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The local Spanish chefs with new ‘green’ stars See page 3
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Festive check before the revelry begins
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Andalucía
Your expat
voice in Spain
Mijas Costa
Vol. 14 Issue 359 www.theolivepress.es December 22nd - January 12th 2021
Down to the wire Critical Brexit deadline missed and hope for a deal remains balanced on a knife edge
GIANT SIZE: Malaga’s festive display is legendary
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has the right to veto it. The EU Council of Ministers had given midnight on Sunday as the cut off point if they were to have time to ratify the deal in the EU parliament before the end of the year. Unless a spectacular breakthrough is made, Britain will fall under World Trade Organisation rules, with a range of tariffs being imposed, in just over a week’s time. Despite the critical deadline being missed, chief UK negotiator, David Frost, and his EU counterpart, Michel Barnier, continued talks on Monday . “Talks remain difficult and significant differences remain,” a source insisted on Monday. “We continue to explore every route
to a deal that is in line with the fundamental principles we brought into the negotiations.” UK health secretary, Matt Hancock claimed that ‘unreasonable demands’ from the EU over fishing rights had thrown a roadblock across negotiations. However, he remained hopeful that a deal could be reached by Christmas.
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Deal
He said: “I’m sure that a deal can be done, but obviously it needs movement on the EU side.” If a deal is agreed in the next few days then there remains the possibility of it being ‘provisionally applied’ from January 1 until the EU parliament can meet later in the month. UK ministers meanwhile, have firmly ruled out extending the Brexit process into 2021. It comes after a group of MPs from all parties, plus London Mayor Sadiq Khan, had called for the Brexit transition period to be extended due to ALL AREAS COVERED the pandemic and slow progress on negotiations. 4G UNLIMITED
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EXPATS in Spain have been left in Brexit limbo after the crucial deadline for a trade deal between the UK and EU was missed. Despite negotiators inching towards an agreement, Sunday’s deadline passed with France sticking to its ‘red lines’ over fishing rights in British waters. However, as the clock ticks towards the UK’s departure from the EU on January 1, there still remains hope that continuing negotiations could avoid a nodeal Brexit. One of the main concerns for negotiators - and the vast majority of British expats in Spain - is that all 27 EU nations must agree to the deal...and France
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Opinion Page 6
Festive plans wrecked for thousands
THOUSANDS of expats have had their Christmas plans ruined as Spain closed its borders to tourists from the UK. Spanish officials had called for an EU-wide response to the news that a virulent new strain – said to be 70% more contagious – was spreading through the South East of England. Spain has now decided to follow the lead of other European countries in restricting travel from the UK. The good news is that Spanish citizens and residents of the country will still be allowed to visit. It does not, however, help those expats who were gearing up for a visit from relatives. It comes as Gibraltar confirmed that it is the fifth country outside the UK to identify a case of the new mutated virus. Over a dozen countries - including Germany, France, Sweden and Denmark have suspended flights from the UK.
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