The UK will leave a €20 billion (Dh86bn) hole in the European Union’s budget unless the bloc agrees to give Theresa May the sweeping Brexit trade deal she wants, according to senior British officials.
Britain will not fulfil Mrs May’s offer to cover the UK’s share of the EU budget through 2020 without a broader Brexit deal, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity. The UK also has not accepted that it is liable for a share of the pensions of EU staff, they said.
The comments from officials in Mrs May’s administration help clarify the premier’s intentions, which she laid out last month in a speech in Florence. In an attempt to unblock stalled talks, Mrs May said the UK would honour its financial obligations and keep paying into the EU budget. “I do not want our partners to fear that they will need to pay more or receive less over the remainder of the current budget plan as a result of our decision to leave,” she said.
A spokesperson for the Brexit department said the financial settlement should be “in accordance with law and in the spirit of the UK’s continuing partnership with the EU”.
The thorniest element of the negotiations is the financial settlement, or how much money the UK will pay towards the EU’s ongoing liabilities when it quits the club of 28 countries in March 2019. Talks ended acrimoniously over the issue in August, but Mrs May seemed to have spurred progress with her speech in Florence.
Even as she struggled to keep her divided Cabinet onside, Mrs May proposed a transition phase lasting around two years after Brexit day in 2019. In this period, aimed at helping businesses adjust, Britain would continue to pay its full share of the EU’s budget, she said.
On Monday, the chancellor of the exchequer Philip Hammond qualified Mrs May’s offer on the transition, during which the UK would pay into the EU budget. He said at the Conservative party conference in Manchester, England, that transition was a “wasting asset,” suggesting that the longer it takes to secure, the less it’s worth to the UK. “Our European interlocutors know that,” he said.
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The prime minister’s Florence speech - and in particular the hint that she would pay up - were welcomed in EU capitals. The bloc’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, hailed the speech last week for creating the “new dynamic’’ that he saw in the latest round of talks.
However, Mr Barnier said that it was still not clear where the UK saw its liabilities beyond the two-year transition period, and warned that talks on the future trade relationship could still be “months” away. The EU says talks cannot move on to future ties until there is an outline agreement on the bill.
Speaking anonymously, the two British officials said the UK recognised that pensions of EU staff are an issue but primarily because they are a liability for the EU. The question is still open whether the UK will have any responsibility for covering the cost of pensions for EU staff after it leaves the bloc, they said.
Both sides know they will not reach quick agreement on a figure for the Brexit bill, but the British officials insisted there would be no agreement on the money at all without the trade accord that Mrs May wants.
Last week, documents showed the EU’s liabilities grew by almost 4 per cent in 2016, with the cost of pensions for EU officials and policymakers rising more than 5 per cent.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Fixtures
Opening day Premier League fixtures for August 9-11
August 9
Liverpool v Norwich 11pm
August 10
West Ham v Man City 3.30pm
Bournemouth v Sheffield Utd 6pm
Burnley v Southampton 6pm
C Palace v Everton 6pm
Leicester v Wolves 6pm
Watford v Brighton 6pm
Tottenham v Aston Villa 8.30pm
August 11
Newcastle v Arsenal 5pm
Man United v Chelsea 7.30pm
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Warlight,
Michael Ondaatje, Knopf
BAD%20BOYS%3A%20RIDE%20OR%20DIE
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Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What to watch out for:
Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways
The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof
The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history
Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure
Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used
If you go
Flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
The stay
Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine 2.4L four-cylinder
Gearbox Nine-speed automatic
Power 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.4L/100km
