Conference on 'The future of the EU'
Conference to mark the launch of the Centre for European Reform's new office in Brussels, with a keynote speech by Michel Barnier, the EU's Brexit negotiator, and sessions on the euro, Brexit, migration and security.
Speakers included: Johannes Becker, Luis Garicano, Hélène Rey, Martin Sandbu, John Bruton, Monique Ebell, Peter Mandelson, Jean-Claude Piris, Sophie Magennis, Jonathan Portes, Monika Sie Dhian Ho, Raoul Ueberecken, Alexandra de Hoop Scheffer, François Heisbourg, Antonio Missiroli and George Robertson.
Read the transcript of Michel Barnier's speech here.
John Bruton at #CERfutureEU conf; remarkable that German, French and Italian govts care more about preserving Good Friday Agreement than UK
— Charles Grant (@CER_Grant) November 20, 2017
Very clear message from @MichelBarnier - the integrity of the single market is non negotiable. No cherry picking, no access to agencies without paying in, financial services will not have passport #CERfutureEU pic.twitter.com/kAKGr2Ez5v
— Lucy Thomas (@lucycthomas) November 20, 2017
Barnier: "There will be no "special partnership" without rules on environment, food safety, state aid, social dumping, etc.." #CERfutureEU
— Jonathan Portes (@jdportes) November 20, 2017
We’re heading for a very serious train crash – Article 50 process is too short - should be six years-long so all possibilities can be explored, former Irish PM John Bruton tells #CERfutureEU conference
— CER (@CER_EU) November 20, 2017
Peak Brussels bubble: getting Mandelson to speak on British domestic politics. Delusional #CERfutureEU
— Bruno Waterfield (@BrunoBrussels) November 20, 2017
Quite hard line from Barnier at #CERfutureEU: UK must make proposals for Ireland, must settle accounts, no passport for financial services, no partial SM membership, level playing field or no ratification of future FTA
— John Peet (@JohnGPeet) November 20, 2017
John Bruton was slandered by Sinn Féin as 'John Unionist' because of his goodwill towards Ulster Protestants and his hope for close British-Irish relations. Now he is visibly furious as he surveys the increasing damage to those relations and the G/Friday Agreement. #cerfutureeu
— Edward Burke (@Edward__Burke) November 20, 2017
Ouch - 'Without a transition period, the British are dead', says former EU legal chief @piris_jc #CERFutureEU
— Danny Kemp (@dannyctkemp) November 20, 2017
Is it a hard line? Or more or less what he’s been saying from the start? Anyone hoping the EU would start to move away from its own guidelines at this stage would certainly be disappointed #CERfutureEU https://t.co/nZyl6VaezI
— Chris Morris (@BBCChrisMorris) November 20, 2017
Post Brussels thoughts: best case negotiated scenario (short of abandoning Brexit) for UK is a Free trade agreement like Canada's. Probability of no deal haa climbed well over 50%. #CERfutureEU
— Luis Garicano (@lugaricano) November 20, 2017
NI British Unionists oppose calls for equal UK rights arguing, their refusal to implement GB abortion, gay rights & native (Irish) language rights is a legitimate expression of their devolution right to be different to the rest of the UK - so ditto that post Brexit?#CERfutureEU https://t.co/JKXGDnu6JL
— Ruaidri Ua Conchobair ☘️ Ireland's last Irish King (@Irish_Ulster) November 22, 2017
Great European security panel yesterday at #CERfutureEU conference with Lord Geroge Robertson, @FHeisbourg, Alexandra de Hoop Scheffer and Antonio Missiroli. @CER_EU pic.twitter.com/3VAzMWV7H4
— Sophia Besch (@SophiaBesch) November 21, 2017
Similar point made by @davidallengreen, the type of #Brexit we’ve embarked on wasn’t decided in the EU ref but in the battles had prior to May’s October 2016 conf speech #CERfutureEU https://t.co/M1WNTbOZUw
— John Pollock (@John_Pollock22) November 20, 2017
Barnier challenges UK on post-Brexit border proposals @CER_EU #CERfutureEU conference todayhttps://t.co/ilAsZN8AjM
— CER (@CER_EU) November 20, 2017
Our #CERfutureEU conference today with @MichelBarnier has got @CER_EU on to the front page of the @guardian website pic.twitter.com/Dw90D9Vzzm
— CER (@CER_EU) November 20, 2017
"What we are lacking now is trust, solidarity and member states being willing to work together" says @Magenniss of @Refugees re the #EU in an age of mass migration - at today's #CERfutureEU @CER_EU conference. pic.twitter.com/p1aykaNNUN
— Mark Kelly (@Blackhall99) November 20, 2017
The only odd thing is that @MichelBarnier 's speech at #CERfutureEU still sends shockwaves through London, while it was a given from the word go back in 2016.
— Charles Paladino (@PaladinoEU) November 20, 2017
Perhaps the UK press could do with a bit less navel gazing?
Speech by EU #Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier @MichelBarnier at Centre for European Reform @CER_EU on "The Future of the #EU". Required reading on state of play of #EU-#UK negotiations https://t.co/FAFWQQHfdt #CERfutureEU #postBrexit. Thx @CER_Grant pic.twitter.com/9xaKUOHoUr
— Euripides Evriviades 🇨🇾🇪🇺 (@eevriviades) November 20, 2017
.@MoniqueEbell at @CER_EU #cerfutureeu absolutely right to say UK politicians are not being responsible by not preparing British public for difficult choices between single market and free movement
— Garvan Walshe (@garvanwalshe) November 20, 2017
Barnier's speech today at #CERfutureEU is worth a read, clearly lays out the choice ahead for the UKhttps://t.co/Sy3ETElktj
— Pepijn Bergsen (@pbergsen) November 20, 2017
@MichelBarnier "the UK will lose the benefits of the #SingleMarket ... the integrity of the Single Market is not negotiable. It is the main reason why countries around the world – such as China, Japan, and the US – look to us as a strong partner." #Brexit #CERfutureEU
— LP Brussels (@LPBrussels) November 20, 2017
#CERfutureEU Peter Mandelson says the Brexiteers real agenda is to deregulate social and environmental standards. Indeed.
— Rosa Balfour (@RosaBalfour) November 20, 2017
#cerfutureeu conf has been discussing Brexit for two hours and not a syllable on the Brexit bill. Suddenly the Irish border completely dominates discussion.
— Tom Nuttall (@tom_nuttall) November 20, 2017
"Other then water," there is nothing between Norway and Canada for EU-UK FTA, says @piris_jc, former legal supremo at EU Council. "TTIP is not a solution." #cerfutureeu.
— Tom Nuttall (@tom_nuttall) November 20, 2017
“Against the backdrop of global turmoil in an interconnected world, Europe is today more necessary than ever. The future of Europe is more important than #Brexit.” Read @MichelBarnier’s speech today @CER_EU #CERfutureEU: https://t.co/WFRboBEiJu
— Daniel Ferrie (@DanielFerrie) November 20, 2017
Jean-Claude Piris, former head of Commission's legal services, is giving a list of everything the UK government has done wrong on #Brexit at #CERFutureEU. It's a long list.
— Dave Keating (@DaveKeating) November 20, 2017
'Brexit may even destroy Brexit,' Peter Mandelson says. That's a new addition to the Brexit tautology collection #CERFutureEU
— Danny Kemp (@dannyctkemp) November 20, 2017
Just weird how @MichelBarnier is asking the UK which rules will apply after #Brexit in #NorthernIreland - when the EU side refuses to start negotiating precisely that issue, which is linked by the question of UK market access to the EU#cerfutureeu https://t.co/QXnD7TIHOd
— Pieter Cleppe (@pietercleppe) November 20, 2017
Peter Mandelson at #CERFutureEU: "Soft leavers want Britain to continue to be aligned with the EU’s economic structures, because their priority is securing the continuity of trade in our largest export market."
— Dave Keating (@DaveKeating) November 20, 2017
Former Irish PM John Bruton: UK govt decision to leave Single Market and Customs Union was not required by the referendum. The narrow decision-making circle in UK took no account on the impact on Ireland #CERfutureEU pic.twitter.com/il6Y4FWCwJ
— Lucy Thomas (@lucycthomas) November 20, 2017
Michel Barnier gets to be clearer and tougher at every hearing. #CERfutureEU
— Andrew Duff (@AndrewDuffEU) November 20, 2017
EU will not wait for UK. Future of EU is more important than #Brexit. We continue to negotiate new FTAs, develop internal market, digitalisation, strengthened defense & security policy says @MichelBarnier at #CERfutureEU pic.twitter.com/FEe2oz3dfv
— Kreab EU (@KreabEU) November 20, 2017
No cherry picking. The single market is a bundle of rules, four freedom. The end of freedom of movement means the UK is out of the single marker. "Brexit means Brexit" (laughter in room), also for financial services, they lose EU passport @MichelBarnier #CERfutureEU
— Luis Garicano (@lugaricano) November 20, 2017
We need to avoid hard boarder in Northern Ireland reminds @MichelBarnier. There are more than 100 areas of cross-boarder cooperation and they are -this way or another -tied up with the EU rules. #brexit will put it at risk #CERFutureEU pic.twitter.com/7zgEiM8lS1
— Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska (@AgataGostynska) November 20, 2017
“The Commission made an error in deciding not to update its 2014 report on corruption” #CERfutureEU https://t.co/xD7U34z1FN @TimmermansEU @TI_EU @Avramopoulos @helen_access
— Carl Dolan (@carl_dolan) November 20, 2017
Looking forward to chairing this morning’s session on Brexit with Peter Mandelson, John Bruton, Monique Ebell and Jean-Claude Piris #CERfutureEU right after Michel Barnier’s keynote address.
— Paul Adamson (@AdamsonPaul) November 20, 2017
#CERfutureEU Good line up for conference in Brussels today on reform of the EU. pic.twitter.com/28Rs4fVAwT
— Sir Graham Watson #FBPE 🇪🇺🇬🇧🏴 (@sirgrahamwatson) November 20, 2017
Off to #CERfutureEU meeting in Brussels to discuss defence side of things today and present views from French perspective on EU at dinner keynote, all in the middle of Jamaica meltdown https://t.co/0vKSD8bV3r
— François Heisbourg (@FHeisbourg) November 20, 2017
This will add an extra frisson to @CER_EU conference on the future of the #EU, in Brussels today. We’ll be live-streaming and live-tweeting it, and it will be on @Storify . #CERfutureEU https://t.co/2espAg956Y
— Ian Bond (@CER_IanBond) November 20, 2017