EFTA OR EEA?

The British choice - EFTA or EEA? Aernout Fabius shares his knowledge and experience as a immigrant BeNeLux citizen and Tax Resident of the United Kingdom since 1971.

The United Kingdom (conservative government and Labour Party opposition) is in turmoil and lack a statesman type leader who is able to make the leap-of-faith to solve BrExit and kick the Article 50 process into Antarctica,  which, sadly, is already melting and probably not cool enough to cope with  BrExit's political hot heads!

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.[3] The organization operates in parallel with the European Union (EU), and all four member states participate in the European Single Market and are part of the Schengen Area. They are not, however, party to the European Union Customs Union.

The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the EEA Agreement in 1992, an international agreement which allows for the extension of the European Union (EU)'s single market to non-EU member parties. The EEA links the European Union member states and three EFTA states (Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway) into an internal market governed by the same basic rules. These rules aim to enable free movement of labour, goods, services, and capital within the European Single Market, including the freedom to choose residence in any country within this area. The EEA was established on 1 January 1994 upon entry into force of the EEA Agreement. The contracting parties are the European Union (EU), its member states, and the member states of the European Free Trade Association.

However, the EEA Treaty is a commercial treaty and differs from the EU Treaties in certain key respects. The EFTA members do not participate in the Common Agricultural Policy or the Common Fisheries Policy. According to Article 1 its purpose is to "promote a continuous and balanced strengthening of trade and economic relation." Unlike the EU Treaties, there is no mention of "ever closer union".

Editor's comment

Is this the same Sovereign Nation I chose as my home-away-from-home in 1971? Probably!

In September 2019 I will be 3 years from my official retirement age. As I have stated repeatedly, it is your choice. I am content in the knowledge that I will not be entitled to participate in a people's referendum.

Editor's suggestion

If the British Parliament authorises another people's referendum, a binary vote is the worst choice and unlikely to settle the leave/remain question in the short/medium term (three to five years).

Better late than never

  Unbiased BrExit opinion...?  

Better late than never! BrExit or bacon and eggs for breakfast? Aernout Fabius shares his knowledge and experience as a immigrant BeNeLux citizen and Tax Resident of the United Kingdom since 1971.
☆

     BrExit Day 29 March 2019    

 ☆☆ 33 days and counting ☆☆ 

Davis and Rees-Mogg before 8th July 2018

Fact 1: 2 Tory Brexiters oozing sincerity and charm

Fact 2: David Davis resigned 8th July 2018

Fact 3: Video published 25th February 2019

In memoriam

Paddy Ashdown
 Formerly:   Leader of the Lib Dems - 16 July 1988 to 11 Aug 1999

Born	Jeremy John Durham Ashdown 27 February 1941 New Delhi, British India

It is with great sadness that we received the news that Paddy lost his fight against cancer last night in his home in Somerset.

We extend our condolences to his family and close friends.

Gatwick learning curve

Offered as circumstantial evidence in accordance with research and life experience provided by our network and specialist KPIs ...

The flights are resumed at Gatwick airport this morning. The airport had been closed since Wednesday evening, 19th December 2018, due to one or more drones that appeared several times at the runways. Around 120,000 UK passengers were affected and the knock-on effect is difficult to gage..

Drones in Dutch airspace

In the Netherlands, it occurs annually around fifty times that drones are seen in the vicinity of airports, says a spokesperson for Air Traffic Control the Netherlands (LVNL). The LVNL takes care of notifications from pilots, because drones are not visible on the radar.

NOS news from the Netherlands

Unintended consequences

DRONES AT GATWICK AIRPORT

The person or persons responsible for the grief and severe disruption to passengers at London's Gatwick Airport are foolish and stand condemned.

Who is responsible?

That is the least of our concerns and I shared a moment of anger with the passengers when I saw the Secretary of State for Transport apologising with that greasy unhelpful smile on his face!! Need I say more?

Postpone or cancel?

Is this what The United Kingdom will look like after 29th March 2019?

Professional and journalistic skill sets

Dear professional colleague,

 ☆☆ 100 days and counting ☆☆ 

A few moments ago, I sent a long email to the Westminster speaker's office, because I have offered to submit research material and professional experience which will very quickly dampen the extreme heat of speculation surrounding BrExit and return the debate to quietly sensitive matters concerning the British National Interest.

My burning curiosity...

YOU - MEANING ALL PUBLICATIONS CIRCULATING IN THE UNITED KINGDOM leave me with no alternative but to question your journalistic functions and analytical prowess:

Is it conceivable that the British Broadcasting and national news delivery mechanisms have heaped fuel to the fire in stead of examining the cold hard facts and offering private advice to those in authority who need to decide our future as a "Third Country" ousted unceremoniously from the EU after 46 years....??

Contact: Aernout Fabius

Bercow on Corbyn's lip move

Let us  stop and think it through for a moment.

The leader of the Opposition was remarkably amateurish to allow his lip movement to be seen on TV footage in the House of Commons.

No opinion expressed at this time, because there is a much more significant question that needs to be answered by the House of Commons in session. It is a blessing in disguise that the House of Commons breaks for the festive season today.

Jeremy Corbyn Euronews interview

Labour explains BrExit - Aernout Fabius shares his knowledge and experience as a immigrant BeNeLux citizen and Tax Resident of the United Kingdom since 1971.

Jeremy Corbyn - reluctant to grasp the nettle and the REAL BrExit solution?

At the time of writing, my principal points of contact have been Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer MP and the Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP in London and the Barnier Article 50 Task Force in Brussels...

End of Katiwice Climate change conference

Aernout Fabius shares his knowledge and experience as a immigrant BeNeLux citizen and Tax Resident of the United Kingdom since 1971

Climate change cross examined

Overseas Countries and Territories

The European Union has worked carefully with six EU member states

EU Overseas
Countries and Territories Association

The special territories of the European Union are 31 territories of EU member states which, for historical, geographical, or political reasons, enjoy special status within or outside the European Union. The special territories divided themselves in two categories: 9 Outermost Regions (OMR) that form part of the European Union, though they benefit from derogations from some EU laws due to their geographical remoteness from mainland Europe; and 22 Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) that do not form part of the European Union, though they cooperate with the EU via the Overseas Countries and Territories Association.

The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are 14 territories under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United Kingdom. They are remnants of the British Empire that have not been granted independence or have voted to remain British territories. These territories do not form part of the United Kingdom and, with the exception of Gibraltar, are not part of the European Union. Most of the permanently inhabited territories are internally self-governing, with the UK retaining responsibility for defence and foreign relations. Three are inhabited only by a transitory population of military or scientific personnel. They all share the British monarch (Elizabeth II) as head of state.

New Welsh First Minister

The First Minister of Wales (Welsh: Prif Weinidog Cymru) is the leader of the Welsh Government, Wales' devolved administration. The First Minister is responsible for the exercise of functions by the Cabinet of the Welsh Government; policy development and coordination; relationships with the rest of the United Kingdom, Europe and the wider world.

First Minister of Wales Prif Weinidog Cymru
Incumbent Mark Drakeford since 13 December 2018
Style	The Right Honourable
Appointer	Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Term length	While commanding the confidence of the National Assembly for Wales
Inaugural holder	Alun Michael (as Assembly First Secretary)
Formation	12 May 1999
Website	Website

The official office of the First Minister is in Tŷ Hywel, previously known as Crickhowell House, and the Senedd in Cardiff Bay. An office is also kept at the Crown Buildings, Cathays Park, Cardiff.

Crown Dependencies

The Crown Dependencies are the Bailiwick of Jersey, the Bailiwick of Guernsey (which includes the jurisdictions of Guernsey, Alderney and Sark) and the Isle of Man. The Crown Dependencies are not part of the UK but are self-governing dependencies of the Crown, answerable to the Queen and through her to the Privy Council and not to the UK Parliament.

From the poles to the tropics, the European Union (EU) includes 34 overseas entities: 9 Outermost Regions (ORs) and 25 Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs). They are linked to 6 European Member States: Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom.

The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man  are not classified by the European Union as Special Overseas Countries and Territories.

■■■
Editor's cross analysis
■■■ The Crown Dependencies ■■■

These islands are in Europe and entitled to a special referendum to decide:

1) Their existing Status Quo or complete independence

2) The relationship with the UK and the Crown

3) continue or abandon the special T&Cs with the EU

Youth about climate change

Aernout Fabius shares his knowledge and experience as a immigrant BeNeLux citizen and Tax Resident of the United Kingdom since 1971

Climate change cross examined

The future of the UK

  ☆☆ 107 days and counting ☆☆  

Since the 23rd June 2016 BrExit has dominated the headlines in the United Kingdom and I blinked uncomfortably  because the real priorities are as much national as international. Artificial measures to cure the natural flow of trade and money are risky.

Economic cycles were seriously unsettled in the aftermath of the 2007/8 financial crises and may have been prolonged by quantative easing and a long spell of low interest rates.

During the 20th century there were  moments, when European legislators and law officers fell short of the mark, bearing in mind:

• The Polly Peck scandal
• Recurring finance/pension management scandals
• The Hillsborough incident compared with Heisel stadium
• A decline in Keynesian economic management principles
• Trouble at mill  - the mining industry
• The Grenfell Tower

BrExit Chaos exposed - Caroline Lucas

BrExit Chaos exposed - Caroline Lucas from the Green Party explains - Aernout Fabius shares his knowledge and experience as a immigrant BeNeLux citizen and Tax Resident of the United Kingdom since 1971.

Caroline Lucas - UK Green Party

Dissolution Netherlands Antilles

The Netherlands Antilles was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was dissolved on 10 October 2010.

Dissolution of theNetherlands Antilles

The Netherlands Antilles before its complete dissolution in 2010
Date	1 January 1986 (Aruba), 10 October 2010
Location	Netherlands Antilles
Participants	Governments of the island territories of the Netherlands Antilles Government of the Netherlands Antilles Government of the Netherlands
Outcome	Separation of Arubain 1986, complete dissolution in 2010

Map of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands and the Caribbean islands are to the same scale.

After dissolution, the "BES islands" of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba became special municipalities of the Netherlands proper, while Curaçao and Sint Maarten became constituent countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, along the lines of Aruba, which previously separated from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986.

Status in the European UnionEdit

The Kingdom of the Netherlands is the Sovereign Nation and a member of the European Union.

However, Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten have the status of overseas countries and territories (OCTs) and are not part of the EU. Nevertheless, only one type of citizenship exists within the Kingdom (Dutch), and all Dutch citizens are EU citizens (including those in the OCTs).

The Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of the Netherlands agreed not to change the status of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba with regard to the EU in the first five years of integration of these islands into the Netherlands, after which a re-evaluation of the islands' EU status is to take place. The islands thus will remain OCTs at least until 2015.^[14]

The Netherlands secured a provision in the Treaty of Lisbon that says that any Caribbean part of the Netherlands can opt for a change of status to Outermost Region (OMR) if it so wishes, without having to change the Treaties of the European Union.

Ed

Editorial comment:

The participant territorial governments used a combination of Referendum and Round Table Conferences to conclude the way forward, which was duly ratified by the individual islands in 2010.

History of Hong Kong

Hong Kong (1800s–1930s) was a period largely dominated by the British Empire. After invading the territory in 19th century during the Opium War, the British gained land in a series of unequal treaties. Hong Kong became one of the first parts of East Asia to undergo industrialisation.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Hong_Kong
~~~
British Hong Kong denotes the period during which Hong Kong was governed as a colony and British Dependent Territory of the United Kingdom. Excluding the Japanese occupation during the Second World War, Hong Kong was under British rule from 1841 to 1997.

The colonial period began with the occupation of Hong Kong Island in 1841 during the First Opium War. The island was ceded by Qing China in the aftermath of the war in 1842 and established as a Crown colony in 1843.

The colony expanded to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 after the Second Opium War and was further extended when Britain obtained a 99-year lease of the New Territories in 1898.

Although Hong Kong Island and Kowloon were ceded in perpetuity, the leased area, which comprised over 90 per cent of the territory, had such a vital role in the economy that Britain agreed to transfer the entire colony to China upon the expiration of that lease in 1997.

The transfer has been considered by many as marking the end of the British Empire.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Hong_Kong

Devolution in Greenland

On Saturday 7th December 2018, a phone-in show which shall not be named in this blog, exposed how easy it is for FAKE NEWS to enter the realm of quasi-truth. A caller stated that Greenland was a part of Norway. Let me quote a quick historic summary:

• Norse colonization - 10th century
• Arrival of the Inuit - 13th century
• Unification with Norway - 1262
• Dano-Norwegian colonies established 1721
• Ceded to Denmark - 14 January 1814

In 1953 a new Danish Constitution incorporated Greenland in Denmark, the island thereby gained representation in the Danish Parliament and was recognized as a Danish province known as the County of Greenland.

In 1979 Greenland was granted home rule by the Danish government, but Denmark remained in control of a number of areas incl. foreign relations, defense, currency matters and the legal system in Greenland after this.

Greenlandic fishing rights
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After wrangling over fishing rights, the territory left the EEC in 1985, but remains subject to the EU treaties through association of Overseas Countries and Territories with the EU. This was permitted by the Greenland Treaty, a special treaty signed in 1984 to allow its withdrawal from the EEC/EU. Greenland is not an EEA or an EFTA member!

In 2008 Greenland's citizens approved the Greenlandic self-government referendum with a 75% vote in favor of a higher degree of autonomy. Greenland took control of law enforcement, the coast guard, and the legal system. The official language changed from Danish to Greenlandic on 21 June 2009, Greenland national day.

As part of the self-rule law of 2009 (section §21), Greenland can declare full independence if they wish to pursue it, but it would have to be approved by a referendum among the Greenlandic people. A poll in 2016 showed that there was a clear majority (64%) for full independence among the Greenlandic people, but a poll in 2017 showed that there was a clear opposition (78%) if it meant a fall in living standards.

EFTA - European Free Trade Association

EFTA participating countries:

Iceland
Liechtenstein
Norway
Switzerland

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four @European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. The organization operates in parallel with the European Union (EU), and all four member states participate in the European Single Market and are part of the Schengen Area. They are not, however, party to the EU Customs Union.

Whilst the EFTA is not a customs union and member states have full rights to enter into bilateral third-country trade arrangements, it does have a coordinated trade policy.^[3] As a result, its member states have jointly concluded free trade agreements with the EU and a number of other countries.^[3] To participate in the EU's single market, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway are parties to the Agreement on a European Economic Area(EEA), with compliances regulated by the EFTA Surveillance Authority and the EFTA Court. Switzerland has a set of bilateral agreements with the EU instead