Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Britain can sign trade deals during implementation period, Brussels rules… Britain will be free to sign trade deals during the Brexit transition period without permission from the European Union after a climbdown by Brussels, The Times has learnt. EU negotiators have accepted the UK’s demand that it should be able to pursue an independent trade policy while remaining inside the customs union and single market. Publicly, the EU’s negotiating guidelines still state that Britain will not be able to implement trade deals “unless authorised to do so by the union”. Behind closed doors the position taken by Michel Barnier, the bloc’s chief negotiator, is understood to have softened significantly. The latest draft of a potential transition deal says that Britain will be able to both negotiate and sign trade deals during the period. – The Times (£) Brussels caves in major Brexit trade victory: UK can agree deals during transition – Express …as it relaxes stance on British consultation over new EU laws and fishing quotas during transition… The EU has softened its hardline stance towards Britain in a big Brexit boost to Theresa May. Brussels has put forward fresh concessions for the transition period which will allow Britain to be consulted on new EU laws and fishing quotas. And it has dropped resistance to the UK being able to opt in to certain security measures during the transition. It came as Peter Ptassek, Germany’s Brexit envoy, said “a lot of progress” was being made. The EU’s draft negotiating guidelines now call for a “balanced, ambitious and wide-ranging” UK trade deal. – The Sun Davis to go to Brussels for Brexit talks before crunch summit – Bloomberg …but Theresa May will reportedly pledge to stick with Brussels’ rules if Brexit trade talks fail Theresa May will pledge to keep all of Britain tied to a swathe of Brussels red tape if trade talks collapse. The PM stressed she will accept EU demands for a “backstop” on issues relating to the Irish border. But she said the text proposed by Brussels in a draft legal text was “unacceptable”. It includes proposals for Northern Ireland to remain aligned to EU rules on issues such as agriculture and energy if no trade deal is forged. However, the rest of the UK would then have to obey by the same rules or risk breaking up… Tory Brexiteers cautiously backed Mrs May’s move, with Iain Duncan Smith calling it “constructive ambiguity”. Jacob Rees Mogg said if Mrs May agreed to the EU’s terms it would “lead to the collapse of the confidence and supply agreement with the DUP and cause the government to fall”. – The Sun EU demands UK act in ‘good faith’ in Brexit Treaty revision – Bloomberg Unionist Remainers did not vote to leave UK, says UUP head Robin Swann, as he accuses Varadkar of using Brexit as a “Trojan horse” to pursue Irish unity – Express > Alex Redpath on BrexitCentral yesterday: Leo Varadkar is acting against Ireland’s interests on the border issue Nicola Sturgeon says Brexit powers deal ‘not insurmountable’ as Welsh First Minister predicts agreement Nicola Sturgeon has struck a more optimistic tone over breaking the deadlock with the UK Government over Brexit powers as her Welsh counterpart raised the prospect of a deal in the coming days. Speaking outside 10 Downing Street, following face-to-face talks with Theresa May, the First Minister said the differences between the two sides were “not insignificant but neither are they insurmountable”. She continued to insist that an “important” principle must be upheld that her government consents to the UK frameworks that are required after Brexit. But Carwyn Jones, the Welsh First Minister, said he was “hopeful” of reaching agreement “in the next few days” and in “no more than a week or two.” – Telegraph (£) Scottish and Welsh leaders hopeful of deal on post-Brexit powers – Guardian Theresa May tells Nicola Sturgeon she ‘won’t budge’ in clash over powers returned by Brussels after Brexit – The Sun SNP ministers accused by opposition of ‘power grab’ in emergency Brexit bill – Express > Graham Simpson MSP on BrexitCentral: Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP should grow up and stop their irresponsible Brexit games Unilever confirms Rotterdam as its corporate base – but it’s not about Brexit Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever, maker of Marmite and Dove soap has chosen Rotterdam over London for its headquarters. The firm said it would move to a single legal entity in the Netherlands in an effort to become “more agile”. Unilever’s dual-headed structure has existed since 1930, when Dutch margarine firm Unie merged with British soap maker Lever Brothers… Unilever chief executive Paul Polman told the BBC’s Today programme that the move to a single legal entity was being made for “technical reasons”, as the bulk of its shares – 55% – were traded in the Netherlands. “This is not about Brexit,” he said. – BBC News The Anglo-Dutch group is expected to state that picking Rotterdam was not a Brexit-based decision but one driven by a host of considerations. These could include the higher trading volume of shares in the Netherlands than in the UK as well as recent favourable changes in Dutch corporate law… Market sources speculate, however, that its decision to move to Rotterdam could also have been influenced by the greater protection afforded to companies by the Dutch government in the face of hostile takeover approaches. – The Times (£) > Jonathan Isaby’s exclusive for BrexitCentral on Tuesday: Unilever to announce HQ move to Rotterdam on Thursday (but don’t believe those who will blame Brexit) MEPs approve Brexit resolution by large majority MEPs voted 544 to 110 in favor of a resolution setting out a position on Brexit that makes clear the U.K. cannot receive the same benefits from the EU when it is no longer a member. The document — which was obtained ahead of publication by Politico — makes clear that a “deep and comprehensive” trade deal must entail “a binding interpretation role” for the European Court of Justice and “does not allow cherry-picking of sectors of the internal market.” It also includes a proposal to use a so-called “association agreement” as the framework for a deal on the U.K.’s future relationship. The EU already has similar agreements with countries as diverse as Ukraine, Israel and Morocco. – Politico London and Brussels warm to Brexit ‘Israel option’ – Politico Labour MEPs accused of betraying UK’s national interest after voting for EU access to UK fishing waters after Brexit – Express At last, Guy Verhofstadt is trying to help the Brexit process – Asa Bennett for the Telegraph (£) Sharp rise in number of EU nationals applying for UK citizenship The number of German, Italian and French nationals applying for British citizenship has more than trebled in three years as the impact of the Brexit referendum is felt, government data has revealed. Almost 30,000 EU nationals applied to become British citizens between June 2016 and June 2017, double the previous year… Compared with overall numbers of EU citizens living in the UK, those opting for British citizenship remains very small. Latest ONS data shows there are 907,000 Polish-born citizens in the UK, 299,000 Germans, 220,000 Italians, 164,000 French and 157,000 Spanish… To become naturalised, EU citizens need to have been resident in the UK for five years if the application is being made on residence grounds. Naturalisation costs £1,282. – Guardian It’s time to take back control of migration – and auction visas – Madeline Zavodny and Sam Dumitriu for City A.M. Auction visas to build a better immigration system – Daniel Pryor for CapX Brits should get free mobile roaming across the whole world as part of Brexit trade deals, consumer group Which? says Peter Vicary-Smith, Chief Executive of Which?, told the Sun: “It’s important that, post-Brexit, people can continue to use their phone in the EU as they do at home without facing sky high bills. However, leaving the EU also presents the Government with significant opportunity to go much further, and it should make the ability to ‘roam like at home’ a feature of future trade deals with countries across the world. This issue is an example of how we want to work with Government and businesses in order to deliver a Brexit that puts consumers first. With control over all aspects of consumer protection the UK can and must do something special.” – The Sun UK could rethink social media laws after Brexit, says Culture Secretary Matt Hancock – Guardian FTSE chiefs to attend meeting of Theresa May’s business council to discuss Brexit Some of Britain’s leading corporate bosses are expected to raise concerns about Brexit’s potential impact on their UK workforces during talks this week with Theresa May. Sky News understands that bosses from companies including BT, ITV, Legal & General, Lloyds Banking Group and Virgin Money have been invited to a meeting on Thursday with the Prime Minister. Senior figures from leading business lobbying groups such as the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) will also attend, according to a Whitehall source. – Sky News France defies Theresa May over punishment of Russia France undermined Theresa May’s attempts to build a consensus for punitive action against Russia last night by accusing her of punishing the regime prematurely. President Macron’s spokesman derided Mrs May’s decision to act against Moscow after the Salisbury poisonings as “fantasy politics”… [His comments] contrasted with backing from the United States and Germany. The US said that Russia was “responsible” for the poisonings and urged the United Nations to hold Moscow accountable. Heiko Maas, the German foreign minister, said the attack should not go unpunished… The Élysée Palace later tried to play down the row, although it indicated that France was not yet ready to accept Russia was responsible for the attack. – The Times (£) France undermines Theresa May by accusing her of punishing Russia too soon – and demands more evidence – The Sun Daniel Hannan: Brexit will be a success, but swivel-eyed Remainers make the process more costly than it needs to be Trade neatly illustrates the distorted nature of our current discourse. Many of those who, before the campaign, were unequivocal free traders are now against global engagement because they regard it as a consequence of Brexit and dislike the Leavers who are pushing the idea. People who spent their pre-referendum lives boasting about “the reality-based community” now promote ridiculous junk-science scares about US chicken… Step away from your screen and you’ll find that, in the real world, most of the 48 per cent are reasonable and well-intentioned patriots who want what is best for Britain. Sadly, though, their voices have been drowned out by online agitators and a handful of fanatical MPs who are forever in TV studios. None of this would matter so much if it weren’t having an impact on the negotiation process. Continuity Remainers are not simply lamenting the result. They are encouraging the EU to offer bad terms in the hope of triggering a second referendum – often with shocking flagrancy. – Daniel Hannan MEP for ConservativeHome Tom Harris: Nicola Sturgeon is still struggling to get herself a starring role in Brexit Sturgeon’s assumption that those 62 per cent of Remain-supporting Scots would immediately pile in behind her new drive to break up the UK was quickly frustrated; the predicted bounce in support for independence never happened, and a political backlash began, one that resulted directly in the loss of 21 of the SNP’s 56 Westminster seats at the 2017 general election… Every extension of the parliament’s powers… ha[s] been met with sneers and scepticism from the SNP who still refuse to accept the fact that Holyrood is now the most powerful devolved legislature on the planet. It is set to become more so at the end of the Brexit process… This whole pantomime, so carefully choreographed for the sake of the media, is more about Nicola Sturgeon seeking a role in the national drama of Brexit than about fighting the perpetual and beloved myth of a “power grab”. Having played the first hand she was dealt badly, she is seeking to secure the SNP’s voice, to reassure her constituency that, absent a second referendum (which recent polls suggest is less popular a prospect than ever), it is still relevant. – Tom Harris for the Telegraph (£) Karel Lannoo: The EU’s plan to shift clearing out of London risks disaster The EU is trying to repatriate part of London’s derivatives clearing business, using Brexit and financial stability as its pretext. But as the futures industry holds its big annual meeting in Florida this week, there is growing concern that Brussels’ plan to shift all euro-denominated business to Paris, Frankfurt and other continental financial centres gets it all wrong… Any business that migrates from London to the EU27 would be less centrally supervised than it was before. Systemically important clearing houses might well be split up among several different national and European watchdogs that would lack both expertise in the sector and a complete picture of what was going on… The UK isn’t the only country concerned about the EU’s clearing proposals. US officials are worried that the rule changes could also allow Esma and the ECB to exercise authority over American futures traders. If the fight spreads, the US and EU might tear up their current equivalence agreements, leading to another possible source of disruption in this critical market. – Karel Lannoo, chief executive of CEPS, for the FT (£) Larry Elliott: A decade on from the crash and with the Brexit fog clearing, there’s an opportunity to make real and lasting change The better-than-expected performance of the economy since the EU referendum illustrates just how difficult it is to predict the short-term path of growth, let alone what will happen to it over the next five years. In the fevered post-referendum climate, it has become pretty much impossible to have a rational debate about the economy, but one thing is certain: things have turned out much better than the Treasury, the Bank of England or the OBR envisaged. There has not been the deep recession that Osborne predicted, or indeed anything like it. The errors in these short-term forecasts have made some economists sceptical about the reliability of government forecasts about the state of the post-Brexit economy in 2030. A group of economists (most of whom voted remain in the referendum) from the Centre for Business Research at Cambridge University, for example, says that the major flaws in the Treasury’s methodology mean the impact of Brexit has been exaggerated. It concludes that instead of policy being determined by the evidence, the evidence has been tailored to suit the anti-Brexit slant of policy. – Larry Elliott for the Guardian Our inflation measure understates economic progress – Tim Worstall for CapX Martin Wolf: Italian election results expose eurozone inadequacy The election results in Italy are a lesson to Europe. Italians were once among the most enthusiastic supporters of the European project. This is true no longer. The combination of economic malaise with political impotence has discredited not only Italy’s political and policymaking elite, but even the country’s engagement with the EU… Why are Italian voters so disenchanted? The obvious answers are that economic performance has been so dismal, while established Italian policymakers appear so ineffective. This is certainly not only — probably not even mainly — due to Italy’s participation in the euro. But the eurozone has made things worse… If the Italian government had been able to pursue its traditional policy of devaluation and inflation, it could have generated a far stronger rise in nominal GDP… But the biggest frustration may be that the people Italians vote for have next to no room for manoeuvre. The question has rather been whom to elect (or sometimes not even elect) to carry out the policies decided in Brussels and Berlin. – Martin Wolf for the FT (£) Comment in brief Meet the Brexit negotiators: David Davis and Michel Barnier – George Parker and Alex Barker for the FT (£) What is Article 50? – James Rothwell and Robert Midgley for the Telegraph (£) What a ‘general debate’ on European affairs reveals about the government – Katy Balls for the Spectator How one UK company rose to the challenge of Brexit – Joshua Chaffin for the FT (£) There’s a reason why London is Europe’s startup hub, but Paris is waiting to pounce – Reda Bennis for City A.M. Even our iPads need a deal on services after Brexit – Antoinette Sandbach MP for The Times (£) Mutineers could reject hard Brexit without letting in Corbyn – Alan Wager for The Times (£) News in brief Brexit will improve relations between UK and Spain over Gibraltar, Spanish think tank says – Express UK’s Brexit bill would pay for itself quickly via a trade deal – Bloomberg Eat herring and mackerel to support UK after Brexit, urges charity – Guardian ‘Undervalued’ mandarins run for cover from their political masters, according to officially sanctioned report – The Times (£)