not2old

will you be 'buying' sterling, or 'shorting it'?

BritInParis

All of which required government support and a majority in both the Commons and Lords to become law. The overwhelming majority die after the first or second reading. Just because you want it to happen doesn't mean it is.

This particular amendment was actually withdrawn by Mr Goerens in December on the basis that to get it on the statue book through treaty change would take too long. Mr Verhofstadt agreed that it would instead be part of the EU Parliament's "negotiating mandate".

Yorkiechef

It is important for UK to continue with the weakening of the currency so that exports (from uk to overseas) are encouraged and imports (overseas to UK) are discouraged.

Shard

Short

Oink

No there's not, not in the slightest. Any guess that purports to predict economic markets is either a cynical ploy to promote a political agenda or idiotic public opinion.

Shard

Or simply an investment decision.

Oink

If we could predict the outcome of those, we'd all be rich.

BristolUK

It's highly unlikely to affect me either way since I live in Canada and I'm unlikely to ever return to the UK and the family here doesn't even have Canadian passports (yet) let alone qualify for British ones.

But here's why I believe it shouldn't so easily be dismissed.

First of all, does the EU want Britain to leave? Quite obviously not.

So what might they do to keep it in or encourage a return? Well what about letting all those Brits who would like it to have some associate EU citizenship?
Keep a link to the EU within Britain. That would likely be quite effective in changing hearts and minds if those people gained something.

What about all those EU citizens who have a life in the UK. Perhaps family there, not just a job. Why would all their governments abandon them and their wishes to remain in the UK?

And if some deal would be done to allow those EU citizens to remain in the UK why on earth would it not be part of the same agreement for Brits to have the same rights in the EU if so desired?



I've really never understood this "it won't happen because it's too difficult" position when things have happened that were also too difficult.

Shard

Warren Buffet appears to have a knack for it. Fund management industry. Treasury. There is a level of expertise out there beyond randomness.

Shard

I don't see that happening. While there are some generous of spirit Europeans, there are equally some mean nationalists too, and the balance would be a standard separation or exclusion for a departing member. You only need to look at the language from Hollande to get a sense of what awaits. As much as the EU doesn't want the UK to leave, they probably a bit frustrated with the decades of whinging and exceptionalism coming from the UK, and there is a case to be made for lump it or leave it.

BritInParis

I never said it was too difficult. Of course it could be done if all parties agreed to it, but they won't, so it won't happen. The UK government is unlikely to agree to something that would create two classes of British citizen in regards to the EU, especially as it would require those individuals to make individual payments to the EU budget and thus reduce the impact of the loss of the UK's contributions.

On the other side the EU Commission, e.g. Mrs Merkel, have already stated that the UK will not get as good a deal on the outside as they enjoyed on the inside to prevent others from jumping ship. Permitting the 48% to remain EU citizens and be shielded from effects of Brexit and thus allowing the UK to enjoy the best of both worlds doesn't seem like an effective strategy to achieve this aim.

It's a cynical political ploy by Mr Verhofstadt to try and widened the split in British public opinion on a 'hard' Brexit and therefore weaken the UK's negotiating position before the talks start. Classic divide and conquer.

BristolUK

Or it's to try to protect those EU workers who would like to continue with their links to the UK and who might feel let down by their governments.

But if divide and rule is the aim, what better way than having almost half the UK thumbing their noses at the other half with an EU associate citizenship

Novocastrian

Isn't that also true of any Brexit outcome being less than catastrophic for the UK?

BritInParis

The proposal is for British citizens to opt in to retain their EU citizenship; it doesn't help EU citizens resident in the UK.

Quite, which is why it won't happen.

BritInParis

It's true of any negotiation. If all parties agreed on all points then they would be no need for a negotiation. And no possible outcome, barring a French nuclear strike on London, would be 'catastrophic' for the UK. Both sides of the argument vastly inflate the importance of the UK's EU membership.