Today I participated in the Swedish Annual Customs and Trade Symposium (Customs Day 2018), this time in Malmö. I spoke about Brexit in front of a huge audience. It was highest participation since 1995, when Sweden joined the European Union. Brexit is starting to raise the right interest also in Sweden. This event is, Read More
Theresa May has told EU leaders she is prepared to consider extending the Brexit transition period as she called on them to show “courage” and come up with “creative” ideas to break the current deadlock. At a summit in Brussels the Prime Minister said Britain would be open to the idea of staying tied, Read More
Theresa May is willing to consider extending the proposed 21-month transition period after Brexit to break the current deadlock over Northern Ireland, senior EU officials have said. The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg said No 10 had refused to rule out extending it during a summit in Brussels. The PM has been addressing EU leaders in, Read More
EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier is open to extending Britain’s Brexit transition period by another year, according to reports. Mr Barnier has said he is open to the possibility of a one-year extension to Britain’s Brexit transition in return for British prime minister heresa May accepting a “two-tier” backstop to avoid a border in, Read More
21 goals and 9 assist on 25 matches in MLS – now Zlatan Ibrahimovic is nominated in three different categories in the MLS Awards. The Swedish international has had a fabtastic season in MLS after leaving Manchester United and Premiere League due to a serious knee injury. There is no doubt that Zlatan is, Read More
The latest estimate from the World Bank puts global GDP at roughly $80 trillion in nominal terms for 2017. Today’s chart from HowMuch.net uses this data to show all major economies in a visualization called a Voronoi diagram – let’s dive into the stats to learn more. Here are the world’s top 10 economies,, Read More
PM statement tonight, 15 October: “With permission Mr Speaker, I would like to update the House ahead of this week’s European Council. We are entering the final stages of these negotiations. This is the time for cool, calm heads to prevail. And it is the time for a clear-eyed focus on the few remaining, Read More
Bono, the frontman of U2 and co-founder of the ONE Campaign, visited the European Parliament on 10 October. “Europe is an amazing romantic idea, that we speak in so many different languages but with one voice,” said Bono during the visit. At the Parliament he met President Antonio Tajani and Parliament’s political group leaders., Read More
The M26 in Kent is being shut overnight while work is done to see if it can be used as a “parking lot” for lorries, in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Tory MP Tom Tugendhat questioned why work began with “no consultation” – despite assurances none was planned. He has warned the work, Read More
British and European Union officials are locked in talks in Brussels over a compromise Brexit deal that could see the U.K. remain temporarily in the EU’s customs regime, people familiar with the negotiations said. With just a week before a crucial summit of EU leaders that could determine the outcome of Brexit, officials from, Read More
BBC News has written article about Trusted Trader concept and its potential role in a post-Brexit trade environment. It is an interesting article and it does describe only one view on Trusted Trader and AEO, but it misses an important point. UK doesn’t have to use the same AEO programme as EU post-Brexit. In, Read More
Jacques Gounon, President of Getlink that operated the Eurotunnel, wrote an interesting article yesterday about the views of the company. Negotiations between the European Union and the United Kingdom agitated commentators on both sides of the Channel. For Eurotunnel, Brexit will be a matter of technologies and people: it will be an opportunity for, Read More
Another evening flying above the clouds on new missions. There is no place I think better than in the air. I guess it is the habit of having travel all around the world the lst twenty years or so. I really do feel comfortable in a plane. It has been my office in the, Read More
Today I participated in the second of three Swedish Customs & Trade Symposiums (Customs Day 2018), this time in Stockholm. The event is an annual event organized in the three major cities of Sweden, namely; Gothenburg, Stockholm and Malmö. In the Stockholm event today approximately 500 people participated. I was invited to a panel, Read More
170 days to Brexit. On 20-21 November, only days after the extra EU Summit, we arrange a high-level non-profit Brexit Symposium in Soest, Germany. We have a great lunch-to-lunch agenda with amazing speakers concentrating on practical preparations for Brexit regardless of scenario. You find the updated agenda below. Don’t miss it, still some places, Read More
What do you build? A bridge or a wall? There are different ways of meeting challenges. Either you can try to build a wall to shut out problems and challanges – or you can try to build bridges over to the other side. For me the choice has always been easy. I build bridges,, Read More
Bristish companies are getting increasingly worried for Brexit and according to a new study the anxiety is now at an all-time-high. Policians and negotiators are working hard to find a way forward. Government agencies, on both sides, are working hard to prepare. 172 days to go. The Guardian writes today that British businesses are, Read More
In a new international survey, Sweden is ranked at the top of the list – and is considered to be the country with the best reputation in the world. According to a new survey called Country RepTrak from the consultancy agency Reputation Institute, Sweden is listed as the world’s best-rated country. In order to, Read More
We have a very important week ahead of us. This is the moment when both sides need to find a new compromise solution for the Irish backstop and the principles for future relations.