to michel barnier, 69 today. he's done it again! is he 69? blimey. he's 69.fice in stockholm where he did his speech about the future relationship, and then at the end they surprised him with a tiny cake with one candle on it. and then he told this story about... it was literally about the size of a cupcake. and yellow, wasn't it yellow? he is well known for a being a very healthy eater so i bet he won't even have even eaten that cake. i thought you always bumped into him in a bakery? yes, with the croissant. you know once he told me off because i bought a quiche for my lunch and i bumped into him on the street and he was like, "that is a very unhealthy lunch". what had he bought for his? quiche is unhealthy? yeah. anyway, but the reason i wanted to bring this up, though, is because it gets us... barnier—cast!. ..talking about how you might mark big moments like your 69th birthday or leaving the eu after more than 40 years of being in it. yes. so we want brexitcasters to get in touch with us to tell us how they are planning to mark the moment, whether they ar

michel barnier, staying on as a chief negotiator, had a speech in stockholm today where he said a lotwent into more detail and i got the impression from him that he was saying that the deal on all the other stuff will be conditional on two other deals being done first. one, the fisheries deal, which they want to have done and dusted by the summer. and also an arrangement and agreement on the so—called level playing field, how you manage economic competition between the two sides. i got the impression from him that it's only when those two things are agreed that he will be prepared to move on to the other stuff. doesn't that sound very familiar? like the withdrawal agreement phase one, sort out citizens' rights and the irish border, before we get onto the other big and juicy stuff. parallelism versus sequentialism! indeed. i have that written on my pad! that could be the new name of the podcast. parallel—cast and sequential—cast. we could head off into even more niche areas. there is an even more interesting thing about the balance of power now. one of the officials involved on the uk

in the discussion on that begins with the visit of michel barnier, who and i'iow. . . visit of michel, who and now... and that is the precursor to the story, this letter which was apparently written to the prime minister just apparently written to the prime ministerjust before christmas, basically raising fears about whether or not we will water down the rights of the eu citizens living in this country after we left the european union. it is really interesting because as much as there has been raging arguments about how we leave the eu, lots of efforts to stop that from happening in the last pa rt of stop that from happening in the last part of three years, trying to get that withdrawal agreement through an agreed — the one thing there is loads of consistence about in parliament is actually protecting the rights of citizens on both sides. and that is one thing that has not happened. we don't know the shape of those arrangements, and thatis shape of those arrangements, and that is people living here as well as brits living abroad in the eu. and that has been a massive sticking point, e

it is like professor michel barnier of hog what's going through the political declaration.t doing the slides and the presentations and if he was he would not be wearing a cap and gown like professor mcgonigle but we can dream. a visiting lecturer, adam fleming, nose pressed against the glass. it is like i am looking at an academic career after this! i'm glass. it is like i am looking at an academic careerafterthis! i'm not! the great thing is the slides are published online so everybody can see them and to keep the member states online and if you look at them, there are lots of interesting clues and pointers and things that are going to become important in the futures of the first thing is they start off with this page about the purpose of the seminars, to get everyone in the same place when it comes to the mandate so the detailed instructions that michel barnier will be given for the future relationship. why is it so important for the commission to get the member states in place? because they are the servants of the member states and you need to maintain unity. they are wo

let's listen into michel barnier for a moment. the european union. many of us here regrets that decision, we continue to regret the vote, but we respected it. so, the task that we've been mandated within the commission by the government, by you was to work to organise the withdrawal, and if the withdrawal treaty that's been put through has one quality, ladies and gentlemen, i will pick up in a moment, and that is to organise a withdrawal of the united kingdom from the eu in an orderly fashion. brexit, more than has been the case where many have discussed the consequences, but i would say they are innumerable consequences. in social terms, legal terms, financial economic terms, and there is more. what we have tried to do in this treaty in an objective fashion in a patient fashion, with all due respect, is to try to come up with responses or legal assurances for all of those in all sectors, where brexit, as with the divorce, will generate insecurity and uncertainty for many citizens. and their rates have always been at the centre of

since then she has come into michel barnier, is also in town so into michel barnier, is also in townct on the outlooks which will happen at the end of this month. the thrust of what mrjohnson will be arguing for is what he describes as having an ambitious free—trade agreement completed on time. —— ursula von der leyen. we will enter a transition period. legally we would have left but in practical terms nothing else would have changed. that expires at the end of december. the government wa nts to end of december. the government wants to sort out the arrangement by than by any precedent that timeframe is incredibly ambitious. mrjohnson reiterated that he wants to stick to that timetable and think as well the negotiations are come will be based on an ambitious free—trade agreement not on alignment. that is a political code orjargon for not on alignment. that is a political code or jargon for saying the government is committed to moving the uk away from european union rules. it is not going to sign up union rules. it is not going to sign up to those rules even as a nonmember. that involv

and i know i sound like a michel barnier obsessive... never!ussion going on about who is his opposite number. in the eu's eyes it can't be david frost because david frost is an adviser to the prime minister. ok, michel barnier is effectively a civil servant in this case, because he's not a politician, but they think his opposite number should be a politician. what happens if the uk doesn't buy that and doesn't put up a steve barclay or a dominic raab or a david davies figure, where does that leave barnier? somebody told me this week that the person doing the next phase in the trade deal might be one mr m gove. i heard he wasn't going to do that. somebody in the cupboard cabinet this week told me that he was. because just as the cdl, chancellor of the duchy of lancaster, in other words a very important person, apparently so i was told that the negotiation to take britain into the eu, in other words a very important person, apparently so i was told did the negotiation to take britain into the eu, the current cdl, michael gove, might take us out o

forced to adhere to regulations and that's something that funded lion and the lead negotiator michel barnier have already rolled out. now for more on this i'm joined by maria them out says she's deputy director of brussels based think tank bruegel and she joins us now from brussels ri it's good to have you on the show. but 1st question would be is this timeline a deal by december 31st is that is that possible it's increasingly looking that it's not possible or regionally we had envisaged 2 years for this process to happen but through repetitive extensions that 2 year period was now shrunk to effectively less than a year if you look at the trade deals of the have done over the years across the world the average time length of a trade deal to be done is more than 2 years now they're good reasons why one could think that they're at radio between and no one member of the u.k. and the rest of the you can be done in less than that but one year is is pushing really hard and i think an important point that is becoming increasingly obvious to us is that come the end of january when the u.k. actually

mr varadkar has been meeting with the eu's chief negotiator, michel barnier, in dublin.e upper hand in the upcoming brexit trade negotiations. our assistant political editor, norman smithjoins us now. how has that gone down in westminster? i suspect they are still mulling it over but you have to brace yourself, because it is clear that the eu are determined to ta ke clear that the eu are determined to take a robust and tough—minded approach, listening to the taoiseach andindeed approach, listening to the taoiseach and indeed michel barnier this morning. the taoiseach saying that the eu is any very strong position and slightly suggesting that maybe the british government had underestimated ireland in the previous settlement negotiations. now we have heard from the eu's chief negotiator, michel barnier, equally tough language, seeing the eu is not in the market to offer up any compromises and the next stage of the negotiations to get a trade deal because, in his view, well, it is the uk that is leaving the eu, therefore, in his view, it is the uk that must give ground, say

and europe in just a year michel barnier is few is at odds with that of britain's prime minister boris johnson who's withdrawal bill is being debated right now in parliament and will pass before the brings a deadline of january 31st after that they'll be a year long transition period the 2 sides have to come up with a deal on the future relationship in that time simply cannot expect to agree on every single aspect of this partnership and. we can do our best house or promise to. do a bore ok. stewart or we have to translate the political will in terms but we have to reach an agreement on what i could do better sick agreement for trade up goods i was there as paul brown and london has more on what mr bonny said. i think it can't be done in the sense that it can't all be done in the time scale but what both sides the british and the europeans appear to be moving closer towards is the idea that they can prioritize the most important elements all of a future trading arrangement and get that done within the 11 month time scale while leaving some of the more nitty gritty aspects of this for s

i met michel barnier yesterday and he said it would be a short period of time but very intense, and heis represented in these final weeks of the european parliament. we've got important debates and discussions in the next two weeks. we'll be debating the withdrawal bill and we will be voting against it on behalf of the people in scotland, so it's vital i'm here to carry out that function. realistically, what can you achieve in such a short period of time? i think the main thing is, we have a seat here. one of our meps was elected to westminster, so we have a democratic seat at the table. 0urjob in these closing weeks is to make sure we send a very strong message to europe, to say we are not leaving europe, we're being dragged out against our will, and scotland as a nation will be doing absolutely everything to gain its independence and apply tojoin the european union as soon as possible. if it was possible before the end of this european parliamentary term, that would be fantastic. how would that happen, though? because there would be a lot of hurdles before that could happen. there wo

particular he will be leading the next phase in the same way that michel barnier and jean—claude junckert the end. on the times, a different story, pm orders cabinet to accessways of projects. this is interesting because it would appear, is it sajid javid the chancellor who gave a presentation to cabinet and this is axing or looking at projects which go back as far as the coalition government so everything is on the table? it makes me smile. i have long ceased to be a lobby correspondent that the best kind of classic plant in a newspaper from one government department with the particular spin is as old as the hills. is that what you think this is? most politicaljournalism frankly is. is that right, caroline? the only thing i would say about this story. it is written by somebody who broke the huawei story, cabinet leaks are his thing. it was about the fact that theresa may was looking at giving huawei a contract on 4g and he became the absolute king of cabinet leaks. there are a few tell—tale signs that maybe this is indeed, as john few tell—tale signs that maybe this is indeed, asjohn su

that they want some time right and david wenham of european union's chief pressing negotiator michel barnier monday he warned that it would only this whole process would only ever me an exercise in damage limitation. well i think that's certainly the european union's view and i think that would be widely shared beyond the european union as well i think what you've got with great is a whole series of significant challenges in some states getting out of the e.u. has been the really easy bit now you've actually got to piece together the relationship build up the range of trade and other agreements so that you can get the level of continued cooperation that you actually want and i think this is as was indicated earlier going to take a considerable amount of time i think it's actually naive to assume that this can be done in 11 months would be totally unprecedented particularly when you're on top of the time machine you've got the big differences between the u.k. and the e.u. on some quite fundamental issues if we look at the way in which the e.u. concludes its trade agreements with other countri

the european union's chief brexit negotiator, michel barnier, has warned the window is short for theformally leave the european union this friday at 11pm, but that's only the first step in the brexit process. there's a transitional period until december 31st, during which time the uk's trading relationship with brussels remains the same while both sides try negotiate a future partnership. well, all this week at 10:00pm, we'll be looking at brexit‘s impact on politics and business, and getting your views. ireland has been at the centre of the whole process, and the taoiseach, leo varadkar, has told the bbc in a rare interview, that the eu will be the "stronger team" in the talks about to begin. he was talking to our political editor, laura kuenssberg. of course, looking down at you. yeah, this is michael collins, one of the founding fathers of the country, and the founding father of my party. the past and the present have been part of brexit‘s haggling, with one of the leaders in the fight for irish independence supervising him from the office wall. leo varadkar has held many of the c

up with a deal on their future relationship in that time period however the chief negotiator michel barnier says it won't be possible to reach a comprehensive agreement with the u.k. in just a year earlier we heard from dave barker about what lies ahead in those negotiations . the e.u. has repeatedly said that it won't go easy on the united kingdom having some very warm words though from the new e.u. commission chief delay and she has promised unprecedented cooperation she said a partnership that goes beyond trade and is close when it comes to things like climate action data protection fisheries energy so on and so forth but just to remind you this bill that's currently going through parliament includes a clause which means that there cannot be a further extension so if there isn't any economic partnership by the end of the year then well britain ends up leaving the european union on something of a cliff edge johnson is hoping to have an economic partnership in place by july that's very very soon many people think about but maybe a little bit too ambitious but johnson says he can achieve it

but, of course, this is also a smug moment for michel barnier, because this is where he says to everybodycharged me with getting an orderly withdrawal of the united kingdom, just imagine if we were heading into was a no—deal brexit. actually, you know, no one is going to really noticed much difference after brexit, because you are in this sort of standstill transition agreement the next day, so he is sort of patting himself on the back. are you suggesting that sometimes politicians might be smug? by the way just to be clear, there is no one. none of that at all. none of that smug. none of that posturing or daft ideas, none of that going on. i think on the other side, you know, the eu was very aware that even though it also wanted to get on with it, you know, if the uk was going, itjust wanted it to go already. you know, the theme is not going to go away from the eu. so you know, brexit is not going to overshadow eu business to the same extent after it actually happened, but this trade deal is going to be a big deal. so, even though eu types like to say to now, look, china is a much bigger

michel barnier will publish a mandate. thank you.ith our correspondents in scotland, wales and northern ireland. first to lorna gordon at holyrood. yes, lots of symbolic gestures here in scotland. the european flag will keep flying outside the parliament here this evening and a plan to let vigil is expected here later from people who want europe to come in their words can keep open a place for scotland. a small group of those taking part are already starting to gather here. nicola sturgeon has already been speaking this morning here in edinburgh as well. she said she viewed the uk, and scotland, leaves the eu with real and profound sadness and a renewed sense of determination to keep making the case for independence. she said the uk scotland voted to be part of an 2014 ceases to exist at 11pm. she fleshed out some of the details surrounding some of the arguments about independence as well. she said she was not ruling out a consultative independence referendum that such a referendum would be tested in court and there was no guarantee

to come up with a deal and their future relationship in that time but he used chief negotiator michel barnier says it won't be possible to reach a comprehensive agreement with the u.k. in a year. prince harry and meghan the duchess of sussex say they're stepping back from their roles the senior members of the u.k. as well family the couple made the announcement without consulting the royal family saying they aim to become financially independent but as jonah hole reports from london critics say that isn't possible if they want to maintain a role in public life. it wasn't long ago that the american actress make a mark injecting new life into britain's staid royal family marrying prince harry 6 in line to the throne in 2018. but the mix of transatlantic glamour and royalty quickly turned toxic in the press with the duke and duchess of sussex criticised for a jet set lifestyle at taxpayer's expense and accusations in return against some newspapers of racism in an interview late last year meghan hinted that it might all be too much british man said to me. i'm sure he's great. but. because the bri

shall we have a look at adam's perhaps final moment of chasing michel barnier through a brussels streetour last ever... for many people in this house and for you too, adam, for brexitcast team, how? it's not sad because we are going to become a newscast. still will exist. good news. ithink going to become a newscast. still will exist. good news. i think after work without any nostalgia even about... moving on. this is our last doorstep before brexit day. quite an historic moments. a sad moment, a sad day for you did a good job. i tried to do a good job. what is actually in that folder? it's the paperl actually in that folder? it's the paper i need to prevent my next visit, november six, tomorrow in spain. would you like to say hello chevron who's watching? please come into the future. —— please look to the future. applause you're going to break up for tonight him forever. thank you offerjoining us? would you come back for newcast after brexit? thank you! applause brexitcast. .. brexitcast... from the bbc. hello. our weather this week has come in two halves. the first half of the week —

indeed, in a briefing to eu politicians in november of last year, michel barnier himself said that thato short, but that brussels would strive to have a deal in place by the end of 2020. it is clearly possible to do this deal from the end of 2020. the debate on the legislation will continue for the rest of the week. but moving away from brexit on to health matters, according to recent figures, the number of hospital admissions in england for eating disorders has risen by more than a third over the last two years. in the lords, ministers were urged to increase funding for treatment. nhs figures show that 19,000 people required hospitalisation for eating disorders in england last year. that figure is more than double what it was a decade ago. with only 649 inpatient beds in the nhs in england to treat people with eating disorders, does the minister agree that the resources to tackle this worrying mental health crisis are too scarce? i know the noble baroness has personal expertise in this area. i thank her for her for her question. as she knows, we have taken seriously trying to expand an

is done that, so that is going to happen on wednesday and but also, this is a smoke moment for michel barnierhis is where he says to everybody, you charged me with getting an orderly withdrawal of the united kingdom just imagine if we were heading into now was no—deal brexit. actually, nobody's going to really notice much difference the day after brexit because you are in this standstill transition agreement the next day before. so he is putting himself on the back. he is suggesting that politicians can be a bit smug, but there are none of them in westminster at the moment. there is no one! no one. none of that going on at all. i think on the other side, the eu is very aware that even if it also wanted to get on with it, if it also wanted to get on with it, if the uk was just wanting to go already. brexit is not going to overs ha d ow already. brexit is not going to overshadow an eu business to the same extent after actually happening. it is going to be a big deal, so even if the eu like to say to say to you now, china is much bigger deal for example. yes, russia and iran and everything. at t

but, of course, this is also a smug moment for michel barnier, because this is where he says to everybodyme with getting an orderly withdrawal of the united kingdom, just imagine if we were heading into was a no—deal brexit. actually you know no one is going to really noticed much difference that after brexit, because you are in this sort of standstill transition agreement the next day, so he is sort of patting himself on the back. are yyou suggesting that sometimes politicians might be smug? they are none of them investments are at the moment, by the wayjust to be clear, there is no one. none of that at all. none of that smug. none of that posturing or daft ideas, none of that going on. i think on the other side you know, the eu was very aware that even though it also wanted to get on with it you know, if the uk was going with it, just wanted to go already. you know, the theme is not going to go away from the eu. so you know, brexit is not going to overshadow you business to the same extent you know come after it actually happened, but this trade deal is going to be a big deal. so, even

some of the more nitty gritty aspects of this for some future date after december 2020 i mean michel barnier speech that in stock erm echoes what was said here in london on whedon's day by the european commission president live on the lead in who met with prime minister boris johnson and at the same time as she poured. complements on the british side on the relationship between the e.u. and the u.k. saying the bonds were unbreakable that there would always be a friendship between the e.u. and u.k. she warned that the time scale was in her words very very tight and that they had to prioritize. after 7 months of unrest in hong kong people in taiwan are taking notice hundreds of pro-democracy protesters have fled to the islands since the demonstrations began and taiwan's presidential election this weekend is being seen as a referendum on beijing's increasing influence the reports from taipei. tony chung shuttles between hong kong and taiwan's capital taipei every month he's part of a growing support system for protestors looking to flee hong kong because they're worried about their safety or fe

yesterday there was a letter from michel barnier. .. there was a letter from michel barnier... parliament is passing at the moment was granting the ability to rights of eu citizens' rights in the uk relative to the watchdog that could help eu citizens have a proper ability to due process in the case and be able to live in the uk will settle status and what i'm wondering is how should the eu respond to a threat of watering down eu citizens' rights here in the ongoing processes and negotiations. thank you, the woman at the back and then there was a woman here in a green top, yes. thank you, i am a former european official. mine is the other half of the question that my friend just asked which is whether you consider associate to citizenship for british individuals. i feel torn up by the notion that we leave the eu as a bureaucratic structure but as someone who loves someone from another bit of the eu i don't quite see howl another bit of the eu i don't quite see how i managed to leave it sol would like you to say a little bit more perhaps about citizenship for us more perhaps abo

come up with a deal on their future relationship in that time but the ears of chief negotiator michel barnier says it won't be possible to reach a comprehensive agreement with the u.k. in a year. britain's royal family are reportedly hurt and disappointed after prince harry and his wife meggan so they're stepping down from senior roles within the monarchy the couple made the announcement without consulting the royal family saying they aim to become financially independent and as jonah hill reports from london critics say that isn't possible if they want to maintain a role in public life. it wasn't long ago that the american actress make a mark ogle seen as injecting new life into britain's state rule family marrying prince harry 6 in line to the throne in 2018. but the mix of transatlantic glamour and walty quickly turned toxic in the press with the duke and duchess of sussex criticised for a jet set lifestyle at taxpayer's expense and accusations in return against some newspapers of racism. in an interview late last year meghan hinted that it might all be too much a british man said to me. i

this is michel barnier, the head of the european commission's u.k. task force. >> is obviously a very sad and for bothay because sides, separating will make us weaker. as in a divorce. amy: the w world health organizationon's memeeting again today to decide whether to declare the coronavirus an international blic healtlth emergency as the death toll continues to mount over 170 peoplple have died in china, and o over 70 casases hae en confirmrmed worldwide. 16 airlines have now canceled alall or m many ofheheir flightn and d out of chinana. in election news, senator amy: bashar is facing calls to suspend -- closure is facing calls to suspend her campaign. an african-american teenager sentenced to life in prison over 2002 murder of an 11-year-old. my led the case against morale when she was the district attorney. a new associated press report says she may have mishandled the case and that burrell could be innocent. they relied on jailhouse informants, some of whom have since recounted their testimony. he has always maintained his innocence. -- minneapo

have to come up with a deal on the future relationship in that time he used chief negotiator michel barnier says it won't be possible to reach a comprehensive agreement with the u.k. in 12 months earlier we spoke to new parker about what lies ahead in those negotiations. the e.u. has repeatedly said that it won't go easy on the united kingdom having some very warm words though from the new e.u. commission chief delay and she has promised unprecedented cooperation she said a partnership that goes beyond trade and is close when it comes to things like climate action data protection fisheries energy so on and so forth but just to remind you this bill that's currently going through parliament includes a clause which means that there cannot be a further extension so if there isn't any economic partnership by the end of the year then well britain ends up leaving the european union on something of a cliff edge johnson is hoping to have an economic partnership in place by july that's very very soon many people think about but maybe a little bit too ambitious but johnson says he can achieve it. has

leaving some of the more nitty gritty aspects of us for some future date after december of 2020 michel barnier speech that in stock erm echoes what was said here in london on wednesday by the european commission president live on the lead in who met with prime minister boris johnson and at the same time as she poured. complements on the british side on the relationship between the e.u. and the u.k. saying the bombs were on breakable that they would always be a friendship between the e.u. and u.k. she warned that the time scale was in her words very very tight and that they had to prioritize shabani has put a little bit more meat on those burns day saying that his 3 priorities 1st of all would be to build capacity that is to. the way that britain and the e.u. will talk to each other after bracks it 2nd of all to increase or get security cooperation on that and then thirdly the idea of what will be the standards and he said as follows competing on social and environmental standards can only lead to a race to the bottom the puts workers consumers and the planet's on the losing side now the britis

begin about a month afterwards, after the eu has come up with their own mission statement from michel barnier two sides will want things from each other that the other side doesn't really wa nt other that the other side doesn't really want to can't easily. boris johnson says he does not want to stick to the rules, if you don't stick to the rules, if you don't stick to the rules, if you don't stick to the rules, you can't have easy access to our markets. after we have all cry together, and it sort of wrung out our handkerchiefs, it will be back to business— and business as before, more or less. everybody says, of course, we respect the decision, it is done, we have to get on and look to the future, but is not going to be easy. in terms of the way the two sides deal with each other, that is anger and recrimination, triumphalism and loss on all sides, we saw some of that today. in terms of how the two sides deal each other in the future, how much difference does it make where we are on december 31 of this year, how much manages to get achieved by the end of this year? many in the eu are very dou

the moment is getting their mandate ready, which is the detailed blueprint that would give to michel barnierg streams that will cover things like trade, security cooperation within the eu, security cooperation in the wider world, scientific research, the mobility of people, a whole load of areas. at the first thing they will have to agree with the uk and i think they will probably start talking about in the next couple of weeks is just how the talks are going to work. here the cost modalities. they will have to discuss what areas to prioritise because the eu is not convinced that all the areas that need to be covered can be addressed in the short time available in the transition period. i think there might bea transition period. i think there might be a bit of an argument over what areas are prioritised. there will be a discussion about how intense negotiations should be, how many rounds there should be, where the should take place, who will be who's opposite number either side of the table, and the eu i think will assist putting in a lot of milestones in the negotiations. for example gettin

michel barnier who led the brexit negotiations will attend the meeting. point and tension of the story has to do with timing. both sides agree they want a free-trade deal and a comprehensive free-trade deal, just how comprehensive will depend on how much boris johnson decides to move away from eu standards. the tension has to do with timing. he wants it done by the end of the year, he says he is not asking for more time. the europeans are more skeptical in terms of the timing. we are being told there are no technical details that will come there the meeting because is not a mandate from european leaders to negotiate, but it will serve to set the scene for that conversation that will take place next month perhaps. much, mariayou very tadeo on the ground in brussels. this is the third gas line between russia and turkey, what does this display of unity mean if tensions continue to rise for the south? >> this natural gas pipeline between russia and turkey signifies strengthening trade ties between the nations, especially amid simmering geopolitical tensions i

i will be meeting with michel barnier as well.me to sort out that trade relationship before that deadline of december 31 at the end of this year. it is there planning taking place for a no—deal scenario? it is there planning taking place for a no-deal scenario? firstly, the eu themselves have agreed to the timetable so both in the withdrawal agreement, they are committed to negotiating with best endeavours and the political declaration they have committed to having a trade deal in place by the end of 2020. when people say cannot be done, both the uk and the eu have agreed in the political declaration that is part of the deal that is the timeframe. secondly, many of the people saying it cannot be done to that timescale, with the same people who said we could not change the backstop, we could not change the backstop, we could not change the backstop, we could not get a deal, that the negotiations were a shame, that we we re negotiations were a shame, that we were not serious when clearly that was not the case. people want to see a s

michel barnier gets to walk, and i am just looking at the white house.y leaders are gathered there to be part of this address from the president, who many in america are saying faces the toughest test of his presidency, after iran launched those ballistic missiles at iraqi us bases last night. no casualties reported and indeed a warning from iran. let‘s hear from reported and indeed a warning from iran. let‘s hearfrom president donald trump, speaking the white house. as long as i am president of the united states, iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. good morning. iam pleased be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. good morning. i am pleased to inform you the american people should be extremely grateful and happy no americans were harmed in last night‘s attack by the iranians regime. we suffered no casualties, all of our soldiers are safe, and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases. our great american forces are prepared for anything. iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a ver

, the one thing they were able to do successfully is keep the e.u. 27 united, and they credit michel barnierause the priorities for each country going forward are different. the sectors and industries associated with the u.k. are different. the french care about the fishing waters, the germans care about the auto industry, and the spanish care about tourism. this could be a negotiation says theythe u.k. want to look at individual sectors. det is the big concern, regulation and we could see --deregulation and we could see the unity -- tom: meredith sumpter in washington with us. will this have a happy ending? or nightmarerozen" on 42nd street or whatever the movie is? meredith: we should expect there will be a great deal more political drama this year, even if we have greater political stability in the u.k. our take is that as both sides harden their positions and prepare for the start of negotiations, we do not expect a lot of movement in the negotiations until the second half of the year, so we are looking at july to october. our call is pretty strong, is 60% probability there will be a dea

michel barnier has said that when it comes to trade, the uk's choices will now make frictionless trade pt possible. but the eu says you have to accept their rules and laws and are subordinate to them. we want a close relationship with eu and the approach we want is built on a relationship built with canada and that means we want a relationship where the right note tariffs, quotas but there will be some regulations that will differ in britain, two things that are better for our economy and that will mean you're creating processes that are not there now with europe in the interest of our economy. it is going to be more awkward for businesses particularly those importing and exporting trade across especially in the irish border. we have a specific condition that relates to northern ireland and our relationship with ireland and our relationship with ireland overall. axis throughout the uk. as we leave the eu we will be able to set the rules of the british economy and that means we will see all sorts of procedures, bureaucracies that in the past have held british businesses are back. let's

what is happening in brussels, they will establish the mandate for michel barnier, a wish list on termsth the latest from brussels. the exit deal reached with the eu has secured some, but not all of the rights they've enjoyed. 300,000 uk passport holders live in spain alone. our europe correspondent damian grammaticas is in benidorm... what a blue sky you have got there, you must be having fun! what is the mood of british nationals there as we approached 11 o'clock in the final brexit moment? ben, it is interesting. british people here, some are confused, they do not know how things will pan out. and some are quite worried. others, interestingly you were saying, they need to secure their rights. they are moving here to spain. if you do so before the end of the year you are so before the end of the year you a re covered by so before the end of the year you are covered by all of the deals so you can continue to live here. sam, you can continue to live here. sam, you have moved out in the last month. and the timing was because of brexit? we originally planned to move six months ago but we

i think we will get a speech from michel barnier, he has been walking around here talking to any journalistrocess like the european parliament brexit coordinator and then we will hear a load of mamas of the european parliament who are staying here who will be sad about seeing the brits go it will probably say that brexit isa go it will probably say that brexit is a historic mistake that they will regret and then we will save some british meps, some quite tearful about the fact that the time of offices up and that on friday, the uk will be leaving the eu. then after that there will be a small ceremony outside the chamber where some people will say some remarks, then we will get the real theatre, and told the snp group have arranged for a bagpiper to play them out of the building and there are a few other special guests. i just saw miss belgium, the winner of the beauty pageant wandering around, she has been invited by an mep to witness the proceedings and labour meps are all wearing pro—eu football scarves made by one of the labour meps who is packing up his office like the rest of them to l