Democratic Unionist sources said the key aspect of the late-night agreement was the fact that trading regulations with Ireland - and indeed the whole of the EU - would be UK-wide.

They described this outcome as “Nigel’s red line” - a reference to the DUP leader at Westminster, Nigel Dodds. The North Belfast MP had insisted through the night that any trading relationships would be uniform whether they be in Bristol, Birmingham or Belfast.

The sources also said it was a ‘Troika’ of DUP leaders who sat through the night in constant touch with the prime minister’s officials in Brussels and London. They included Dodds and the party’s chief whip in the Commons, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson.

The pair liaised with the DUP’s leader, Arlene Foster, who remained at her home in Enniskillen, Co.Fermanagh.

The mood in the party so far this morning is said to be calm and relatively relaxed about this new arrangement, which the DUP high command is selling to the grassroots as a guarantee against the redrawing of the border into the Irish Sea or, in effect, decoupling Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.

read more:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2017/dec/08/brexit-border-eu-t...

Makes Brexit look wishy-washy... Why have it?

A week ago, European parliamentary sources leaked the deal that British Prime Minister Theresa May was hoping to conclude with the European Union, and which would mean Northern Ireland remaining in “continued regulatory alignment” with the EU after Brexit. The obvious interpretation was that the UK was planning to cut Northern Ireland loose and effect a social, economic, and administrative merger of the whole island of Ireland. Ulster’s main Protestant grouping, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), duly screamed, and the proposed deal collapsed. After a week of further negotiations led by May, culminating in a early morning press conference on Friday in Brussels, the UK-EU deal was revived. But its present form is essentially a decision not to decide. No new regulatory barriers will exist between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom unless and until the (Protestant/Unionist-dominated) Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly “agree that distinct arrangements are appropriate for Northern Ireland.” But that is never going to happen. A large Orange Protestant can has been vigorously kicked down the road.

The island of Ireland consists of both an independent republic of 26 counties, as well a six-county province—Northern Ireland, or Ulster—that is part of the United Kingdom. That division has through the years produced bitter conflicts, as the existence of the North remains offensive its Catholic minority who want a united Ireland. That both Great Britain and the Irish Republic were members of the European Union proved immensely beneficial at soothing tensions and effectively eliminating the internal border.

But what will happen when Great Britain leaves the EU while Ireland remains? There will have to be some frontier between northern and southern Ireland to check goods and/or migrants entering “Europe.” This can be done in two ways, each one desperately unpalatable to a major constituency. If there is to be a border, the obvious solution is to restore the long frontier across Ireland, with all its checkpoints and search controls, which the Republic finds utterly unacceptable (so also do most of Ulster’s Catholic minority).

Alternatively, Northern Ireland could be harmonized with the Republic and the rest of Europe, so that the de facto frontier would lie between the two islands, Britain and Ireland. Attractive as it sounds, it’s toxic for the province’s Protestant minority, as it would de facto unite the entire island under the control of Dublin and the Republic, and require some kind of border or checks between Northern Ireland and what we still notionally call “the rest of” the United Kingdom.

read more:

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/how-brexit-is-turning-in...

European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker has said it’s time for the EU to reconnect with Russia and stop “bashing” it, in surprising contrast to those in the West who have been piling blame and sanctions on Moscow.

Juncker spoke to an audience at a Brussels think tank event on EU reform. Though his statement had a few catches, the overall message was conciliatory.

“So we have to come back to, I wouldn’t say normal relations with Russia, but there are so many areas, so many domains, where we can cooperate in a better way with research and innovation and others. Not forgetting what our differences and divergences are. But this Russia-bashing has to be brought to an end,” he said.

Juncker’s call was not entirely conciliatory, though. He said the EU would never accept “what Russia did” to Ukraine and Crimea, referring to the violent 2014 coup in Kiev that brought the current Ukrainian government to power, and the subsequent referendum held in Crimea, which resulted in over 90 percent support for reunification with Russia. 

One of the chief arguments for better relations is Russia’s sheer size. “We have to have in mind that the entire territory of the European Union is about 5.5m sq km. Russia [is] 70.5m,” Juncker said.

Yet, Russia’s size (which is actually a comparatively modest 17.1m sq km) didn’t stop the EU and its allies from jeopardizing diplomacy with a mass expulsion of Russian diplomats two months ago. A total of over 100 were sent back to Russia from more than a dozen countries, accused of being spies in disguise.

The expulsion was initiated by the UK in its ongoing push to blame the March poisoning of former Russian-British double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter on Moscow. The UK itself led the way with 23 expulsions, but the US outdid everyone with 60. Most others limited the expulsions to one to four diplomats. Russia mirrored the act with an equal number of expulsions.

Not everyone was on board, though: Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz stressed the need to build bridges and maintain a “mature, trust-based” relationship with Moscow amid the finger-pointing.

Juncker has previously drawn criticism for not being hostile enough towards Russia. In March, he congratulated Vladimir Putin on his election for a fourth term as Russian president, triggering the anger of mainstream officials and journalists alike.

Juncker’s words are indicative of a wider “discomfort” growing in the EU about the ongoing demonization of Russia, believes international politics lecturer Tara McCormack from Leicester University, especially since the US has kicked off a trade war on its trans-Atlantic partners with its metal import tariffs.

“I think Juncker is actually reflecting a broader sentiment in other EU states that whatever the differences, the relationship between the European Union and Russia needs to be somewhat normalized… I don’t think Russia will be looked to as a replacement [for the US] so much, but I think this potential trade war does reflect the kind of fissures in the relationship between the EU and America,” she told RT.

Read more:

https://www.rt.com/news/428469-juncker-end-russia-bashing/

MEANWHILE, NATO:

The Western media’s ongoing campaign to demonize Russia appears to be paying dividends as Poland this week invited the US military into its house. And not for some overnight slumber party, mind you, but forever.

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that the invitation, entitled ‘Proposal for a U.S. Permanent Presence in Poland,’ sounds as if it were written by a group of defense sector lobbyists on Capitol Hill.

'Echoing the Western media's delusional talking points on Russia – complete with “hybrid warfare through its annexation of Crimea, cyberattacks on Ukrainian infrastructure and…aggressive actions in Georgia” – the Polish Ministry of Defense said it would pay $2 billion for the pleasure of hosting US soldiers on its territory.

In the past, nations spent billions to defend themselves from foreign occupation; today they happily write out checks to make sure it happens. Poland, in line with NATO dictate, already dishes out 2 percent of its annual GDP on defense spending.

Read more:

https://www.rt.com/op-ed/428453-nato-poland-russian-aggression/

Meanwhile in the land of the Pasta con carne...

Read also:

http://www.yourdemocracy.net.au/drupal/node/32554

The EU bigwigs gathered in the Romanian city of Sibiu on Thursday ahead of the bloc's parliamentary elections, scheduled for late May. While the meeting is largely informal and no major decisions are expected from it, its goal is clear – EU leaders are standing together. Or, at least, appear to be doing so.

“We will talk about our strategic agenda for the future and will agree a declaration which will make clear that, regardless of our political differences, we all believe – all member of the European Union – that acting together is better,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said ahead of the gathering.

One of the major sources of instability within the bloc – the UK, entangled in its messy Brexit process – did not attend the event. While the EU leaders insisted that Brexit was not on the agenda, PM Theresa May has seemingly given them breathing room and stayed away.

Some, however, were still “missing” her despite all the painstaking – and rather fruitless – Brexit talks the EU and the UK have been engaging in over the past months. When asked by reporters if he wished May was at the event EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker – at least half-jokingly – admitted it.

“I'm missing her,” Juncker said, shrugging slightly.

Read more:

https://www.rt.com/news/458897-juncker-miss-theresa-may/

Read from top.