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The U.K. acknowledged for the first time on paper that it will have to pay money to the European Union as it withdraws from the bloc, seeking to damp down a row over the countrys so-called Brexit bill.

The government has been clear that we will work with the EU to determine a fair settlement of the U.K.s rights and obligations as a departing member state, Brexit Minister Joyce Anelay, a member of the House of Lords, said Thursday in a written statement to Parliament that referred explicitly to the financial settlement with the EU. The government recognizes that the U.K. has obligations to the EU, and the EU obligations to the U.K., that will survive the U.K.s withdrawal and that these need to be resolved.

Britains so-called exit bill has shaped up to be one of the thorniest issues in the Brexit negotiations, with media speculation putting the fee as high as 100 billion euros ($114 billion). Prime Minister Theresa May needs to come to an accommodation with her EU counterparts on the payment, because its one of three areas, alongside citizens rights and the border with Ireland that the EU is demanding sufficient progress on before the discussions can move onto Britains future relationship with the bloc.

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Anelays statement contrasts with the more bellicose tone employed by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson just two days ago. Answering questions in Parliament, he agreed with euro-skeptic Tory lawmaker Philip Hollobone who suggested the foreign secretary should make it clear to the EU that if it wants a penny piece more from Britain as part of the Brexit settlement, it can go whistle. Johnson responded that the sums that I have seen that they propose to demand from this country seem to me to be extortionate, and I think that to go whistle is an entirely appropriate expression.

Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said on April 29 that the sum would be between 40 billion euros and 60 billion euros. While press stories have put the sum even higher than that, EU negotiator Michel Barnier hasnt publicly endorsed a number.

While the language of the statement is dry, its the first time Britain has acknowledged in writing the need to pay a financial settlement. When May wrote to European Council President Donald Tusk in March to officially trigger two years of Brexit discussions, she referred to it obliquely, saying we will need to discuss how we determine a fair settlement of the U.K.s rights and obligations as a departing member state.

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UK Accepts It Must Pay Brexit Bill on Departing European Union - Bloomberg

The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, and the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, represented the European Union. Ukraine was represented by its President, Petro Poroshenko. From the European Commission, Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, and Commissioners Johannes Hahn and Cecilia Malmstrm also attended.

Speaking at the joint press conference, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker said: "More steps have been taken in the last three years than in the previous twenty; Ukraine should be proud of what it has achieved".

The EU and Ukraine: stronger together

Since the last EU Ukraine Summit, which took place in Brussels in November 2016, a significant amount of progress has been made, bringing positive change to the lives of Ukrainian and EU citizens.

The ratification of the Association Agreement, including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (AA/ DCFTA), two days ago, will mean its full entry into force on 1 September 2017. The Association Agreement provides the blueprint for Ukraine's ambitious reform path and fosters trade and investment between the European Union and Ukraine. After more than one year of provisional application of the DCFTA, trade has grown by 10%, cementing the EU as Ukraine's first trading partner. In addition, leaders welcomed the political agreement to grant autonomous trade measures for Ukraine, which would further boost bilateral trade through the elimination of additional tariffs and customs duties on agricultural and industrial products.

The Summit in Kyiv took place exactly one month and two days after the historic celebrations of visa free travel for Ukrainian citizens with a biometric passport to the Schengen area. With visa free travel now in place, and Ukraine committed to continuing to implement all the benchmarks of its visa liberalisation action plan, European and Ukrainian citizens will have the opportunity for increased interactions and contacts, bringing our populations closer than ever before. In the first month, over 95,000 Ukrainian citizens visited the Schengen area under the new conditions.

The leaders assessed the state of play in Ukraine's implementation of its ambitious reform efforts. The Ukrainian authorities have undertaken intense and unprecedented reforms in many areas, including:

This has been achieved despite severe security challenges caused by the ongoing conflict in the east of Ukraine. At the Summit, EU leaders stressed the importance of continuing such efforts and strengthening the implementation of reforms in crucial areas such as anti-corruption. Fresh impetus to strengthening the functioning and independence of anticorruption institutions, such as the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, the removal of the extension of e-declaration of assets to activists of anti-corruption NGOs, setting up a high anti-corruption court and ensuring transparency of the selection of judges to the Supreme Court, are vital in this respect. In this context, the Summit provided the EU and Ukraine to identify further reform priorities for the coming months and years. President Poroshenko outlined the Strategy 2020 and the Government's Action Plan 2017-2020. Both sides agreed on the importance of continuing to accelerate reforms and their sustained implementation.

The European Union is dedicating unprecedented support to Ukraine, which is linked to Ukraine's continued reform efforts. At the Summit, the European Union announced the preparation of 200 million of priority programmes for 2017 to support conflict-affected areas in the east of Ukraine; energy efficiency programmes, including contributions to the Energy Efficiency Fund established by Ukraine; public finance management; support to key reforms; and the implementation of the AA/DCFTA via a technical cooperation facility. The EU's newly-established External Investment Plan provides additional new funding opportunities for Ukraine.

Following the disbursement in April of the second tranche of EU macro-financial assistance, worth 600 million, EU leaders stressed the need for the Ukrainian authorities to accelerate implementation of all outstanding structural reform measures linked to the macro-financial assistance that includes all relevant anti-corruption commitments, the adoption of legislation in the energy and financial sectors, the repeal of the wood export ban, to bring an end to increased export duties on scrap metal, and social assistance and services to internally displaced people (IDPs).

The European Union reiterated its continued and unwavering support to Ukraine's unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. The European Union condemns and does not recognise the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation. Leaders reiterated the full implementation of the Minsk Agreements as the basis for a sustainable and peaceful settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. They also discussed the continuing deterioration of human rights situation in non-government-controlled areas of the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as the violation of the rights of persons who do not recognise the illegal annexation, Crimean Tatars, as well as Ukrainians and persons belonging to other ethnic and religious groups.

For more information:

19th EU-Ukraine Summit website

EU-Ukraine relations factsheet

Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine website

European Commission Support Group for Ukraine website

EU-Ukraine trade relations

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EU Ukraine Summit: Ukrainian reforms combined with European Union support delivering positive results - EU News

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In an undiplomatic outburst the controversial leader said he would find it comforting if Brussels simply cancelled the accession process and boasted that his country did not need the EU to prosper.

The firebrand president has upped his attacks on eurocrats in recent months, safe in the knowledge that they can not hit back for fear of him axing a critical deal preventing migration into Greece.

Last summer Ankara agreed to begin taking back all economic migrants crossing the Aegean into Europe in return for billions of pounds in aid cash and a commitment to re-energise talks on its EU membership.

But since then there has been a failed coup, with president Erdogan brutally cracking down on the police, judiciary, army and the media who he accuses of trying to create a parallel state for exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen.

The EU has been alarmed by his increasingly despotic actions, and has said that a threat to reintroduce the death penalty would be the final straw for the accession talks, but eurocrats have been powerless to act.

That is because the bloc is hugely dependent on the migration deal with Turkey, which has cut arrivals in Greece by 98 per cent, at a time when Italy is under unprecedented pressure due to migration from Libya.

And speaking today president Erdogan showed little sign of worry that his harsh words about Brussels would land him in trouble, taking the opportunity to launch a scathing broadside at the project.

He told the BBC: If the EU, bluntly says, we will not be able to accept Turkey into the EU' this will be comforting for us. The European Union is not indispensable for us. We are relaxed."

In a monumental snub to the bloc he said the majority of Turks do not want the EU anymore and said his country was able to stand on its own two feet without Brussels.

He blasted eurocrats for being insincere in their approach to Ankara, but said he would not suspend accession talks himself, adding: "Despite all this we will continue being sincere with the EU for a little more time.

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Riot police use rubber pellets to disperse LGBT rights activists as they try to gather for a pride parade in central Istanbul

Last week MEPs sitting in the European Parliament voted to formally suspend membership talks with Turkey, although their decision is not binding on the member states.

In a resolution they called on EU leaders to formally suspend the accession negotiations with Turkey without delay if the constitutional reform package is implemented unchanged.

President Erdogan held a referendum earlier this year, which he won, abolishing the office of prime minister and granting him sweeping new dictator style powers.

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'Wasting our time!' Turkish leader Erdogan says people don't want to join the EU anymore - Express.co.uk

HomeLiberiaEuropean Union injects $11 million into Liberia budget

July 13, 2017 Cholo Brooks Liberia

The Government of Liberia has received a grant of $11.2 million from the European Union (EU). The EU disbursed the money directly into the treasury account of the Government to support the budget of the Republic of Liberia.

This is the third payment under the EUs budget support programme after a first payment of $33 million in 2015 and $18 million in 2016.

Disbursement of the third payment comes after the Government of Liberia made satisfactory progress in improving public financial management and toward specific targets relating to security and rule of law in line with the Agenda for Transformation, Liberias medium-term development strategy.

Ambassador Tiina Intelmann, Head of the European Union Delegation to Liberia, said:

The EU gives this 10 million euro expecting that the Government will use it to provide Liberians with the vital public services they deserve and it has committed to provide: health, education, security and rule of law. I encourage the Government to continue improving the management of public finances and fight against corruption. In particular, I applaud the operationalisation of four pilot county treasuries, the establishment of a Civilian Complaints Board for the police and immigration services and improved access to justice through magistrates courts and county courts for cases related to sexual and gender based violence. I encourage Government and the Judiciary to continue their efforts to better plan procurement for entities in the security and rule of law sector and to ensure that spending takes place as planned.

The European Union withheld EUR 2 million due to the Government of Liberias failure or partial failure to meet indicators related to the timely publication of procurement plans for the Ministry of Justice and the Judiciary and spending less money than planned through entities in the security and rule of law sector.

Source: News Now/ Africa Business Communities/ http://www.europa.eu

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comments

Joel Cholo Brooks is a Liberian journalist who previously worked for several international news outlets including the BBC African Service. He is the CEO of the Global News Network which publishes two local weeklies, The Star and The GNN-Liberia Newspapers. He is a member of the Press Union Of Liberia (PUL), including several other international organizations of journalists.

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European Union injects $11 million into Liberia budget - Global News Network

One year after becoming U.K. prime minister, Theresa May is braced for political trench warfare over Brexit as she finally unveils the landmark law that will take Britain out of the European Union.

Opposition politicians are plotting to unite with rebels in Mays Conservative Party to re-write the key piece of legislation that will prepare the U.K.s law book for leaving the EU -- before she has even published it. That could end up softening the ultimate Brexit.

Photographer: Andy Rain/Pool via Bloomberg

Without an automatic majority in Parliament, Mays minority Tory government is likely to need votes from other parties to pass the so-called Repeal Bill.

Her team is preparing for months of attritional battles aheadand will seek to make allies with political rivals, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named discussing internal plans.

Those who try to derail this bill are increasing the risk of what they would call hard Brexit, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said in a Bloomberg TV interview on Thursday. We are going to leave the European Union and if we are unable to put the laws in place that provide that stability, we will still leave, we simply will not have the legal framework that we want.

A year to the day since she succeeded David Cameron, May and her vision of a clean break with the EU are under attack on two fronts -- her critics in London who are emboldened by her failure to win a majority in last months election and want a softer departure -- and the EUs negotiators who are taking a firm line as talks unfold.

Time is also short.The prime minister wants to open talks on a new free-trade deal between the U.K. and the EU so that the future trading relationship is settled by the deadline for talks concluding of March 29, 2019.

Yet trade discussions will not begin until the EU judges that the U.K. has made enough progress toward settling the long-term fate of 3.2 million Europeans living in Britain, the payment of a financial settlement to the bloc and the future for the Irish border. Progress so far has been limited in all three areas.

On Thursday, Mays administrationwill set out the legal mechanism for adjusting British law after Brexit.

The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, to give the Repeal Bill its formal title, willend the jurisdiction of EU law in the U.K. It will also convert existing European statutes into the British law book when the U.K. leaves the bloc, a move intended provide continuity for businesses and to avoid a legislative black hole appearing overnight as Britain exits the EU.

In an interview with The Guardian newspaper on Thursday, Labours Brexit spokesman, Keir Starmer, said he was putting the government on notice that the official opposition party would not support the Repeal Bill in its current form.

Former U.K. Business Secretary Vince Cable discusses the outlook for Brexit talks with Bloombergs Mark Barton.

(Source: Bloomberg)

It would take only seven lawmakers from Mays Tory party to rebel in order to potentially defeat the government in any vote in the House of Commons.

Starmer demanded changes to the bill in six areas, including the extent of the executive powers the draft law gives Mays ministers to alter legislation without full scrutiny from Parliament. A senior figure in Mays team said this battle would be the most difficult for the government to win.

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David Davis, the Tory Brexit Secretary, appealed for support from other parties to pass the laws. By working together, in the national interest, we can ensure we have a fully functioning legal system on the day we leave the European Union, Davis said in an email on Thursday. The eyes of the country are on us, and I will work with anyone to achieve this goal and shape a new future for our country.

While the Repeal Bill itself is likely to pass eventually, long-running clashes over follow-up legislation could bring the whole business of government to a standstill, the person said.

The government needs to understand that Parliament is going to be an active participant in this process, Hilary Benn, a Labour lawmaker and chairman of the House of Commons Brexit Committee, told BBC Radio. We absolutely have to get it right.

Read more: Brexits Repeal Bill, No Longer Great But Vital

In Brussels, EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnierdismissed comments from Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson that the EU could go whistle for its money if it thought Britain would pay sums said to be as high as 100 billion euros ($114 billion) as an exit fee. I am not hearing any whistling, just a clock ticking, Barnier said.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will meet Barnier in Brussels for detailed talks Thursday.

Labour respects the referendum result and the decision to leave the European Union, Corbyn said in an emailed statement before the meeting. But a Labour Brexit would look very different to the race-to-the-bottom tax haven backed by this Conservative Government.

The difficulties ahead are not just limited to political maneuvers as the talks progress.Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, warned that the practicalities of government departments working together risk the U.K. approach fragmenting.

To make his point, he used the image of a popular candy bar that breaks into segments when tapped.

It needs to act as far as possible in a unified way and we have an issue there because of departmental government, Morse said, according to a report by the Press Association newswire. What we dont want to find is that at the first tap, this falls apart like a chocolate orange. It needs to be coming through as uniform, a little bit more like a cricket ball.

The government will also publish three position papers Thursday, covering nuclear materials and safeguards issues, ongoing union judicial and administrative proceedings, and privileges and immunities.

The papers will be presented to the EU for discussion when formal Brexit negotiations resume in Brussels next week.

Read more:
May Faces Battle Over Brexit Laws as Clock Ticks on EU Talks - Bloomberg