Money the key stumbling block in EU-Britain divorce talks

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Money the key stumbling block in EU-Britain divorce talks

2017-09-01 15:58 Last Updated At：15:58

The European Union and Britain were locked Thursday in a bitter fight over the divorce bill London will have to pay on Brexit, a standoff that fuels concerns over a messy breakup with no deal at all.

Britain is insisting that it has no obligation to meet all the EU's financial demands while the EU says that without clarity on the bottom line, it will refuse to heed Britain's demand to quickly open talks on a future relationship which would be vital for a smooth transition once Britain leaves the EU in March 2019.

The two sides remained at loggerheads over a number of issues beyond Britain's financial commitments, including the rights of citizens in each other's areas and the Irish border.

"We did not get any decisive progress on any principal subjects," Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, said at a press conference after the conclusion of the third round of separation talks.

After the British government triggered the two-year separation proceedings in March, the EU said it will not start talking about a future relationship unless key issues like financial commitments are dealt with. These include everything from staff pensions to commitments made to developing countries.

Britain, for its part, says the EU is taking a "maximalist" approach to such issues, but wants to talk about trade as soon as possible as its actual departure date gets nearer.

In testy comments after four days of talks, Barnier said it would only be logical that Britain pays for commitments it made as far back as 2014 and not leave the remaining 27 EU nations footing the bill.

"It would not be fair," he said. "After this week, it is clear the U.K. does not feel legally obliged to honor its obligations after departure."

According to some estimates, Britain's bill to cover commitments it has made could be around 60 billion euros ($71 billion). Many in the British government have balked at anything that high. Other estimates are even higher.

"We have a duty to our taxpayers to interrogate it rigorously," Britain's chief Brexit negotiator David Davis said, highlighting a gap of billions of euros separating the two.

Barnier said the dispute posed fundamental questions. "With such uncertainty how can we build trust and start discussing a future relationship."

In light of the minimal progress made, Barnier said he was not yet in a position to advise EU leaders meeting in October to throw open the talks to include future relations between them.

Barnier said "we are far from seeing sufficient progress." The notion of "sufficient progress" can only be officially decided by EU leaders, without British Prime Minister Theresa May.

As well as the divorce bill, the EU wants to see progress on guarantees for citizens' rights and issues related to the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland before any trade talks can begin.

While conceding some of the discussions on Ireland had proven "fruitful," Barnier warned Britain that with "every passing day we move closer to the date of departure."

Davis conceded that "significant differences" remain and called on the EU to show "flexibility" to break the logjam in talks. Barnier said the EU was ready to intensify the pace of the negotiations.

Person rushed away on a stretcher after fire extinguished outside Trump hush money trial

2024-04-20 01:55 Last Updated At：02:00

NEW YORK (AP) — Emergency crews rushed away a person on a stretcher after fire was extinguished outside the Manhattan courthouse where jury selection was taking place Friday in Donald Trump's hush money criminal case.

A person could be seen lying on the ground on fire. People then rushed over to douse the person with a fire extinguisher and try to bat the flames away.

Emergency responders then rushed the person away on a stretcher. No other details were immediately available from police.

A full jury of 12 people and six alternates had been seated in Trump’s hush money case just minutes earlier, drawing the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president a step closer to opening statements.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

NEW YORK (AP) — A full jury of 12 people and six alternates was seated Friday in Donald Trump’s hush money case, drawing the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president a step closer to opening statements.

Lawyers spent days quizzing dozens of New Yorkers to choose the panel that has vowed to put their personal views aside and impartially judge whether the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is guilty or not. The jury includes a sales professional, a software engineer, an English teacher and multiple lawyers.

The trial will place Trump in a Manhattan courtroom for weeks, forcing him to juggle his dual role as criminal defendant and political candidate against the backdrop of his hotly contested race against President Joe Biden. It will feature salacious and unflattering testimony his opponent will no doubt seize on to try to paint him as unfit to return as commander in chief.

Trump has spent the week sitting quietly in the courtroom as lawyers press potential jurors on their views about him in a search for any bias that could preclude them from hearing the case. During breaks in the proceedings, he has lashed out about the allegations and the judge to cameras in the hallway, using his mounting legal problems as a political rallying cry to cast himself of a victim.

Over several days, dozens of members of the jury pool have been dismissed after saying they don’t believe they can be fair. Others have expressed anxiety about having to decide such a consequential case with outsized media attention. The judge has ruled that their names will be known only to prosecutors, Trump and their legal teams.

One woman who had been chosen to serve on the jury was dismissed Thursday after she raised concerns over messages she said she got from friends and family when aspects of her identity became public. On Friday, another woman broke down in tears while being questioned by a prosecutor about her ability to decide the case based only on evidence presented in court.

“I feel so nervous and anxious right now,” the woman said. “I’m so sorry. I wouldn’t want someone who feels like this to judge my case either. I don’t want to waste the court’s time.”

As more potential jurors were questioned Friday, Trump appeared to lean over at the defense table, scribbling on some papers and exchanging notes with one of his lawyers. He occasionally perked up and gazed at the jury box, including when one would-be juror said he had volunteered in a “get out the vote” effort for Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Another prospective juror got Trump’s attention when he mentioned that he follows the White House Instagram account, including when Trump was in office. Trump shot a grin at one man who was asked if he was married and joked that he had been trying to find a wife in his spare time, but “it’s not working.”

Judge Juan Merchan is also expected to hold a hearing Friday to consider a request from prosecutors to bring up Trump’s prior legal entanglements if he takes the stand in the hush money case. Manhattan prosecutors have said they want to question Trump about his recent civil fraud trial that resulted in a $454 million judgment after a judge found Trump had lied about his wealth for years. He is appealing that verdict.

The trial centers on a $130,000 payment that Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and personal fixer, made to porn actor Stormy Daniels to prevent her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump from becoming public in the final days of the 2016 race.

Prosecutors say Trump obscured the true nature of the payments in internal records when his company reimbursed Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2018 and is expected to be a star witness for the prosecution.

Trump has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels, and his lawyers argue that the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses.

Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He could get up to four years in prison if convicted, though it’s not clear that the judge would opt to put him behind bars. Trump would almost certainly appeal any conviction.

Trump is involved in four criminal cases, but it’s not clear that any others will reach trial before the November election. Appeals and legal wrangling have caused delays in the other three cases charging Trump with plotting to overturn the 2020 election results and with illegally hoarding classified documents.

Follow the AP's coverage of former President Donald Trump at https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump.

Money the key stumbling block in EU-Britain divorce talks

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Money the key stumbling block in EU-Britain divorce talks

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