Daily Brief: UK, EU Reach Breakthrough Brexit Deal
Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. December 8, 2017 Daily News Brief TOP OF THE AGENDA UK, EU Reach Breakthrough Brexit Deal British and European negotiators struck a deal on Friday (BBC) that they say will protect the rights of EU citizens living in the United Kingdom and vice versa, guarantees no hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, and reaches a financial settlement between Britain and the bloc. Following failed talks earlier this week, the breakthrough deal clears the way for Britain to move onto the next phase in negotiating its exit from the European Union (NYT), which includes hashing out trade terms to take effect after Britain's departure from the single market. Though not included in the written agreement, negotiators agreed that the United Kingdom would pay the bloc an estimated total of between €40 billion and €65 billion (FT), roughly between $47 billion and $76 billion. ANALYSIS "For Theresa May's government, nine months of divorce talks have been a humiliating and yet wholly predictable rendezvous with reality," Philip Stephens writes for the Financial Times. "Negotiations over what a final Brexit deal really looks like haven't even begun within the British government, let alone between it and the EU. This agreement paves the way for the softest, 'Brexit means Brexit in name only' deal," Owen Jones writes for the Guardian. "With Brexit looming, the UK has no choice but to redesign its future trading relationships. As a major producer of sophisticated components, its long-term trade strategy should focus on gaining deep and unfettered access to integrated cross-border supply chains," Giancarlo Corsetti and Meredith A. Crowley write for Project Syndicate. PACIFIC RIM In First, Japan to Purchase Long-Range Missiles Japan's defense minister announced that Tokyo will purchase long-range missiles from Lockheed Martin (Japan Times) and joint strike missiles from the Norwegian firm Kongsberg in light of Japan's "increasingly severe" national security situation. Leading experts discuss Japan's move to amend its postwar constitution in this CFR series. CAMBODIA: The United States announced that it will deport seventy Cambodians (VOA) living illegally in the country, a move Prime Minister Hun Sen said is in line with an agreement with Washington. In Project Syndicate, CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick discusses U.S. policy toward Cambodia as the government ramps up pressure on its opponents. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Pakistan to Grant Visit to Convicted Indian Spy's Family Islamabad announced it will allow the mother and spouse of Kulbhushan Jadhav, handed a death sentence in April (Dawn) for alleged espionage in Pakistan, to visit him later this month. India has requested the International Court of Justice stay his execution (TOI). INDIA: New Delhi has expanded a payout scheme aimed at incentivizing higher-caste Indians (Guardian) to marry members of the lowest caste, the Dalit. The government says about a hundred such marriages take place annually. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Islamic State Defeated in Syria, Russia Says The Russian defense minister said Thursday that there is "not a single village or district" in Syria under the control of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (DW), and that Russia's goal of defeating the militant group "has been accomplished." Anna Borshchevskaya writes in Foreign Affairs that Moscow is an unreliable partner for the United States in the war on terror. IRAN: British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson will visit Tehran this weekend to advocate for the release of a British-Iranian prisoner (Guardian) jailed two years ago on espionage charges. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Zimbabwe Sets Out to Attract Foreign Investment The government of newly installed President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced that, in a bid to attract foreign investors (BBC), it will lift a requirement in place under deposed leader Robert Mugabe for businesses to be majority indigenous-owned. It will also compensate white farmers (WSJ) whose properties were seized during the 1990s and early 2000s. SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa, which hosts Africa's only nuclear power station, said it will scale back plans to expand its nuclear power (Reuters) amid an economic slowdown. EUROPE EU to Sue Three Countries Over Refugee Resettlement The European Commission said it will sue Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic in the European Court of Justice for refusing to comply with a 2015 decision to distribute asylum seekers across Europe (EUobserver) based on quotas. AMERICAS Former Argentine President Charged with Treason A federal judge has requested the Senate approve the arrest of former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (NYT). Kirchner, set to begin a term as senator on Sunday, currently has immunity from arrest. She is charged with covering up Iranian involvement (RFE/RL) in a 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center that killed eighty-five people. COLOMBIA: U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, along with his Colombian counterpart and delegates from Mexico, vowed on Thursday to boost cooperation to fight drug trafficking (AP) from the South American country. UNITED STATES Tillerson Calls on Russia to Leave Ukraine U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, meeting with his Russian counterpart in Vienna to discuss a proposed international peacekeeping force in Ukraine (WaPo), said that Washington will not ease sanctions on Russia until Moscow stops backing separatists in Ukraine and reverses its apparent annexation of Crimea. California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in San Diego on Thursday as wildfires that broke out early this week continue to spread (BBC). Some two hundred thousand people have fled their homes. Council on Foreign Relations — 58 East 68th Street — New York, NY 10065 CFR does not share email addresses with third parties. Forward This Email | Subscribe to CFR Newsletters | Unsubscribe - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
From: dailybrief@e.cfr.org
Date: December 08, 2017 at 10:54PM
