British travellers will need to pay 7 euros to visit Europe post-Brexit

The fee will be waived for those under 18 and those over 70

British travellers will have to pay €7 to visit the EU after Brexit, the European Commission has confirmed.

From 2021, UK citizens will have to pay the fee every three years to pre-register for an electronic visa waiver, a system similar to the Esta scheme used by the US.

The pre-authorisation fee will be waived for travellers under 18 and those over 70, which means it will apply to an estimated 40 million Britons.

The proposed Etias (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) will see citizens of 61 countries outside the Schengen area required to pre-register for visa-free travel

Predictions British tourists would have to pay to visit the EU after Brexit were previously dismissed as scaremongering by Leave campaigners. Yet draft regulation for the new travel scheme makes clear the UK would be considered a “third country” and subject to the same rules as other countries.

“The European Travel Information and Authorisation System will apply to United Kingdom nationals once union law on free movement of union citizens ceases to apply to them, as to other visa-free third country nationals,” it reads.

Natasha Bertaud, coordinating spokesperson for Jean-Claude Juncker, confirmed that the Etias would apply to British tourists after Brexit, but that it was “way cheaper” than an Esta.

Yes #ETIAS will apply to the #UK as 3rd country post-Brexit - 7 euros for a 3 year pre-travel authorisation. Simple form, like #ESTA to the US, but way cheaper. #Brexit #EUCO

— Natasha Bertaud (@NatashaBertaud) December 13, 2018

Despite government hopes that the UK could negotiate an exemption from the fee, a European Commission spokesperson told Sky News: “Once Etias enters into operation, all visa-exempt non-EU nationals who plan to travel to the Schengen area will have to apply via Etias.”

Research from Abta, the body representing travel agents, shows that more than £33bn is spent each year by British travellers in Europe.

In 2017, there were 72.8 million visits overseas by UK residents, an increase of 3 per cent from 2016, according to the most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics. Of the 10 most visited countries by Britons, nine are in Europe.

(Source: The Independent) 

Italy crisis: Call to impeach president after candidate vetoed

Italy is mired in fresh political turmoil, with the president facing impeachment calls after he vetoed a choice for finance minister.

In a rare move, President Sergio Mattarella said he could not appoint the Eurosceptic Paolo Savona, citing concerns by investors.

The decision ended a bid by Italy's two populist parties to form a coalition.

Mr Mattarella may now appoint a stop-gap prime minster with early elections looking increasingly likely.

He has summoned Carlo Cottarelli, a former executive director of the International Monetary Fund, who could form an interim administration.

Italy, the eurozone's fourth-biggest economy, has been without a government since elections in March because no political group can form a majority.

President Sergio Mattarella said he agreed to all the nominations -
except that of finance minister

The Five Star Party had been trying to form a government with another populist party, the right-wing League.

The BBC's James Reynolds in Rome says a temporary prime minister is unlikely to last long and early elections may have to be called.

There is now a real argument between the president and the populists about Italy's position in the EU, he adds.

What caused the crisis?
A political novice, Giuseppe Conte, was proposed by the two populist parties as prime minister in an attempt to break Italy's 11-week political deadlock.

He went to meet Mr Mattarella to put forward choices for his cabinet but the president vetoed Mr Savona as finance minister, citing his fierce opposition to membership of the eurozone.

Justifying his move, he said "uncertainty about our position in the euro has alarmed Italian and foreign investors", and argued that Mr Savona's stance clashed with the two parties' own position on Europe.

"I asked for... an authoritative person from the parliamentary majority who is consistent with the government programme... who isn't seen as a supporter of a line that could probably, or even inevitably, provoke Italy's exit from the euro," Mr Mattarella said.

He added that Mr Conte had refused to support "any other solution" and then surrendered his mandate to be PM.

How unusual is this?
Under Italian law, the president has the right to reject the appointment of a cabinet member but the power is rarely used.

According to the AFP news agency, it has happened at least three times before, including in 1994 when then-President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro blocked attempts by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to appoint his personal lawyer Cesare Previti as Minister of Justice.

The president's role is largely ceremonial but he does have some key powers, such as appointing heads of government and the ability to dissolve parliament.

With Italy seeing frequent instability - there have been dozens of governments since 1946 - the president has often stepped in during a crisis.

What was the reaction?
Five Star's leader Luigi Di Maio called for impeachment under article 90 of the constitution, which allows parliament to demand a president step down based on a simple majority vote.

If the vote is in favour, the country's constitutional court then decides whether to impeach or not.

Giuseppe Conte has handed back his mandate to form a government

"I want this institutional crisis to be taken to parliament... and the president tried," Mr Di Maio said.

"Why don't we just say that in this country it's pointless that we vote, as the ratings agencies, financial lobbies decide the governments?" he asked in a video on Facebook.

League leader Matteo Salvini called for fresh elections.

"In a democracy, if we are still in democracy, there's only one thing to do, let the Italians have their say," he told supporters in a speech in central Italy.

What happens now?
Mr Mattarella said he would wait before deciding whether to call fresh elections, and summoned Mr Cottarelli for talks on Monday.

Mr Cottarelli, 64, worked at the IMF from 2008 to 2013, gaining the nickname "Mr Scissors" for making cuts to public spending in Italy.

President Mattarella warned on Sunday that the prospect of a populist government had worsened the "spread" - the gap between Italian and German 10-year government bond yields, seen as a key measure of risk.

Paolo Savona has a reputation as a strong Eurosceptic

The spread rose to 215 basis points on Friday - the widest in four years. Ratings agency Moody's warned that it might downgrade Italy's sovereign debt rating to "Baa3" - one notch above the junk rating.

Mr Savona, who served as industry minister during the 1990s, has been an outspoken critic of the EU and an opponent of austerity programmes.

That has prompted concern over the proposed coalition's commitment to the EU and its ability to rein in the country's massive national debt - equal to 1.3 times its annual output.

(Source: BBC)

Pound falls sharply against dollar and euro as UK economy almost grinds to a halt

Weak growth figure increases likelihood Bank of England will keep interest rates at 0.5% next month

The pound crashed more than 1 per cent against the dollar on Friday morning after official figures revealed that the UK economy almost ground to a halt in the first quarter.

Sterling fell 1.04 per cent against the dollar to $1.3768 and 0.9 per cent against the euro to 1.1395 on the back of news that UK GDP grew just 0.1 per cent in the first three months of the year.

Analysts had expected a slowdown due to the “Beast from the East” which covered much of the country in snow, causing travel chaos and halting construction work.

But the worse-than-expected number prompted fears that the economy’s problems are more deeply rooted than just bad weather, and increased the likelihood that the Bank of England will not raise interest rates next month.

GDP per person, which strips out economic growth resulting from a rise in population, actually fell in the first quarter, the Office for National Statistics reported.

Traders had been pricing based on the likelihood that the BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee would raise rates to 0.75 per cent from 0.5 per cent on 10 May but the latest GDP numbers further bolster the case for keeping rates where they are.

The pound has fallen steadily against the dollar since reaching a post-EU referendum high of $1.43 earlier this month Getty

The pound has fallen steadily against the dollar since reaching a post-EU referendum high of $1.43 earlier this month. On Monday, it slipped to a five week low after a series of disappointing economic indicators.

That came after sharp falls last week sparked by Bank of England Governor Mark Carney’s comment that recent data had been “mixed”.

Mr Carney said he didn’t want to be “too focused on the precise timing” of when rates might next rise and that the UK should “prepare for a few interest rate rises over the next few years”.

Chancellor Philip Hammond moved to calm fears about the health of the UK economy on Friday. “Our economy has grown every year since 2010 and is set to keep growing, unemployment is at a 40 year low, and wages are increasing as we build a stronger, fairer economy that works for everyone,” he said.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable said the GDP figures were a “worrying indication” that the negative impacts of Brexit were now becoming clear.

“Brexit is sucking the life out of government, making it impossible to deal with the real challenges facing our country,” he said.

“The people must be offered a final say on the Brexit deal, with the option to remain in the EU. Only then can we begin to fix our under performing economy.”

(Source: Independent)

Pound falls below €1 at airport currency bureaux dealing blow to holidaymakers

Sterling has fallen to a fresh eight-year low – an official rate of just over €1.08

The value of the pound has slipped well below €1 at some airport exchange providers, ramping up costs for those holidaying on the continent as Brexit jitters intensify.

Sterling this week fell to a fresh eight-year low – an official rate of just over €1.08 against the EU’s single currency, after solid data out of the bloc underscored the diverging performances of the UK’s and the European Union’s wider economy.

Travellers obtaining last-minute holiday cash from Southampton airport’s Moneycorp branch on Thursday, however, were getting just 87 cents for every pound – the worst rate since the financial crisis.

Travellers obtaining last-minute holiday cash from Southampton airport’s Moneycorp branch on Thursday
were getting just 87 cents for every pound Getty

The pound has tumbled more than 15 per cent against the euro since the UK voted to quit the EU in June 2016, unleashing a wave of uncertainty and battering many foreign investors’ confidence in UK financial assets.

Economists at UniCredit wrote in a note to clients on Thursday that the “upward trend” in the euro’s value against the pound “is showing no signs of slowing down”.

Strategists at Morgan Stanley wrote in a note on Wednesday that the pound’s weakness “is no longer inspiring foreign buyers to come into the market”. They said that they are more optimistic on many other currencies, including the otherwise weak US dollar, and that they think buying the euro against the pound is the most sensible trade at the moment, indicating that they expect the single currency to become even stronger against sterling in the short term.

Last week strategists at the US bank said that the pound would be worth less than the euro on official exchanges by early next year.

(Source: Independent)