Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 U.S. NEWS
Wednesday 15 november 2017
UK lawmakers battle over Brexit amid customs chaos warning

By JILL LAWLESS locked over terms of the
Associated Press U.K.’s withdrawal, includ-
LONDON (AP) — A frag- ing how much Britain must
ile government, a legisla- pay to meet its financial
tive minefield and a jittery commitments to the bloc
economy are turning up and the status of citizens
the tension as Britain tries affected by Brexit.
to turn its vote to leave the EU chief negotiator Michel
European Union into a real- Barnier says there must be
ity. major progress in divorce
Exit negotiations with the talks before the end of No-
bloc are stalled on di- vember if EU leaders are to
vorce terms, and on Tues- agree at a Dec. 14-15 sum-
day Prime Minister Theresa mit to move on to discuss-
May’s government battled ing trade and future rela-
to push its central piece of tions.
Brexit legislation through a The rights of 3 million EU citi-
divided Parliament. zens in Britain — and 1 mil-
The European Union (With- lion Britons living elsewhere
drawal) Bill is designed to in the bloc — remains a
prevent a legal vacuum by sticking point. Britain says
converting some 12,000 EU EU nationals will be able
laws into British statute on In this file photo dated Tuesday, March 14, 2017, a European flag flies along with a British Union to stay and enjoy broadly
the day the U.K. leaves the flag, left, outside Europe House, the European Parliament’s British offices, in London. the same rights as they do
bloc in March 2019. Associated Press now.
But many lawmakers claim bate on the bill Tuesday, parture from the EU. The consequences if Britain But the European Parlia-
the bill gives the govern- and lawmakers have filed government wants to set a fails to put a new customs ment’s top Brexit official
ment too much power to hundreds of proposed time of 11 p.m. (2300GMT) system in place before the has warned that the U.K.’s
amend legislation without amendments — each one on March 29, 2019, but U.K. leaves the EU. proposals fall far short of
parliamentary scrutiny. a challenge for a minority some pro-EU lawmakers Parliament’s Public Ac- what’s needed.
And opponents of Brexit government that relies on said that degree of speci- counts Committee said Guy Verhofstadt wrote in a
— both from the opposi- support from a small North- ficity could eliminate flex- Brexit may lead to a five- letter to Davis — obtained
tion and from May’s Con- ern Ireland party to avoid ibility Britain might need. fold increase in customs by The Associated Press —
servative Party — will try defeat on key votes. Labour Party Brexit spokes- declarations. It said that that “under your proposals
to amend it to soften the Legislators reviewed the bill man Paul Blomfield said could bring “huge disrup- EU citizens will definitely no-
terms of Britain’s exit from in line-by-line detail Tues- fixing a day in law was “a tion” for business, with bor- tice a deterioration of their
the bloc. day, starting with wrangling gimmick” by “a prime min- der delays causing “mas- status as a result of Brexit.”
The House of Commons over whether to specify an ister so weak she is trying to sive backups” at the port Verhofstadt noted that
began eight days of de- exact time for Britain’s de- tie her own hands behind of Dover and food rot- citizens will have to register
her back.” ting in trucks if the system for settled status in the U.K.
A group of pro-EU Conser- doesn’t work properly. individually instead of as
vatives is threatening to Britain hopes to strike a a family, that it will be too
defeat the government free-trade deal with the costly and that there are
unless there are conces- EU, and wants a two-year too many risks of deporta-
sions to avoid a “hard Brex- transition period after 2019 tion.
it” — that is, an exit without to ease into the new ar- Any Brexit deal between
a deal on seamless new rangements. But nego- the 27 EU nations and Brit-
trade relations that many tiations between London ain needs the approval of
businesses fear will cause and Brussels remain dead- the European Parliament.q
economic turmoil. When child sex isn’t rape:
The government has tried
to mollify rebellious law- French to set age of consent
makers by promising Par-
liament will get a vote on PARIS (AP) — Is a 13-year- Nicole Belloubet provoked
any Brexit deal agreed on old old enough to agree to consternation among femi-
between Britain and the sex with an adult? That’s a nist groups Monday by say-
bloc before Britain leaves question France is asking ing a legal minimum age
in March 2019. as the government pre- of 13 for sexual consent “is
But Brexit Secretary David pares to set a legal age for worth considering.”Activists
Davis said the vote will be a sexual consent for the first staged a small protest
“take it or leave it” choice: time.Twice in recent weeks, Tuesday in central Paris to
If Parliament rejects the French courts have refused argue that the age of con-
deal, Britain will crash out to prosecute men for rape sent should be set at 15.
of the 28-nation bloc with- after they had sex with Protesters waved placards
out an agreement. 11-year-old girls because that read “for him impuni-
Many businesses see that authorities couldn’t prove ty, for her a life sentence”
as a worst-case scenario, coercion. Amid the public in reference to the recent
as it would bring tariffs and disbelief over the situation, cases.“We want the law to
red tape that could see the French government is guarantee that before 15
trade with the bloc grind to drafting a bill to say that there can be no concept
a halt.A group of lawmak- sex with children under a of consent,” prominent
ers warned Tuesday there certain age is by definition French feminist activist Car-
could be catastrophic coercive.Justice Minister oline de Haas said.q