French President Emmanuel Macron is planning to make Britain contribute towards the cost of tighter border controls in Calais after Brexit, according to media reports.
Mr Macron will travel to London in mid-January for a summit with British Prime Minister Theresa May, at which he will raise the border issue, The Telegraph reported.
French politicians are piling pressure on Mr Macron to force Britain to help fund the new customs posts at France’s Channel ports after it leaves the EU.
However, senior Brexiteers roundly rejected the idea that the UK should contribute to the cost, calling it “illogical” and “absurd”.
Former Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith said: “There is no logical or legal reason why Britain should pay anything towards this. It’s an absurdity.
“No other country is asking for money, not Holland, not Belgium, and Mrs May should remind Mr Macron that he stands to benefit from this arrangement because France sells more goods to us than we sell to them.”
The issue of tighter border controls at Calais has not yet come up in the formal Brexit talks, although French officials say it may cost more than preparing the Irish border for the UK’s departure.
Jean-Paul Mulot, northern France's envoy to the UK, told The Telegraph it would cost hundreds of millions of pounds to build the new customs infrastructure which needs to be in place by the time Britain leaves the EU, when the free movement of goods ends.
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Mr Mulot said the bill should be shared between Britain, France and the rest of the EU, adding that it was similar to the UK’s funding for passport checks that take place on French soil under the Le Touquet treaty.
The Channel is one of Europe’s busiest trade routes and French officials are anxious to maintain the fluid movement of goods across it after Brexit.
“At the height of the migrants' crisis two years ago, when cross-Channel traffic was being disrupted, Volkswagen’s Oxford factory considered closing temporarily because it was running out of parts,” Mr Mulot said. “About 800,000 car parts cross the Channel each day, and huge quantities of food too.”
He said he was optimistic that the UK would agree to pay, despite reports that British officials have already dismissed the idea.
Brexiteers will find the cost hard to stomach after the UK already conceded on the so-called ‘divorce bill’ last month, in order to move the talks onto a future trade agreement.
“Theresa May can smile sweetly at Mr Macron and tell him there will not be a penny more than has already been agreed,” Mr Duncan-Smith said.
“We have already said how much we will pay, and if the EU wants to give some of that money to France that’s up to them.”
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The biog
Favourite car: Ferrari
Likes the colour: Black
Best movie: Avatar
Academic qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in media production from the Higher Colleges of Technology and diploma in production from the New York Film Academy
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying or online bullying could take many forms such as sending unkind or rude messages to someone, socially isolating people from groups, sharing embarrassing pictures of them, or spreading rumors about them.
Cyberbullying can take place on various platforms such as messages, on social media, on group chats, or games.
Parents should watch out for behavioural changes in their children.
When children are being bullied they they may be feel embarrassed and isolated, so parents should watch out for signs of signs of depression and anxiety
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Results
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1hr 32mins 03.897sec
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull-Honda) at 0.745s
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 37.383s
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) 46.466s
5.Sergio Perez (Red Bull-Honda) 52.047s
6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 59.090s
7. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) 1:06.004
8. Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari) 1:07.100
9. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri-Honda) 1:25.692
10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1:26.713,
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Health Valley
Founded in 2002 and set up as a foundation in 2006, Health Valley has been an innovation in healthcare for more than 10 years in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
It serves as a place where companies, businesses, universities, healthcare providers and government agencies can collaborate, offering a platform where they can connect and work together on healthcare innovation.
Its partners work on technological innovation, new forms of diagnostics and other methods to make a difference in healthcare.
Its agency consists of eight people, four innovation managers and office managers, two communication advisers and one director. It gives innovation support to businesses and other parties in its network like a broker, connecting people with the right organisation to help them further
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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.
Bio
Born in Dubai in 1994
Her father is a retired Emirati police officer and her mother is originally from Kuwait
She Graduated from the American University of Sharjah in 2015 and is currently working on her Masters in Communication from the University of Sharjah.
Her favourite film is Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo del Toro
