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Edwin Hayward @uk_domain_names
, 15 tweets, 4 min read Read on Twitter
There are various working groups dedicated to Brexit in the French Senate (equivalent of our HOL). Their reports make for fascinating reading. I'll paste each one below with a brief summary. They're all in French, but Google Translate seems to make a pretty decent fist of it.
Report on a fact-finding delegation to Dublin, Belfast and London, covering the Irish border, immigration, the danger of failing to find a solution for N.I., and related topics.
senat.fr/compte-rendu-c…
Extended discussion with the Ambassador of the United Kingdom, covering topics such as shared defense strategies, EU citizens' rights, continuing participation in EU programmes, Galileo etc.
senat.fr/compte-rendu-c…
Two nuggets:
- Ambassador: "Finally, though we are willing to pay to participate in the specific programs of the European Union, we are not prepared to pay very large sums."
- French side: "French exporting companies have already lost 4 billion euros in exports due to Brexit."
Summary of discussions with the "3 million" group, representing the rights of EU citizens in the UK. Some truly heart-rending stories of xenophobia and violent racist attacks. Some delegates were EU citizens formely in the UK, who moved home out of fear.
senat.fr/compte-rendu-c…
Nugget:
French: "This is the first time that we comprehend the human drama of Brexit. We will receive Michel Barnier on July 5th and will inform him. We were relying on the old England* sense of 'fair play'. This has been a revelation."

(*Angleterre = England, but also the UK)
Meeting with French representatives from industry, the pharmaceutical sector, the auto sector and the financial sector to discuss the effects of Brexit they're experiencing and anticipating.
senat.fr/compte-rendu-c…
Joint agriculural and fisheries session. Full of fairly eye-watering statistics about likely Brexit impacts...
senat.fr/compte-rendu-c…
Summary of two separate fact-finding sessions, one with the General Secretary of European Affairs, the other with the Irish Ambassador to France.
senat.fr/compte-rendu-c…
Summary of discussions with the French Ambassador to the UK
senat.fr/compte-rendu-c…
Nugget: 'Theresa May, when she was Home Secretary, ensured that people outside the European Union left the UK. There are now 15,000 "Skype" families who only have contact with their children via the Internet. You can imagine the anxiety and anguish that this can cause Europeans'
Summary of meeting with representatives of the Foreign Affairs committee of the House of Commons...
senat.fr/compte-rendu-c…
Nugget [French side]: 'You have chosen to leave and you are great democrats. So you are forced to legislate on a "populist" decision, because a number of leading English politicians have resorted to misinformation - I will not name names...'
Summary of meeting with the French Ambassador to Ireland
senat.fr/compte-rendu-c…
And that's the lot. Hope you find some gems amongst the discussions. As I said at the beginning of the thread, the French seem to elicit much more serious, in-depth, frank discussions than our own politicians manage, so the transcripts are that much more informative for it. END.
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This is a radio ad the Government has started running as part of its no deal Brexit preparations...

It directs people to a nice website with warm and fuzzy graphics...

And as soon as you go deeper, you're thrown into the opaque preparedness notices.
euexit.campaign.gov.uk
That's like flying a sky banner saying "Roll up. Learn the secrets of the Universe" then handing people a copy of Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time".

Utterly, utterly bonkers. And as much use as a bun at a bear fight.
(If you missed the link to the "helpful" website further up this thread, here it is again...)

euexit.campaign.gov.uk
Read 3 tweets
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A few thoughts on alternatives to Brexit...
- Bring in proportional representation
- Cancel HS2 and spend the tens of £billions on improving *regional* rail and other transport links
- Turn the HOL into an entirely elected second chamber (its oversight function is useful)
- Recognise the merit of a booming economy in London and the SE. Celebrate it and nurture it. Then milk the cash cow and spread that delicious cream across the whole of the UK.
- Foster an entrepreneurial mentality that rewards a "British Dream" (parallels to the American Dream)
- End the culture of secrecy in Government, except in cases of genuine national security. Transparency and accountability at every level. Shine a bright light into the darkest corners.
- Set up a "regional sifting committee" to vet all large infrastructure projects to ensure that
Read 7 tweets
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Government is trying to foist the blame for any Brexit chaos in the adult social care sector off on local authorities and directors of adult social care facilities. This from the letter sent to them on 21 December last year... (Full letter at link below.)
gov.uk/government/pub…
More from the letter:
" Many of these issues will have either a direct or indirect impact on councils and it is also possible that they will have a financial consequence for providers."
More from the letter (doubling down on the "legal" bit):
"I encourage you to work closely with your adult social care providers, in line with your legal market shaping duties, to assure yourself that any impact on providers can be managed locally."
Read 3 tweets

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I've been looking into AllToKnow . com and found that it links to Seabeco... This article about the “voucher privatization” of Gazprom (sold off for $230 million, despite possessing 1/3 of known global gas reserves) makes fascinating reading the-american-interest.com/2016/12/19/the… @karaswisher
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1) the #Brexit 2nd ref, a possible solution to the options

As momentum builds for a #PeoplesVote there's some concern that the Leave side will pull the same tricks they pulled first time around

What if we could ensure fair, or at least fairer, play by all sides?
Here's 1 option
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The first was that the offer from Vote Leave was fluid & vague. It would move from "we'll stay in the SM" to "we'll get access" to "the SM doesn't matter" and back
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Essentially Leave made promises concerning the EU they had no control over
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I'm currently at this #Brexit conference in Copenhagen, where the British ambassador and several #DExEU officials will be on panels with representatives of Danish trade and security. It'll be very interesting to see what's said, especially in light of May's recent Munich speech.
And now that I'm not desperately trying to keep up with livetweeting it, I shall turn my mess of self-retweets into a proper thread. #Brexit #BrexitDK
acknowledges #Brexit will have challenges; emphasises no naïveté regarding "land of milk and honey". Refreshing sense of pragmatism; we'll see how #DExEU and DK reps present it.

#BrexitDK
Read 55 tweets
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#Brexit
1) Thread - All Brexits are bad and what we voted for
It's often said by brexiters that "it's not all about economics"
However, the *actual* Leave campaign was almost wholly about economic arguments

With the leak of this 2-8% report those arguments are now trashed
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3) & the fact is voters believed we would be no worse off. People prioritized immigration certainly, but against a backdrop of there being no consequences from Brexit - few are prepared to actually pay for ending FoM
Read 36 tweets
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Two EU sources say UK discreetly asked about extending #Brexit transition beyond Dec 31 2020. The EU said 'no'.

The UK government categorically denies this exchange ever happened. My latest.

And some brief observations. /1

telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/…
The EU offer of transition to Dec 31 2020 is plainly inadequate - just 21 months. The date is picked because it is the end of their budget cycle. Both sides know this. /2
The UK position - per Mrs May in Florence - is "about two years"

If the UK wanted transition to Dec 31 2021, that would be two years, nine months. Also inadequate. /3
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At 10am today, we will hear from @GuillaumeVdLoo, @SMerler and @StevenBlockmans on the continuing application of EU trade agreements after #Brexit. Then we will question @GregHands, Minister of State for Trade Policy. Watch live at goo.gl/pE6nF3 #UKTrade
. @GuillaumeVdLoo tells us 'copying and pasting' existing EU FTA is not feasible. There are legal and technical issues regarding tariff rate quotes, political challenges in negotiation etc. Exchange of letters is more practical but has technical issues. #UKTrade
.@StevenBlockmans agrees that an exchange of letters is the preferred option. This requires EU cooperation and is a 'damage limitation' exercise for the UK & EU. Ratification is lengthy. It's 'wishful thinking' to scrap all references to the EU in trade agreements. #UKTrade
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