Weekender Alicante South Issue 118

16 FRIDAY 22ND NOVEMBER 2019
www.weekender.news
Business & Money
Bare bones blow
The European Union's
trade chief has declared
that Boris Johnson will
only get a "bare-bones"
trade deal next year — or
none at all.
The prime minister has insisted
that the United Kingdom
will leave the EU in
January next year and have
time to secure a comprehensive
free trade deal by the
end of the transition period
in December 2020.
But Sabine Weyand, the
EU's Director-General for
Trade, said there was only
by Alex Trelinski
time to negotiate a "barebones"
deal with the UK
next year, as the transition
period will give negotiators
less than 12 months of talks.
The other alternative,
Weyand said, is a no-deal
Brexit exit at the end of the
transition period.
The remarks were reported
by a number of British newspapers
and are said to have
been made during a breakfast
meeting with the Transatlantic
Policy Network in Brussels
on Wednesday last week.
The official's comments
flatly contradict those of
Johnson. He said on Monday
that there was "absolutely
no reason" why the UK could
not wrap up all negotiations
for a comprehensive deal in
December 2020.
The UK can extend the
transition period, under
which the UK must abide by
all EU rules, for two years
to December 2022, but the
prime minister has repeatedly
vowed not to.
The Liberal Democrats
said Weyand's comments underlined
the risk that a Conservative
government would
pursue a no-deal Brexit next
year.
Chuka Umunna, the Lib
Dems foreign affairs spokesperson,
said: "It's clear the
Canada-style free trade
agreement that the PM seeks
cannot be negotiated within
the next the next year.”
An EU Commission
spokesperson did not deny
the comments but said they
would not comment on a
private meeting.
EU wage gap growing
THE average Spaniard has
to work for 20 months to
earn as much as the average
worker in Germany
earns in a year according
to the latest figures.
Across the European
Union the average salary is
by Simon Russell
€2,091 per month (up slightly
from 2018) while in Spain
it is €1,658, over 20% lower.
There are still 15 EU
countries with lower wages
than here, with Bulgaria at
the bottom of the list with
just €428.
Of the 12 countries higher
than Spain, Denmark tops
the list with an average
wage of €3,150 per month
while in Germany the figure
is €2,794 and in the UK
€2,441.
Many young Spanish are
leaving their homeland to
work in parts of the EU
where wages are higher –
but generally find that the
cost of living is significantly
higher as well.
Sabine
Weyand
Gas price
on the rise
Green tax raises
trade war stakes
AFTER a period of falling,
the price of butane gas
bottles rose by 5% last
Tuesday (19 November).
The set price jumped from
€12.15 to €12.74 for a standard
household 12.5 kilo bottle,
the first price increase of
2019.
Suppliers have blamed a
big international rise in raw
by Simon Russell
materials and a smaller rise
in shipping costs as well as
the weakening of the euro
against the dollar.
Toward the end of 2018
prices reached an all-time
high of €15.33 but have
fallen steadily over the past
year, at least until this week.
THE Spanish government
has announced plans for a
possible “green tariff” that
will be imposed on imports
from countries that
have lower environmental
standards than Spain.
Secretary of State for
by Simon Russell
Commerce Xiana Mendex
outlined the scheme this
week which still needs EU
approval.
The official label is the
Border Carbon Tax and it
will penalise countries such
as the USA which Ms Mendez
has said can produce
products cheaper and offload
them elsewhere as they are
not taking such stringent
measures against issues
such as climate change.
Many see it as a tit for
tat measure against the
US in particular, which has
raised protectionist tariffs
on Spanish products such
as olives and wine, damaging
exports for the sectors
affected.