United Kingdom and Gibraltar European Union membership referendum
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It will be a busy day for Jeremy Hunt in Berlin: On Wednesday, the British Foreign Minister wants to meet, among others, Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD), Economy Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU) and CDU leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, as his office announced. He will also give a speech to the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung - and warn according to previously published text, an EU exit of his country without an agreement would be both economically and politically "highly harmful".
According to the manuscript, Hunt also blames Germany and the other EU member states: in the crucial coming weeks, it will not be enough to wait and hope that "Brexit will solve itself", the text reads. "We all have to do what we can to make sure that such an agreement is achieved."
"We all have a heavy responsibility," the speech continues. Historians should not have to ask themselves in the future why Europe had failed to "make friendly changes in its relations with Great Britain". Britain is not simply a "partner" to the EU, but a "friend and ally".
Just now it had become known that Hunt had written a letter to Maas on 7 February: In it he attacks the federal government because of the arms embargo against Saudi Arabia and accuses Berlin of lack of loyalty to loyalists. Since German components for fighter jets or rockets may no longer be delivered to Saudi Arabia, British companies could not fulfill their contracts (read more here).
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In parallel with Hunt's visit to Berlin, British Prime Minister Theresa May travels to Brussels again on Wednesday in search of a breakthrough in the stalled Brexit talks. There she meets EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in the evening.
The British EU exit is scheduled for 29 March. However, a withdrawal agreement agreed between May and the other 27 EU member states meets with fierce opposition in the London parliament.
Particularly controversial is the so-called backstop provided therein. It is the guarantee for an open border between Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland. It is envisaged that Britain will remain in the European Customs Union until the problem is solved otherwise. Brexit hardliners fear, however, that the regulation could permanently bind the country closely to the EU and prevent an independent trade policy (more about the backstop can be found here).
Without agreement at the end of March a "hard Brexit" threatens without agreement - with far-reaching consequences for citizens and economy. British Finance Minister Philip Hammond said on Tuesday that a no-deal Brexit would be "equally a disaster" for the EU and the UK. The most urgent task now is to reach an agreement "that protects our trade relations with the EU".
Graphic for Brexit poker
Eighth Labor member leaves the party
On Monday, seven MPs of the opposition Labor party had announced their resignation, substantiating this with Brexit's policy of party leader Jeremy Corbyn and anti-Semitic tendencies. Late on Tuesday evening, Joan Ryan, an eighth party member, declared an exit. She has been with Labor for four decades, wrote the politician. But under Corbyn, the party had been infected with an unprecedented "anti-Jewish racism". Ryan will now be represented in Parliament in the "Independent Group".