Mediaboss Marketing

The EU wants an agreement on how the exit bill will be calculated before talks on the UKs future relationship with the Brussels bloc can move on.

But Brexit Secretary David Davis said it is likely the divorce settlement - to be paid in euros - will still not be agreed by October or November this year.

And he suggested the EU has had a difficult time in the negotiation over the deal, although insisted talks were going well.

Mr Davis said: "We're going to talk it through very, very carefully, so at this stage we're not going to commit.

GETTY

GETTY

There won't be a number by October or November, whenever it is.

The Brexit Secretary added any transition period should be concluded by the date of the next British national election, due by May 2022.

However he added it was likely to last for about two years.

Mr Davis said: It's got to be done by the election. I would say the most likely is something like two years, maybe a bit shorter.

We're going to talk it through very, very carefully, so at this stage we're not going to commit [to a brexit bill deadline]

Brexit secretary David Davis

However Brussels chief negotiator Michel Barnier insisted talks on future relations between the European Union and Britain, including a free trade agreement, cannot begin until it has been decided that sufficient progress has been made on separation issues such as the exit bill.

EU leaders are due to make that assessment at a summit in October and Mr Davis said Britain would meet any real international obligations.

However Mr Davis failed to give a definitive answer about whether the European Court of Justice be the arbiter during for an interim customs deal but said Britain would next week set out its proposals on post-Brexit international arbitration.

Todays comments come after Mr Davis also refused to rule out making payments to Brussels for temporary customs arrangements after leaving the EU.

EPA

1 of 11

David Davis and Michel Barnier give a press conference at the end of a meeting at EU Commission in Brussels

In a series of broadcast interviews, Mr Davis suggested the temporary arrangements could allow Britain to negotiate trade deals with other countries for when it leaves, as current rules bar members of the EU customs union from making their own deals outside the bloc.

Pressed on whether the UK would have to pay, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I am not going to do the negotiation on air.

What we are not going to do, let's be clear, we are not going to continue the 10billion a year net contributions we currently have."

PA

Asked if money could be a part of the negotiations, he said: "I didn't say that. Wait and see."

Mr Davis also told ITV's Good Morning Britain: "We sell them, the Europeans, about 230 billion euros of goods and services a year.

"They sell us 290 billion euros. So there are a lot of things there."

Continue reading here:
'No Brexit bill!' David Davis refuses to bow down to EU deadline on divorce settlement - Express.co.uk

All poultry eggs in Hong Kong imported from European Union countries are to be held for inspection, the citys food watchdog announced on Monday evening.

Effective immediately, the decision by the Centre for Food Safety is the latest precaution taken locally since eggs from Dutch farms were found earlier this month to contain unsafe levels of an insecticide. The scandal spread as tainted eggs were found in 15 EU states and Switzerland as well as Hong Kong.

A centre spokesman said it had been closely monitoring the matter. Last week, eggs imported to the city from the Netherlands were found to exceed the local legal limit for Fipronil, a highly toxic pest control chemical banned from the production of food.

The centre will hold poultry eggs from EU countries for testing as soon as they are imported, and they will only be released to the market for sale if test results prove satisfactory, the spokesman said.

Inspection had already been tightened for poultry eggs imported from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France. The spokesman called the latest move prudent.

Other than the unsatisfactory Dutch eggs it identified and announced earlier, the centre has not found any additional bad samples.

All the recalled Dutch eggs in the city were to be sent to landfill for disposal under the supervision of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.

Poultry eggs from the EU account for less than two per cent of all poultry eggs imported to the city.

Link:
All European Union eggs to be inspected, Hong Kong food ... - South China Morning Post

Britain on Tuesday gave its most detailed indication yet of how its future trade with the European Union might work after Brexit, laying out proposals to replace membership in the bloc's customs union with new mechanisms designed to allow "frictionless" trade to continue.

The plans were dismissed as "a fantasy" by one senior EU official. And anti-Brexit campaigners in Britain said they would merely replace EU regulations with new ones that could be even more onerous.

The Department for Exiting the European Union said there could be "a temporary customs union between the U.K. and the EU" to avoid border chaos when Britain officially leaves the bloc in March 2019.

Brexit Secretary David Davis said the transition period could last about two years.

In the long term, the department said, a "customs partnership" could eliminate the need for a border for goods traveling between Britain and the EU. The partnership would see Britain impose the exact same requirements as the EU on goods from outside the bloc destined for member states.

Alternately, it suggested "a highly streamlined customs arrangement" could be set up, using technology to ease border procedures.

The proposals drew a cool response from Brussels.

"To be in & out of the Customs Union & 'invisible borders' is a fantasy," tweeted Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's Brexit coordinator.

Some British businesses have accused the government of being vague about whether there will be economic barriers with the EU after Brexit. The persistent uncertainty 14 months after Britain voted to leave the EU is weighing on the economy.

Trade Secretary Liam Fox and Treasury chief Philip Hammond wrote in the Sunday Telegraph that in 2019 Britain will leave both the EU's single market in goods and services and its customs union.

The single market ensures tariff-less trade in goods and services and is linked closely by the EU with other rights, such as the right of EU citizens to cross borders. The customs union allows goods to move within the EU without checks, but also imposes tariffs on imports from outside the EU. That would prevent Britain striking new free trade deals while it remains inside the arrangement.

The British proposal says the U.K. should be free to negotiate new trade relationships during the transition period, something EU officials are likely to find problematic.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who favors Britain's staying in the single market and customs union, accused the government on Twitter of having a "daft 'have cake and eat it' approach" to Brexit.

Pro-EU Labour lawmaker Chuka Umunna said the proposals "are offering a red tape bombshell for British business."

The customs proposals are the first in a series of papers covering thorny issues in the negotiations, which are due to resume in Brussels at the end of this month. Another, on the status of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, is due to be published this week.

The European Commission said it took note of Britain's suggestions, "but we will only address them once we have made sufficient progress on the terms of the orderly withdrawal" from the bloc.

The EU says negotiations on its future relations with Britain can't start until sufficient progress has been made on three initial issues: how much money the U.K. will have to pay to settle its outstanding commitments to the bloc; whether security checks and customs duties will be instituted on the Irish border; and the status of 3 million EU nationals living in Britain.

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, tweeted that the quicker the two sides "agree on citizens, settling accounts and Ireland, the quicker we can discuss customs & future relationship."

View post:
UK says it may seek 'temporary' customs union with EU - ABC News

Charleston, S.C.Aug. 15. 2017Sharkbanz, the affordable, wearable shark deterrent, is now available to consumers in the European Union (EU). Sharkbanz, which makes the Sharkbanz 2 and the Shark Leash, is now shipped and sold via Amazon to all 26 countries that are part of the EU. Out of those countries, 23 have 41-thousand miles of coastline frequented by beachgoers who can now rest assured, through Sharkbanz, that their risk of a negative encounter with a shark is greatly reduced.

"We are thrilled to make protection from sharks affordable and accessible to ocean lovers located overseas" says Nathan Garrison, Co-Founder of Sharkbanz. "Since shipping our first Sharkbanz in January 2015 we've been focusing on what's next, and this expansion falls directly in line with our goal of keeping people safe from sharks worldwide"

Groundbreaking Magnetic Shark Repellent Technology Sharkbanz has enlisted the services of renowned shark experts, chemist Dr. Eric Stroud and marine biologist Dr. Patrick Rice. The two scientists founded Shark Defense almost 15 years ago and made some of the most revolutionary discoveries in shark repellent technology. Most shark attacks occur in murky, shallow waters off the coast where there are a high number of swimmers and sharks sharing the same space. In this environment, sharks rely heavily on their electro-receptors instead of their eyes to "see" what's around them. They possess the most powerful electroreception of all known animals and use it to judge distance, shape, and even the heart rate of other animals near them.

Sharkbanz's patented magnetic technology creates an electromagnetic field that interferes with a shark's electrical sensors. This interference reduces the risk of attack by causing inquisitive sharks to flee. This unpleasant experience for the shark is similar to that of a person having a bright light flashed in his or her eyes in a very dark room. It's important to note that Sharkbanz technology does not harm the shark or other nearby marine life. Sharkbanz magnetic technology will reduce risk of shark interactions, but there is no 100% guarantee that interactions will not take place.

Sharkbanz technology is aimed at repelling hit-and-run shark attacks, the most common type of incident occurring when a curious shark strikes at a human in order to determine if they are prey. This technology has been tested extensively on more than ten of the most common predatory shark species, such as Bull and Blacktip, responsible for the majority of hit-and-run attacks. Sharkbanz is the first wearable deterrent captured on video successfully preventing a Bull Shark encounter.

To see Sharkbanz technology in action and to visit the Sharkbanz EU site or place an order, visit http://www.sharkbanz-de.com/.

About Sharkbanz Based in Charleston, SC, Sharkbanz use patented magnetic technology to interfere with sharks' sensitive electroreceptors. Created by surfers and divers and tested by marine biologists on predatory shark species, Sharkbanz magnetic technology does not harm sharks or other sea creatures, uses no batteries, requires no charging and is designed to endure the most rigorous water sports. Learn more about Sharkbanz technology, products and shark conservancy efforts by visiting http://www.sharkbanz.com.

See the article here:
Sharkbanz Shark Deterrent Now Available in the European Union - Surfer Magazine (blog)

Wall Street Journal (subscription)

UK Government Open to Temporary Customs Union With EU After Brexit Wall Street Journal (subscription) LONDONThe U.K. government on Tuesday will formally signal it is open to creating a temporary customs union with the European Union after Brexit as it prepares for fresh talks on its separation from the bloc later this month. In a statement, the U.K ...

See the original post:
UK Government Open to Temporary Customs Union With EU After Brexit - Wall Street Journal (subscription)