The National Farmers Union's petition to protect post-Brexit food standards has now reeached 1,032,165 signatures. The campaign comes in the context of both new domestic legisaltion at Westminster and international negotiations with EU, US and others that aim to securing preferential trading arranegments for when the EU standstill period ends. To access the petition itself click here.

This news story, slipped out on a Friday afternoon at the end of a busy week, should have received much more attention than it did. Brexit means that from 1 January the UK will be locked out of a global satilite navigation system that British firms have held a leading role in developing. One of many tragedies of EU withdrawal discovered only when it is too late.

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Eager to reunite with friends and family abroad? To plan summer holidays? The European Commission has launched a new website in all EU languages that provides real-time essential travel information so we start exploring Europe safely again.

Find out more ☛ reopen.europa.eu

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In a recent blog post barrister Alfred Artley describes how the transition period might be extended even after the agreed deadline for doing so expires at the end of this month:

Article 50 reloaded? Amending the Withdrawal Agreement to extend the Brexit transition period

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Paul Adamson is a time-served Brussels insider. His regular conversations with many varied and distingushed guests are an excellent way to keep up with European and international developments. One recent guest for example was João Vale de Almeida, the EU's new 'ambassador' to the UK. To try out the podcast subscribe via you usual provider or to find out more go to: encompass-europe.com

EU-UK Statement following the High Level Meeting on 15 June 2020

Prime Minister Boris Johnson met the President of the European Council Charles Michel, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, on 15 June by videoconference to take stock of progress with the aim of agreeing actions to move forward in negotiations on the future relationship.

Five MPs led by Layla Moran have written to Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg calling for a vote on extending the EU transition period during which the UK continues to benefit from the EU's common rules.

The Oxford West and Abingdon MP says via Twitter that "it's not too late to stop this monumental act of national self-harm in its tracks."

Vice-chair of the party's federal policy committee Jeremy Hargreaves posted a summary of the committee's two most recent meetings in the dedicated Facebook Group (link below). In particular with regard to conference in September, Jeremy reported:

"We also had a first discussion this week about what motions FPC might plan to submit for the virtual autumn conference. We will plan to develop motions on the government's response to the current crisis, and on plans for Brexit, as well as one arising from our working group on the "nature of public debate", which proposes policy on important aspects of how information is being used and misused during the current crisis. We plan to submit a motion setting out a strong position on racial inequality and on how as a party we can lead in tackling that. Finally we will plan to put together a motion on a number of aspects of how our systems of government, at all levels, have been shown to be wanting in the present crisis and how they need to be reformed. Unsurprisingly, we expect this to have a strong theme of decentralisation. Clearly as always the decision about which, if any, of these motions make it to the conference agenda will be taken by the conference committee (FCC). As always it is open to any other group of party members also to submit their own motions on any topic for the virtual conference in the usual way."

HQ press release #1

Responding to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) statistics out today that show the UK's economy shrank by 20.4% in April, Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said:

"We face the most serious economic challenge in generations. This is not a time to exit the world's largest market. This is not a time to increase trade barriers. This is not a time to deny business skills they need with a damaging new immigration system.