to the whole African continent in the fight against COVID 19 amounts to 3.25 billion, reaffirming that the EU is the leading partner of African countries. This funding is helping countries strengthen their health systems, support their economies in these challenging times, train health staff and reinforce social support systems.

Khartoum, 10th June 2020.

Link:
European Humanitarian Air Bridge arrives in Sudan as part of the EU's Global Response to tackle COVID 19 [EN/AR] - Sudan - ReliefWeb

PARIS (AP) The world faces the worst global recession in nearly a century, a key economic body warned Wednesday, while in Europe, restrictions to fight the spread of coronavirus portend a bleak summer tourism season even as more nations announced plans to welcome visitors again.

Beginning June 16, Austria will open up to all European neighbors with the exception of Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Britain, meaning that visitors from 31 countries will no longer be required to undergo a two-week quarantine upon arrival. Greece, another European holiday hot spot, will allow tourists to fly to Athens or the main northern city of Thessaloniki beginning on June 15.

But thats hoping people have money to spend.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Wednesday that global economic output could fall by as much as 7.6% this year if a second wave of infections emerges, with the pandemics economic impact expected to be even harsher in Europe because of the continents strict and relatively lengthy coronavirus lockdowns.

In the eurozone, which includes the 19 European Union nations that use the common euro currency, GDP is expected to plunge 11.5% this year in case of a second wave and by over 9% even if another round of infections is avoided.

Now were in the midst of perhaps the most global health, economic and social crisis and its simply the most severe any of us have ever witnessed, OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria said during the presentation of the report in Paris. He named tourism and air travel among the critical sectors hard hit by the pandemic and urged countries to cooperate in developing and fairly distributing a vaccine for the virus.

As long as a virus is widespread somewhere, the threat will remain everywhere and economic costs will persist as some borders remain closed, Gurria said, with the report predicting that the crisis would leave long-lasting scars, including lower living standards, high unemployment and weak investment.

READ MORE: WHO chief warns virus is worsening globally

The virus has infected 7.2 million people worldwide and killed nearly 412,000, about 180,000 of them in Europe, according to official figures tallied by Johns Hopkins University. The true toll is believed to be much higher because many people died without being tested.

Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said the border with Italy to the south would be open without conditions on June 16 but that a travel warning for Austrian citizens was still in place for Italys northern region of Lombardy. That region, the epicenter of Italys epidemic, has still been showing triple-digit growth in daily infections while much of the rest of the country counts a handful or fewer.

While Italy opened its own borders on June 3, Austrias reluctance to open their shared border has been a sore spot between the two.

Austrian Health Minister Rudolf Anschober said restrictions would remain in place for Spain because its own borders remain closed until July 1 for most tourists and for Portugal due to an increase in infections in recent days.

Please pack your bags, but dont forget the situation at home, Anschober said, emphasizing that the virus remains in circulation. Please consider every trip, whether with the family and on business, and when possible dont travel.

Italys Coldiretti farm lobby said the Austrian border opening was critical to Italian tourism, which normally registers summer holiday visits by 3.4 million Austrians and 7 million Germans who cross Austria to reach Italy. Coldiretti called Austrias move an important signal. Foreign visitors spent 167 billion euros ($190 billion) last year in Italy, a third of it on food.

Contract workers from Frances all-important food, catering and events industry held a protest Wednesday between the Louvre Museum and Champs-Elysees, saying the virus pandemic is killing their jobs. The symbolic flash mob demonstration included about 30 people dressed in black, simulating strangulation with their ties and putting signs reading sentenced to death into a coffin.

To the south, Spains sunny, beautiful Balearic Islands will allow thousands of German tourists to fly in for a two-week trial that tests out how to balance the needs of Spains vital tourism industry with new regulations to curb the countrys coronavirus outbreak.

The trial that begins June 15 comes before the archipelago and the rest of the country re-open to international tourism on July 1. The Spanish government is under heavy pressure to re-activate an industry that generates 12% of Spains GDP and provides 2.6 million much-needed jobs.

Hungary said beginning Friday it would fully reopen its borders with Croatia, whose beaches on the Adriatic Coast are a favored destination.

Greece will allow international flights to land at regional airports beginning July 1. Visitors arriving from airports not on the European air safety agency list of at-risk regions will be subjected to random spot coronavirus tests but will not face the mandatory testing and quarantine now in place for all international travelers.

In some other countries, uncertainty about the tourist season remained.

Germany announced it is prolonging its travel warning for more than 160 countries outside Europe until the end of August even as it ends border controls for most EU citizens. Last week, Germany downgraded its travel warning for the rest of the 27-nation EU, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland and Britain.

Britain said Wednesday it was planning to re-open zoos, safari parks and drive-in theaters next Monday as it eases lockdown measures. But that is mostly for local tourists only, since this week the government slapped a 14-day quarantine requirement on all arrivals, a move that health experts say comes too late and tourism officials fear will be devastating to their industry.

Britain has nearly 41,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths, the highest death toll in Europe.

In Buglaria a rise in infections prompted the government to prolong its state of emergency to the end of June, while in Moscow, the mayor said it will take the Russian capital about two months to lift all of its coronavirus restrictions.

Barry reported from Soave, Italy and Gorondi reported from Budapest, Hungary. Other AP journalists contributed across the continent.

More here:
Europe reopens borders amid worst global recession in memory - PBS NewsHour

BRUSSELS - The European Union's top diplomat said Tuesday that since the United States has already withdrawn from an international agreement curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions, it can't now use its former membership of the pact to try to impose a permanent arms embargo on the Islamic Republic.

The accord, which Iran signed with the U.S., Britain, Germany, France, China and Russia in 2015, has been unraveling since President Donald Trump pulled Washington out in 2018 and reinstated sanctions designed to cripple Tehran under what the U.S. called a "maximum pressure" campaign.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft have said that extending a permanent U.N. backed arms embargo against Iran is now a top priority for Washington.

But speaking to reporters Tuesday after talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell insisted that since the U.S. has pulled out of the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, it can no longer claim to have a role in it.

"The United States has withdrawn from the JCPOA, and now they cannot claim that they are still part of the JCPOA in order to deal with this issue from the JCPOA agreement. They withdraw. It's clear. They withdraw," Borrell said.

On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the Trump administration of unleashing a politically motivated campaign against Iran and he called for "universal condemnation" of the U.S. attempt to get the U.N. Security Council to impose a permanent arms embargo.

The EU sees the nuclear deal as a key pillar of regional and world security and has struggled to keep the pact alive despite U.S. pressure. Borrell is tasked with supervising the way the pact is applied and to help resolve disputes between the parties.

Read more:
EU Rejects Any US Attempt to Invoke Iran Nuclear Deal - VOA News

Financing from European Union funds to support disabled children and their families will be distributed among 17 associations or foundations in the second project selection process, as reported by the Central Financing and Contracting Agency (CFLA).

After the initial project selection process, the previously approved rehabilitation centre Poga and 16 other projects have been approved under conditions. If project authors fulfil conditions, eight projects will be implemented in Riga, three in Pieriga, four in Kurzeme and two in Vidzeme. 15 submitted projects were not approved over reasons of insufficient funding or quality criteria.

Project implementers associations or foundations will have access to funding of EUR 206 750 to organize support activities for disabled children and their families. This includes social rehabilitation, daycare services and moments of respite or short-term social care services. Funding as part of the project is also intended to procure equipment and train specialists.

Project proposals were submitted to CFLA between 30 December 2019 and 2 April 2020. Information about approved projects will be published on CFLA website once projects have been approved.

32 projects for a total amount of EUR 5 279 352.31 were received in the second stage of the selection process. This amount includes EUR 4 487 551.87 from European Social Fund and EUR 791 800.44 from the state budget. The available funding is EUR 3 114 303.50, which includes EUR 2 647 157.97 from the EU and EUR 467 145.53 from the state budget, which means the requested funding amount exceeds the amount that is readily available. 85% of projects costs will be covered by the European Social Fund and 15% will be covered by Latvias state budget.

14 projects are implemented in the first stage, providing assistance to disabled children and their families.

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EU finances to be used to finance projects to assist disabled children - bnn-news.com