UK foreign policy is looking towards the Indo-Pacific

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Transatlantic Cooperation ◽  
Uk Foreign Policy ◽  
The Eu

Significance Public statements by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab have made clear that an ‘Indo-Pacific tilt’ -- focusing more effort and resources on the region “east from India” -- will be at the heart of that strategy. Impacts Climate change is one area where the United Kingdom, United States and the EU can significantly bolster transatlantic cooperation. Brexit provides an opportunity to reform the E3 group so as to broaden the issues it cooperates on and potentially widen its membership. The EU’s willingness to be open to looser diplomatic arrangements could be crucial in bolstering foreign policy cooperation with London.

MiFID II will recast Europe’s financial landscape

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Financial Stability ◽  
The United States ◽  
Financial Instruments ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The World ◽  
October 17 ◽  
The Eu

Subject MiFID II implementation and compliance Significance The EU’s flagship investor protection reform -- the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) -- will come into force on January 3, 2018, Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU Commissioner responsible for financial stability, confirmed on October 17, saying that there would not be a further delay. Despite already having been given an extra year's extension, banks are struggling to comply in time because of the directive's complexity. Regulators, too, are behind in expanding their capacity to enforce it. Impacts Firms across the world that do any of their business within the EU will have to comply, not just those registered in the EU. All firms trading in financial instruments must comply but those where this is a small part of their business may be caught unawares. MiFID II will come into effect before the United Kingdom leaves the EU and is likely to be written into UK law post-Brexit. The United States is keen to deregulate, but US firms whose EU activity is not compliant will be punished, possibly harming US-EU relations.

Member states will drive EU foreign policy

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Member States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Eu Foreign Policy ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Policy Goals ◽  
National Defence ◽  
The Eu

Significance However, member states have the dominant foreign policy role in the EU. After Brexit, that will be France and Germany despite the United Kingdom insisting that it wants to maintain as close a relationship with the EU as possible. Impacts EU reformers will light on foreign policy as an area to drive forwarded integration. However, the EEAS lacks the competencies and institutional horsepower to be a force for integration. The strategic needs of the 27 post-Brexit EU members will be various, thus acting as a drag on integration. Smaller EU member states will see more advantage than larger ones in collectively pursuing foreign policy goals through Brussels. Larger member states will be unwilling to submit their national defence policies to greater EU authority.

EU integration will be restricted post-Brexit

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Economic Integration ◽  
Relative Weight ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Eu Integration ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Policy Tool ◽  
The Eu

Subject EU direction post-Brexit. Significance Some Europhiles believe that the United Kingdom’s departure from the EU removes a veto-wielding disruptor, thereby enabling the EU to achieve deeper political and economic integration. However, opposition to integration will remain strong, with former UK policy allies in the EU now looking to occupy the ground left by the United Kingdom. Impacts German-French hopes to create European champion firms to bolster EU competition will strengthen following Brexit. The relative weight in the EU of countries opposed to using sanctions as a foreign policy tool, such as Italy and Hungary, will now grow. Future defence and security initiatives could be established outside EU structures in order to accommodate the United Kingdom.

Divergence on Chinese 5G strains 'Five Eyes' alliance

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Market Share ◽  
The United States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Intelligence Sharing ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Eu

Subject Outlook for the Five Eyes alliance. Significance The stability of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing partnership between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States is under stress over Chinese participation in the members’ 5G telecommunications networks. Impacts Possible US concessions on the supply chains of Chinese firms would ease strain within the Five Eyes alliance. European corporates will redouble efforts to burnish their security credentials to capture 5G market share. London’s eventual decision on Huawei will influence the EU and Asian democracies.

London will diverge from the EU on foreign policy

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Economic Impact ◽  
The Political ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Defence Budget ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Uk Foreign Policy ◽  
The Eu

Subject UK foreign policy. Significance Last week the EU and United Kingdom published their negotiating objectives for the future relationship. The European Commission’s negotiating mandate largely reflects the Political Declaration, including a desire for close formal cooperation in defence, security and foreign policy. The United Kingdom’s objectives indicate that it wants less formal cooperation as it seeks to de-institutionalise its relationship with the bloc. Impacts The economic impact of Brexit could cut the size of the UK defence budget, which has already fallen more than 10% in real terms since 2010. The absence of formal channels of EU-UK cooperation and coordination could result in a weakening of the EU’s sanctions regime on Russia.  The re-election of US President Donald Trump would herald a further four years of transatlantic tensions.

Brexit will pose dilemmas for UK constitution

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Corporate Tax ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Constitutional System ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

Subject Brexit and the UK constitution. Significance After Brexit, the United Kingdom will move from a protected constitutional system, established by EU treaties, to one dominated by the sovereignty of Parliament. Such an unprotected system is difficult to reconcile with the protection of rights and with devolution. Impacts There will likely be entrenched division over the prospect of a codified constitution and what it includes. The United Kingdom should remain in a close and strategic foreign-policy relationship with the EU. There will be pressure from free-market Conservative MPs to lower tariffs and deregulate personal and corporate tax to encourage business.

Future of climate change will depend on China

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Green Economy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Change Policy ◽  
Slow Progress ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

Subject China's climate change policy. Significance The Trump administration’s planned withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and the UK government’s preoccupation with Brexit have allowed China to present itself as a global leader on climate change. Ahead of the COP26 summit in the United Kingdom next November, countries and negotiating blocs such as the EU will focus on China as a major emitter that needs to increase its pledges to avoid a business-as-usual trajectory. Impacts Germany, holding the EU presidency for July-December 2020, will be key to new China-EU diplomatic arrangements on climate change. An EU-China summit in Leipzig during the German presidency will put climate change high on the agenda. At COP26, the United Kingdom is likely to emphasise finance, nature-based solutions, adaptation and resilience, and the Green economy. The UK government may also emphasise long-term ‘net zero’ commitments, as it has made to 2050. Inadequate national targets and slow progress in UN talks will fuel grassroots activism and calls for radical approaches.

The EU's vaccine troubles may only be temporary

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Pharmaceutical Companies ◽  
Approval Process ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Commission President ◽  
Roll Out ◽  
The Eu

Significance Indeed, by bargaining hard with vaccine providers and opting for a more deliberate approval process, EU countries are considerably behind the United Kingdom and United States in inoculating its citizens. This has fuelled criticism of the European Commission across member states. Impacts The obscure contracts reached with pharmaceutical companies will renew debates about accountability in the EU. Pressure could grow on Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to resign, but France and Germany will strain themselves to avoid this. Russia and China could use the EU's slow vaccine roll-out to promote the vaccines in certain EU countries.

No backstop or no deal is Ireland’s Brexit dilemma

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
The United States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Increasing Risk ◽  
The Eu

Significance Despite the increasing risk and the implications of a no-deal Brexit, Ireland and the EU remain united in support of the main issue preventing a Brexit deal, the backstop. Impacts A time-limited backstop is the most likely prospect for a Brexit deal compromise. Under a no-deal Brexit, Ireland would be under pressure to implement border checks and controls in order to protect EU rules. No deal would make it harder for the United Kingdom to negotiate free-trade agreements with the EU and the United States.

EU-US relations may be at a turning point

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
The United States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Us ◽  
Multiple Pressures ◽  
Difficult Road ◽  
The Eu

Significance Trump first snubbed the EU on April 30 with a mere postponement of possible tariffs and then humiliated the E3 (Germany, France and the United Kingdom) on May 8 with his decision to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal. This sends a highly symbolic message from the US president to his European allies: buckle or face penalties. Impacts Trump’s decisions reinforce a growing realisation in the EU that he will interpret their search for compromise as weakness. The EU faces a difficult road ahead with multiple pressures increasing, both within and outside the bloc. The growing divide between the EU and the United States will please Russia.

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