Page 8 - aruba-today-20171202

A8 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 2 december 2017
EU tells UK: No trade talks without progress on Irish border

so that the 27 other EU lead- frontier will be the U.K.'s
ers can assess it before a only land border with an
crucial Dec. 14-15 summit EU country.
in Brussels. That meeting will Britain says it wants to main-
decide whether there has tain a "frictionless" flow of
been enough progress to people and goods with no
move on to discussing fu- border posts. But Ireland is
ture relations and trade. demanding to know how
Tusk said the whole EU was that will work if Britain is out-
behind Ireland on the need side the EU's borderless sin-
for a border plan — dash- gle market and tariff-free
ing British hopes that some customs union.
member states might be Varadkar said he was "an
prepared to compromise. optimist by nature" and be-
"Let me say very clearly: if lieved a breakthrough was
the U.K.'s offer is unaccept- possible.
able for Ireland, it will also "We don't have long, but
be unacceptable for the I believe with the right en-
EU," Tusk said. gagement and the right
"The key to the U.K.'s future political will we can reach
President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, right, shakes hands with Irish Prime Minister Leo lies — in some ways — in an agreement on the way
Varadkar at a press conference at Government Buildings in Dublin to discuss preparations for Dublin," he added. ahead," he said.
the December European Council, Friday Dec. 1, 2017. The EU and the U.K. are However, he added he
(Laura Hutton/PA via AP) nearing agreement on was "prepared to stand

By JILL LAWLESS gotiating a new trade deal that guarantee there will some divorce terms, in- firm ... if the U.K. offer falls
Associated Press with the U.K. no hard border" between cluding the size of the bill short."
LONDON (AP) — The Euro- Standing alongside Euro- Northern Ireland and the that Britain must pay as it
pean Union warned Britain pean Council President Irish republic after Britain leaves and the rights of Any hurdles to the move-
on Friday that it must out- Donald Tusk in Dublin, Irish leaves the EU in 2019. citizens affected by Brexit. ment of people or goods
line by next week how it Prime Minister Leo Varad- Tusk said British Prime Min- But the border issue has could have serious implica-
plans to keep an open Irish kar said the U.K. must of- ister Theresa May had until proved more intractable. tions for the economies on
border after Brexit or the fer "credible, concrete Monday to present her "fi- After Britain leaves the both sides, and for North-
bloc will refuse to start ne- and workable solutions nal offer" on divorce terms bloc, the currently invisible ern Ireland's peace pro-
310-mile (500-kilometer) cess. q

Spain Supreme Court reviewing the
jailing of Catalan separatists

By ARITZ PARRA
Associated Press
MADRID (AP) — A Spanish Supreme Court judge is set to
decide on Monday if two Catalan pro-independence
activists and eight former members of the separatist re-
gional cabinet ousted over a month ago should be re-
leased from custody after hearing their appeal.
The 10 requested Friday's court appearance to pledge
lawful behavior and renounce unilateral independence
efforts in the hope of being released.
Most of them are running in an early regional election
this month that Spanish central authorities called after
they took control of Catalonia in response to the regional
lawmakers' declaration of independence. Official cam-
paigning begins at midnight on Monday.
Spain also dismissed the regional government as part of
unprecedented measures to rein in the country's deepest
political crisis in nearly four decades of democratic rule.
The lower National Court provisionally jailed the 10 Cata-
lans while magistrates probe their roles in relation to the
secession bid.
The eight politicians, including former regional Vice Presi-
dent Oriol Junqueras, face possible charges of rebellion,
sedition and embezzlement that can be punished with
decades in prison. They were among the leading figures
involved in events that crystalized in the Oct. 27 indepen-
dence vote.
Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont and four ex-
ministers are fighting extradition from Belgium over similar
charges.
"We want you at home. You must leave the jail because
you should have never entered it. Do whatever is neces-
sary to come out. We have a lot to do," wrote Puigde-
mont in a tweet on Friday.q