DT e-Paper 29 March 2017

World
Brexit explained: What’s next on the
UK’s road out of the EU
• Tribune Desk
The British government announced
Monday that it will formally begin its
exit from the EU on March 29. Prime
Minister Theresa May will invoke Article
50 of the key EU treaty, the official
start of the two-year divorce process.
Then comes the hard part- the arguments,
the lawyers, the squabbles over
money. Here’s a look at the main issues
and what happens next:
What is the EU and why is UK
leaving?
The EU is a bloc of 28 nations sharing
relatively open borders, a single market
in goods and services and, for 19
nations, a single currency, the euro.
Former Prime Minister David Cameron
offered voters a referendum on
EU membership, and in June they voted
by 52-48% to leave.
How does UK file for divorce?
The UK government will invoke Article
50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty, which says a
member state may “notify the European
Council of its intention” to leave the bloc.
Who conducts the negotiations?
On the UK side, David Davis will take
the lead, reporting to May. UK’s ambassador
to the EU, Tim Barrow, will also
play a major role.
French diplomat Michel Barnier is
the chief negotiator for the European
Commission, the bloc’s executive arm.
He’ll receive direction from the Council,
which represents the leaders of the
member states.
What is the most pressing issue?
UK’s vote to leave the EU has meant uncertainty
for 3m EU citizens living in the
UK, and 1m Britons who reside in the EU
nations. Both sides agree that giving such
citizens a guarantee that they will be able
to stay where they are is a top priority.
What will be the main conflicts?
The first major battle is likely to be about
Scottish MPs to hold
referendum on eve of Brexit
• AFP, Edinburgh
Scotland’s parliament is poised to
call for an independence referendum
Tuesday, another headache for
Prime Minister Theresa May as she
battles to keep the country united
just a day before triggering Brexit.
Lawmakers in Edinburgh are expected
to vote in favour of Scottish
leader Nicola Sturgeon’s plan for an
independence referendum despite
the May’s last-minute appeals.
Sturgeon will then make a formal
request for a referendum but
she needs approval from the British
government and parliament to do
so and May has already said that
money. The EU says Britain must pay a
hefty divorce bill of up to $64bn, to cover
EU staff pensions and other expenses
the UK has committed to.
There’s also likely to be friction over
UK’s desire to maintain free trade in
goods and services with the bloc, without
accepting the EU’s core principle of
free movement of workers. UK has said it
will impose limits on immigration, and so
will have to leave the EU’s single market
and customs union. That makes some
barriers to trade seem inevitable.
When will it be over?
Under the terms of Article 50, UK will
cease to be an EU member in March 2019.
But EU negotiators warn it could take
two years just to settle the divorce terms;
agreeing on a new relationship for the UK
and the EU could take years longer. If the
rest of the EU agrees, the two-year negotiating
period can be extended, leaving
Britain in the EU for a while longer. •
China holds military drills near restive Myanmar border
• AFP, Beijing
China’s army held drills near its
border with Myanmar on Tuesday,
state media reported, in a show of
strength from Beijing following
weeks of clashes between ethnic
rebels and Myanmar’s military.
Tens of thousands of people
have fled to China in recent
months to escape the battles in
Myanmar’s restive borderlands.
China’s infantry, artillery and
air force took part in Tuesday’s
exercise, the official Xinhua news
agency said, adding the drills were
part of annual training.
“The Chinese People’s Liberation
Army (PLA) forces on Tuesday
“now is not the time”.
May will on Wednesday begin the
process of ending Britain’s 44-year
membership of the EU by invoking
Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty,
opening two years of negotiations.
Last year’s Brexit vote has spurred
the independence campaign of Sturgeon,
head of the ruling party, who argues
that Scotland is being forced out
of the European bloc against its will.
Both Scotland and N Ireland
voted to remain in the EU, but they
were outnumbered by voters in England
and Wales who backed Brexit.
Most recent polls show support
for independence is high but still
short of a majority. •
Turkey sends team to UK
over flight ban
• AFP, Ankara
Turkey sent a team of experts to
Britain Tuesday to try to persuade
London to lift a ban on passengers
carrying large electronic devices
on flights from Istanbul, the Turkish
transport minister said.
Britain issued a ban last week
on laptops and tablet computers
in the passenger compartment of
flights from five countries from
the Middle East and northern Africa
as well as Turkey.
Ahmet Arslan said Turk he
“felt” Britain would shortly lift the
ban “because our meetings suggest
this” but said talks with the US
This photo is taken on January 21, 2017 shows a Burmese refugee family in front
of their temporary shelter near Lung Byeng village, Kachin state
AFP
Demonstrators hold placards during a protest in favour of amendments to the
Brexit Bill outside the Houses of Parliament, in London, March 13 REUTERS
staged an air-ground, live-fire drill
in south China, close to the border
with Myanmar,” Xinhua said.
It quoted Colonel Fang Xin as saying
the drill “demonstrated the PLA’s
resolve and will in safeguarding national
security” and “protecting
people’s safety and their property”.
would likely be “longer-running.”
The British move came after
Washington banned electronic
devices larger than mobile phones
on direct flights to the US from 10
airports in seven Middle Eastern
countries and Turkey, allowing
them only in hold luggage.
The UK ban affects 14 airlines
including British Airways, EasyJet
and flag carrier Turkish Airlines,
whose profits have already been hit
by a slew of terror attacks in 2016.
In a bid to make passengers
“more comfortable” after the
bans, the airline said passengers
could use their laptops until they
board. •
Beijing held similar exercises in
2015 when several of its nationals
were killed by stray rockets fired
by Myanmar’s army during a surge
in violence in the Kokang border
region in northeastern Shan state.
This month Chinese authorities
said a citizen was injured by a projectile
that strayed across the border.
Observers believe Beijing holds
significant sway over Myanmar’s
ethnic fighters and has been angling
to increase its key role in the
government’s peace process.
China has called for an immediate
ceasefire and officials have
reportedly been holding talks with
rebel groups in a bid to calm the
fighting. •
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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2017
DT
USA
Ryan has full confidence
in House Intelligence
election probe
US House of Representatives
Speaker Paul Ryan has “full confidence”
in the investigation of possible
Russian influence on the 2016
US election campaign being led
by House Intelligence Committee
Chairman, Ryan’s spokeswoman
said in a statement. REUTERS
THE AMERICAS
Colombia’s ELN rebels
accused of ‘massacring’ 5
Colombian prosecutors accused the
ELN rebels Monday of “massacring”
five people in an attack aimed at
taking control of the narcotics trade
in a remote, impoverished region.
Prosecutor said seven guerrillas
wearing camouflage and ELN arm
bands attacked the northeastern
town of Litoral de San Juan on
Saturday, killing five people and
forcing 52 from their homes. AFP
UK
UK raises prospect of direct
rule for Northern Ireland
Britain will consider all options for
Northern Ireland including direct
rule from London if politicians
there fail to form a regional government
in the next three weeks,
the minister for the province said
on Tuesday. Northern Ireland politics
has been in crisis since Irish
nationalist party Sinn Fein pulled
out of government in January,
sparking a March 2 election that
ended the majority pro-British unionists
had enjoyed in the province
for almost a century. REUTERS
EUROPE
Nato, Russia ambassadors to
meet to resolve differences
Ambassadors from Nato and Russia
will meet this week for the first
time this year in a fresh attempt
to resolve some of their differences.
Nato Secretary-General Jens
Stoltenberg said in a statement
Tuesday that a Nato-Russia Council,
their main forum for dialogue,
would be held at the military
alliance’s Brussels headquarters
on Thursday. AP
AFRICA
Congo tense as Catholic
bishops withdraw from
talks
Isolated unrest broke out in Congo’s
capital on Tuesday after Catholic
bishops withdrew from their role
as mediators between the government
and opposition in talks
aimed at paving the way for delayed
elections this year. Demonstrators,
some burning tyres at city crossroads,
took to the streets in several
areas in Kinshasa. In one instance,
police fired tear gas to disperse a
small group of youths. REUTERS