European Union

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The EU and Chile signed an ambitious Association Agreement on 18 November 2002. In the framework of the Association Agreement several Association Councils, Association Committees and EU-Chile Summits took place since 2003, as well as several political dialogue meetings.

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Plenary sessions : From trade to Nato, the EU and Turkey have enjoyed a productive relationship in many domains for decades. However, recently relations have turned frosty as concerns mount over the state of democracy in the country with media outlets being closed and journalists being jailed. MEPs also keep a close eye on developments and wonder if it may not be time to rethink how the EU cooperates with Turkey. Read on for an overview of the options.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : From trade to Nato, the EU and Turkey have enjoyed a productive relationship in many domains for decades. However, recently relations have turned frosty as concerns mount over the state of democracy in the country with media outlets being closed and journalists being jailed. MEPs also keep a close eye on developments and wonder if it may not be time to rethink how the EU cooperates with Turkey. Read on for an overview of the options.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

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Viktor Orban has declared 2017 to be “the year of revolution”, predicting the “defining dynamic” will be his confrontation with Brussels. The firebrand Hungarian premier, described by one former US ambassador as a “bare-knuckled street brawler,” came to the European Parliament on Wednesday to do battle with his many detractors.

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Plenary sessions : Venezuela’s government must ensure the full restoration of the democratic order and immediately release all political prisoners, urged Parliament on Thursday.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : Venezuela’s government must ensure the full restoration of the democratic order and immediately release all political prisoners, urged Parliament on Thursday.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : The appointment of European Parliament Vice-President Ildikó Gáll-Pelcz as a member of the European Court of Auditors (ECA) was endorsed in plenary on Thursday by 326 votes to 126, with 193 abstentions.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : The appointment of European Parliament Vice-President Ildikó Gáll-Pelcz as a member of the European Court of Auditors (ECA) was endorsed in plenary on Thursday by 326 votes to 126, with 193 abstentions.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : Young fishermen and fish farmers in the EU’s outermost regions (ORs) need financial help and incentives, including money for new boats, said Parliament on Thursday.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : Young fishermen and fish farmers in the EU’s outermost regions (ORs) need financial help and incentives, including money for new boats, said Parliament on Thursday.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : The Commission managed the 2015 EU budget funds according to the rules, so MEPs granted it a “discharge” approval for that year, in a resolution voted on Thursday.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : The Commission managed the 2015 EU budget funds according to the rules, so MEPs granted it a “discharge” approval for that year, in a resolution voted on Thursday.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Following the United Kingdom's notification of withdrawal from the European Union, we will meet on Saturday for the first time as the formal European Council of 27 to adopt guidelines for the upcoming Brexit negotiations. 

Let me highlight one element of our proposed guidelines, which I believe is key for the success of these negotiations, and therefore needs to be precisely understood and fully accepted. I am referring to the idea of a phased approach, which means that we will not discuss our future relations with the UK until we have achieved sufficient progress on the main issues relating to the UK's withdrawal from the EU. This is not only a matter of tactics, but - given the limited time frame we have to conclude the talks - it is the only possible approach. 

In other words, before discussing our future, we must first sort out our past. We need to secure the best guarantees for our citizens and their families. Guarantees that are effective, enforceable, non-discriminatory and comprehensive, and which should be accompanied by simple and smooth administrative procedures. We should also agree with the UK that all financial obligations undertaken by the EU of 28 will be honoured also by the UK. Finally, in order to protect the peace and reconciliation process described by the Good Friday Agreement, we should aim to avoid a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. 

Only once we collectively determine in the European Council that sufficient progress has been made on all these issues, will we be in a position to hold preparatory talks on the future relationship with the UK. I would like us to unite around this key principle during the upcoming summit, so that it is clear that progress on people, money and Ireland must come first. And we have to be ready to defend this logic during the upcoming negotiations.

Our meeting will start at 12.30 with an exchange of views with the President of the European Parliament. Following this exchange, we will gather for a working lunch, where we will adopt the guidelines and have a broader debate on Brexit to help inform the future negotiations. Given the constructive attitude that you have shown during our preparations, I expect that we will be able to conclude by 16.00.

Plenary sessions : EU rules are needed to oblige textile and clothing suppliers to respect workers’ rights, say MEPs in a resolution adopted on Thursday.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : EU rules are needed to oblige textile and clothing suppliers to respect workers’ rights, say MEPs in a resolution adopted on Thursday.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

MedienHafen Düsseldorf possible location for business exiled from the UK by Brexit ©Jolyon Gumbrell 2016

One of the consequences of Brexit is that companies and organisations – which have head offices in the UK – are now looking to relocate their business premises to other European countries. Brexit is all about risk because the UK will be giving up the safety of the European Single Market, when the country finally leaves the EU in March 2019. The UK on its own will pay high tariffs to access global markets including the markets of non EU countries as the UK loses its protection of the European trading block. Life is going to become very difficult for any company located in the UK, which depends on trade in goods and services with clients outside of the UK.

One organisation that understands risks is Lloyd’s of London, which intends to set up an insurance subsidiary in Brussels in 2019. Lloyd’s of London came into existance in a London coffee house in the 17th century, where men used to meet as brokers and underwriters in the business of shipping insurance. Today as well as marine insurance Lloyds of London sells insurance policies that cover some of the following areas: accident & health, crime, cargo, casualty, employers liability, energy, fine art, motor, space, and terrorism. Although the Lloyds insurance market has done business from London for well over 300 years, the prospect of Brexit has made it take out its own insurance by opening a Brussels branch, against being excluded from European insurance markets. This is hardly surprising as according to the Lloyd’s of London’s website under the question: “How much of Lloyd’s business comes from European markets?” it said: “In 2015, the EEA accounted for £2.93 bn or 11% of Lloyd’s Gross Wrtten Premium.”

Organisations located in London that belong to or work for the EU will have to move because of Brexit. According to reports in the media, both the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will be moved from the UK to another EU member state. This will result in around 1000 jobs being lost in London. Both EBA and EMA at present occupy office space at Canary Wharf in London. How much office space in Canary Wharf will become vacant when EBA and EMA move out?

The EBA has offices on “Level 46″ of the office building at One Canada Square. According to the website of the Canary Wharf Group, the 50 storey building at One Canada Square has a floor area of around 27,583 sq ft (2,563 sq m) per level or storey. The amount that the EBA pays for its office space each year is not in the public domain, but if one considers that the rental of a square foot of office space including rates and services charges could be as much as £66 per annum, then the rent for the entire space used by EBA could be around £1,820,600 per annum.

The EMA which has a postal address at 30 Churchill Place in Canary Wharf: is located in the office building referred to on the Canary Wharf Group’s website as 25 & 30 Churchill Place. The amount of office space that EMA rents at this location can only be estimated, but according to media reports the EMA employs around 900 people in London. Therefore if the EBA is employing 100 people at a nearby location in Canary Wharf, by multiplying EBA’s estimated floor area by 9 one could guess that the EMA uses at least 248,265 sq ft (23,064 sq m) of office space at Churchill Place. If we use the figure of £66 per square foot, then it could be estimated that the EMA pays £16,385,490 per annum for the use of office space in London.

Making an estimation from the above figures, then the joint loss of EBA and EMA from Canary Wharf would cause 275,850 sq ft (25,626 sq m) of office space to become vacant. This would represent a gross loss of more than £18.2 million per annum for the Canary Wharf Group caused by Brexit. While business moves out of London because the UK is leaving the EU, then there will be great demand for office space in the towns and cities of other European countries.

Düsseldorf in Germany is one city that could benefit from the Brexit business exodus, as international companies leave the UK, in order to maintain their place in the European Single Market. Düsseldorf has its own version of Canary Wharf in the form of the MedienHafen. Both Canary Wharf and the MedienHafen are similar in that they were developed on former dockland, and now provide office space for financial and media industries. At the time of writing a new office development is being built at the MediaHafen, which could become a safe haven for business exiles from the UK.

Sources

https://www.duesseldorf-tourismus.de/en/sights/medienhafen/

https://www.findalondonoffice.co.uk/toolbox/office-space-calculator/

http://group.canarywharf.com/available-office-space/one-canada-square-available-space/

http://group.canarywharf.com/construction/completed-projects/25-30-churchill-place/

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/eu-leaders-to-strip-britain-of-valued-european-medicine-and-banking-agencies-within-weeks-a7685811.htmlhttp

https://www.lloyds.com/lloyds/about-us/what-do-we-insure/what-lloyds-insures

https://www.lloyds.com/news-and-insight/press-centre/press-releases/2017/03/lloyds-to-open-eu-insurance-company

https://www.lloyds.com/news-and-insight/lloyds-plans-in-europe

http://www.wharf.co.uk/news/local-news/canary-wharf-could-lose-european-12909644

©Jolyon Gumbrell 2017

The post The Brexit business exodus appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

Plenary sessions : MEPs from across the political spectrum urged Greece’s creditors on Thursday to swiftly conclude negotiations over the Greek bailout package, highlighting the pain that Greeks have endured.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : MEPs from across the political spectrum urged Greece’s creditors on Thursday to swiftly conclude negotiations over the Greek bailout package, highlighting the pain that Greeks have endured.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

The EU Commission has once again launched infringement proceedings against Hungary, this time over the new higher education law which threatens to close down the university founded by US billionaire George Soros in Budapest. Brussels is right to crack down, commentators say and warn that Viktor Orbán's dismantling of democracy must be stopped.