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It’s reported that record numbers of migrant nurses and midwives from EU27 countries left Britain last year, exacerbating fears that a Brexit ‘brain drain’ will worsen the NHS’s already chronic staffing crisis.

According to the Nursing and Midwifery Council, a total of 3,962 such staff from the European Economic Area (EEA) left their register between 2017 and 2018.

Reported The Guardian today:

‘The number of departures was 28% more than the 3,081 who left in 2016-17 and three times higher than the 1,311 who did so in 2013-14, the first year the NMC began keeping data on such departures.

‘At the same time, the number of EU nurses and midwives coming to work in the UK has fallen to its lowest level. Just 805 of them joined the NMC register in 2017-18. That total is just 13% of the 6,382 who came over the year before.’

Janet Davies, the chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing said, “It feels that efforts to boost the number of nurses are being dragged down by a botched Brexit.”

She added that the government’s refusal to detail the rights that the 3 million EU citizens living in Britain will have once the UK leaves the EU in March next year is a key cause of the loss of EU staff.

“Nurses returning home, or giving Britain a miss entirely, are doing so because their rights are not clear enough.”

In interviews conducted by the NMC, Brexit was cited as the main reason why EU-trained staff are stopping working in the UK. Almost 3,5000 people who left the register between June and November 2017 were included in the survey.

In addition, mistreatment of the Windrush generation by the British authorities is “raising anxieties” among EU citizens hoping to settle in the UK after Brexit, a group of MEPs warned British officials in Brussels,

The delegation, led by the European Parliament’s Brexit co-ordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, met officials from the Home Office to summarise concerns they have about transition and post-Brexit arrangements for EU citizens who wish to live in the UK after Brexit.

The European Parliament has expressed concern for some time about the provisions on citizens’ rights set out in the Withdrawal Agreement between the EU and UK, in particular about the difficulties involved in applying for residence.

Commented Mr Verhofstadt, MEP:

“The treatment of the Windrush generation under UK immigration law has unfortunately created renewed anxiety among EU citizens in the UK and shows why we have to get this right.”

Brexit is causing distress; it’s making migrants settled here no longer feel welcome.

‘You’re talking about us as if we’re not in the room’, is how many EU and non-EU migrants have expressed their hurt and alarm at how some British people have displayed dislike for them during and following the EU referendum.

Too many EU migrants was cited as one of the main reasons people voted for Brexit.

The feeling of not being welcome in Britain was compounded by the speech of Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, at the Conservative Party’s first annual conference following the EU referendum.

She announced that foreign workers should not be able to “take the jobs that British people should do”.

After Brexit, she said, companies in Britain could be forced to publish the proportion of “international” staff on their books. It was a proposal that would effectively “name and shame” businesses which fail to hire British workers.

This Tory idea represented discrimination plain and simple – something that’s not allowed under EU rules or principles.

And even though the policy idea was quickly withdrawn (because of public outrage) it told us something about the true feelings of those in the Tory regime

Both the Home Secretary, and Prime Minister Theresa May, pledged during last year’s general election to reduce net migration to just tens of thousands. The message was clear: we don’t want EU migrants here.

None of this makes sense. Why make EU migrants feel so unwelcome here, when they give and do so much for our country?

After all, these EU migrants represent only 5% of our population – that’s small, and can hardly be described as ‘mass migration’.

And almost all of the EU migrants here are at work, spending most of their earnings here, paying taxes, and making a substantial net contribution to our Treasury.

They enrich our country economically and culturally.

Britain has a record number of people at work, and record numbers of job vacancies – currently around 800,000 vacancies (source ONS).

That’s far more than can be filled by British workers, so EU migrants here are vital.

They not only help on our farms and in our factories, and care for our elderly and infirm, but they also do highly skilled work too.

Such as scientists, doctors, dentists, nurses, lawyers, accountants, teachers, pilots, engineers, architects – skills this country urgently needs.

Since we have more vacancies than can be filled by the indigenous workforce, and since most EU migrants are gainfully employed here, it must show that the numbers already here are about right.

EU migration to Britain is already efficiently controlled by the jobs market, and businesses want to be free to choose the best people.

That isn’t always necessarily a British worker. If it was, why doesn’t Manchester United only choose British footballers?

In summary, EU migrants are a boon to this country, not a burden.

They are filling job vacancies that mostly Britons can’t or don’t want to do. They are making a significant contribution to the wealth of Britain.

They have become our work colleagues, friends and partners.

If all EU migrants here took the day off tomorrow, Britain would come to a standstill.

Maybe that’s what’s going to happen with this Conservative government’s nasty, xenophobic, Brexit policies.

It’s time to appreciate EU and all other migrants here. Let’s hug them, not hate them.

The evidence is all around us that Brexit promotes hate. Is that really the kind of country we want Britain to be?

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Donald TUSK, President of the European Council, travels to Tirana, Podgorica, Belgrade, Sarajevo and Skopje from Tuesday 24 to Friday 27 April 2018. The main purpose of the trip is to prepare for the EU-Western Balkans summit in Sofia on 17 May and to participate in the Brdo-Brijuni summit in Skopje.

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As the situation on the ground in Syria deteriorates, the second Brussels Conference on "Supporting the Future of Syria and the region" focuses on humanitarian support and bolstering the UN-led political peace process in Geneva. The conference takes place on 24 and 25 April 2018 and is co-hosted by the European Union and the United Nations.

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will take place on 25 April, 10:00-12:30 (in camera 9:00-10:00), 14:30-18:30 and on 26 April, 8:30-10:00 and 11:00-12:30 in Brussels.

Organisations or interest groups who wish to apply for access to the European Parliament will find the relevant information below.

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Senetic v EUIPO - HP Hewlett Packard Group (hp)
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Caisse régionale de crédit agricole mutuel Alpes Provence v ECB
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The General Court declares that the same person may not occupy at the same time the post of chairman of the board of directors and that of ‘effective director’ in credit institutions subject to prudential supervision

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A person who has in the past been tortured in his country of origin is eligible for ‘subsidiary protection’ if he faces a real risk of being intentionally deprived, in that country, of appropriate physical and psychological health care

Most Britons would now vote to remain in the European Union if there was another referendum held next week. That’s the result of a major UK-wide survey of more than 200,000 readers of local newspapers called The Big Brexit Survey.

The survey also revealed that a significant majority want the UK to stay in the EU Single Market, and that most people believe that Britain will be economically worse off outside the EU.

Almost 220,000 readers of newspapers belonging to publishing groups Trinity Mirror, Johnston Press, and Newsquest were surveyed in the study, which showed significant worries about the Brexit process across the country.

Just over half – 52 per cent of respondents – believe Britain would be economically better off inside the EU, with 56 per cent calling for a ‘soft Brexit’ inside the Single Market – including more than a fifth of Leave voters.

The survey also reported that Leave voters are twice as likely to have changed their mind since the 2016 EU referendum.

Local and regional newspapers across the country have been reporting the results of this major new poll:

‘Devon voters now want to Remain in Europe, major new survey reveals’

Reported Devon Live:

‘More than half of Devon now wants Britain to stay in the Single Market, according to a major new survey carried out by Devon Live – and 15 per cent of Leave voters would change their decision in a new referendum.

‘The latest Brexit survey shows 48% of Devon Live readers believe Britain will be better off economically inside Europe and 53% said Britain should continue to be part of the single European market.’

‘Majority of people in Wales think we would be better off inside the European Union, survey reveals’

Reported Wales Online:

‘Three-fifths of people in Wales think we would be better off economically in Europe – and a majority want to stick with the Single Market.

‘A new Brexit survey shows 59% of WalesOnline and Western Mail readers believe Britain will be better off economically inside Europe. As well as this, 62% said Britain should continue to be part of the single European market.’

‘Brexit: Over half the North East wants to keep the Single Market’

Reported ChronicleLive:

‘Almost two years since the region voted to Brexit, a new survey also reveals most people and aren’t happy with negotiations.

‘Half of people in the North East think we would be better off economically staying in the European Union – and a majority want to stick with the Single Market.’

‘Major survey finds Remain would win second Brexit referendum’

Reported The Scotsman:

‘Britain would vote by a narrow margin to remain in the EU if another referendum were held next week, according to a major UK-wide survey of more than 200,000 people.

‘The unprecedented survey, which included 17,000 responses in Scotland, shows that a significant majority want the UK to stay in the European Single Market and believe Britain will be economically worse off outside the EU.’

‘York Poll: Britain must stay in European market’

Reported The York Press:

‘A MAJORITY of York Press readers online want Britain to stay in the single European market after Brexit, according to a survey.

‘The study, run in partnership with Google Surveys, was completed by 1,600 people who visited the York Press website.

‘It showed that 56 per cent of readers believed Britain would be better off economically inside Europe, with 62 per cent saying Britain should continue to be part of the single European market.’

‘More leavers than Remainers in Cornwall have changed their mind and want the UK to stay in the EU, survey reveals’

Reported CornwallLive:

‘New figures have revealed that more than half of people in Cornwall think the UK would be better off economically in Europe – and a majority want to stick with the Single European Market.

‘The new Brexit survey shows 52% of Cornwall Live readers believe Britain will be better off economically inside Europe. As well as this, 54% said Britain should continue to be part of the Single Market.’

‘Almost two thirds of Scots believe we are better off in EU and want to stay in Single Market after Brexit’

Reported the Scottish Daily Record:

‘Most Scots believe the economy would be better off in the EU.

‘The result from a major Brexit survey also suggests a majority want to stay in the single market. The findings are in line with the EU referendum decision in Scotland and are higher than in the rest of the UK.’

‘One year to Brexit – this is what the people of Greater Manchester think’

Reported The Manchester Evening News:

‘Nearly three-fifths of people in Greater Manchester think we would be better off economically in Europe – and a majority want to stick with the single market, a new poll suggests.

‘Almost two years on from the EU Referendum a new Brexit survey suggests 57 per cent of Manchester Evening News readers believe Britain would be better off financially in Europe.

‘And more than six out of 10 (61pc) said Britain should continue to be part of the single European market.’

‘How Brexit opinions in Salisbury have changed two years on’

Reported the Salisbury Journal:

‘MORE than half of people in Salisbury think we would be better off economically in Europe – and a majority want to stick with the Single Market.

‘A new Brexit survey shows 56 per cent of Salisbury Journal readers believe Britain will be better off economically inside Europe. As well as this 59 per cent said Britain should continue to be part of the single European market.’

‘Brexit survey shows majority in Belfast think UK better off inside Europe’

Reported Belfast Live:

‘A new Brexit survey shows 65% of Belfast Live readers believe UK will be better off economically inside Europe. As well as this 66% said Britain should continue to be part of the single European market.

‘The figures show a split between those who voted Leave and those who voted Remain in the referendum. Among Leave voters, 11% think Britain is better off economically in Europe, while more than a quarter of these voters (28%) think we should continue to be part of the Single Market.’

—————————————————–

The tide is turning on Brexit. Steadily, and surely, more and more people across the country believe the Britain should remain in the EU, or at least, in the EU Single Market.

According to this major new survey, if there was another referendum next week, Remain would win.

No wonder Brexiters don’t want another vote.

They say that another vote would be ‘undemocratic’. But there is nothing undemocratic about asking people to vote again – more votes, mean more democracy, not less.

In a democracy, voters are allowed to change their minds. But it seems that some Brexiters do not want voters to be allowed to do that.

How democratic is that?

And if Prime Minister, Theresa May, is really interested to follow the ‘will of the people’ she should now take note that Brexit does not have majority support across the country.

Like a broken record, Mrs May keeps going on about the result of the referendum on 23 June 2016. But that was almost two years ago, and this is now.

Mrs May changed her mind once, going from supporting Remain to supporting Brexit. It’s time for Mrs May to listen to ‘the people’, and change her mind again.

________________________________________________________

• Follow my journalism page on Facebook: Jon Danzig writes
• Follow my Stop Brexit campaign on Facebook: Reasons2Remain

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One of Us and Others v Commission
Law governing the institutions
The General Court confirms the decision of the Commission not to submit a legislative proposal in the context of the European citizens’ initiative ‘One of Us’

Weekly schedule of President Donald Tusk 23-29 April 2018

Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the alignment of certain third countries with Council Decision (CFSP) 2018/459 of 19 March 2018 amending Decision 2011/173/CFSP concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The EU and the UN issued a financial tracking report ahead of the Brussels II conference on "Supporting the future of Syria and the region" that will be held on 24-25 April 2018.

On 20 April 2018, the Coreper endorsed an agreement between the Bulgarian presidency of the Council and European Parliament negotiators on a directive that will require EU member states to carry out a proportionality test before establishing new requirements for professions.

President Tusk will travel to Tirana, Podgorica, Belgrade, Sarajevo and Skopje from Tuesday 24 to Friday 27 April. The main purpose of the trip is to prepare for the EU-Western Balkans summit in Sofia on 17 May and to participate in the Brdo-Brijuni summit in Skopje.

Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the alignment of certain third countries with Council Implementing Decision 2018/421 of 19 March 2018 implementing Decision 2013/255/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Syria.