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UK’s May sees Brexit deal soon as future ties text agreed

BRUSSELS — British Prime Minister Theresa May said Thursday that a good Brexit deal is within reach, after the European Union and her government agreed on a draft declaration outlining their future relations.
The 26-page text was agreed upon at a technical level by negotiators and endorsed Thursday by the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, which is overseeing Brexit negotiations.
It paves the way for a weekend EU summit to rubber-stamp the deal.
“This is the right deal for the U.K.,” May said outside her Downing Street offices. “It delivers on the vote of the referendum. It brings back control of our borders, our money and our laws and it does so while protecting jobs, protecting our security and protecting the integrity of the United Kingdom.”
She said that British citizens “want a good deal that sets us on course for a brighter future. That deal is within our grasp and I am determined to deliver it.”
In a tweet earlier Thursday, EU Council President Donald Tusk — who is set to chair Sunday’s summit — confirmed that a draft political declaration on future ties “has been agreed at negotiators’ level and agreed in principle at political level.”
Tusk said he sent the draft to Britain’s 27 European partners and that it still requires “the endorsement of the leaders.”
EU heads of state and government are due to meet in Brussels on Sunday to approve the declaration and a separate divorce deal. May is set to return to Brussels on Saturday for more talks on the eve of the summit, including with Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
Representatives from all 28 EU countries are due to meet Friday to prepare for the summit, which is seen as a pivotal moment in the Brexit process.
May is facing widespread opposition in the British Parliament over the divorce agreement, which was agreed last week. That 585-page legal treaty deals with the terms of Britain’s departure, including what the country owes the EU.
Britain officially leaves the EU — the first country ever to do so — on March 29, 2019, but a withdrawal agreement needs to be sealed soon to leave enough time for the European Parliament and the U.K. parliament to endorse it.
As opposed to the withdrawal agreement, the draft declaration on future ties is a political, not a legal, text.
“This declaration establishes the parameters of an ambitious, broad, deep and flexible partnership across trade and economic
It also talks about the close ties that have been cemented after 45 years of Britain’s membership of the EU as well as “the sizes of the two economies and their geographic proximity, which have led to complex and integrated supply chains.”
It notes that the “parties envisage having a trading relationship on goods that is as close as possible, with a view to facilitating the ease of legitimate trade.”
The actual legal text will have to be negotiated after Brexit on March 29, and that could well be even more complicated than what has come so far.
In a speech in Berlin before Tusk’s announcement, German Chancellor Angela Merkel underlined that “Britain should remain a partner, remain a friend.”
Though Britain “should have very close economic relations with us,” Merkel did underscore the difficulties that may arise in any attempt to keep services seamless.
“We have to say honestly that, in the services sector, we don’t have a great deal of experience with international free trade agreements,” she said.
“But we want to see that as a future relationship.”
The European Commission, which has supervised Brexit negotiations, refused to comment directly on the declaration.
But spokesman Margaritis Schinas did confirm that “work is continuing” to resolve differences between London and Madrid over Gibraltar, the tiny territory at the tip of the Iberian Peninsula that was ceded to Britain in 1713 but is still claimed by Spain.
Last year’s EU guidelines on the Brexit negotiations effectively gave Spain veto powers over future relations between the bloc and the British overseas territory.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Tuesday that his government “cannot accept” Gibraltar’s future being determined by negotiations at the EU level.
May said Thursday that she has spoken with Sanchez and that she is “confident” there will be a resolution on Sunday “that delivers for the whole U.K. family, including Gibraltar.”
May was due to address lawmakers Thursday and also held talks with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency until the end of the year.
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Gregory Katz and Danica Kirka in London and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
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See the AP’s Brexit coverage at:https://www.apnews.com/Brexit
Lorne Cook, The Associated Press
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Kananaskis G7 meeting the right setting for U.S. and Canada to reassert energy ties

Energy security, resilience and affordability have long been protected by a continentally integrated energy sector.
The G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, offers a key platform to reassert how North American energy cooperation has made the U.S. and Canada stronger, according to a joint statement from The Heritage Foundation, the foremost American conservative think tank, and MEI, a pan-Canadian research and educational policy organization.
“Energy cooperation between Canada, Mexico and the United States is vital for the Western World’s energy security,” says Diana Furchtgott-Roth, director of the Center for Energy, Climate and Environment and the Herbert and Joyce Morgan Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, and one of America’s most prominent energy experts. “Both President Trump and Prime Minister Carney share energy as a key priority for their respective administrations.
She added, “The G7 should embrace energy abundance by cooperating and committing to a rapid expansion of energy infrastructure. Members should commit to streamlined permitting, including a one-stop shop permitting and environmental review process, to unleash the capital investment necessary to make energy abundance a reality.”
North America’s energy industry is continentally integrated, benefitting from a blend of U.S. light crude oil and Mexican and Canadian heavy crude oil that keeps the continent’s refineries running smoothly.
Each day, Canada exports 2.8 million barrels of oil to the United States.
These get refined into gasoline, diesel and other higher value-added products that furnish the U.S. market with reliable and affordable energy, as well as exported to other countries, including some 780,000 barrels per day of finished products that get exported to Canada and 1.08 million barrels per day to Mexico.
A similar situation occurs with natural gas, where Canada ships 8.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day to the United States through a continental network of pipelines.
This gets consumed by U.S. households, as well as transformed into liquefied natural gas products, of which the United States exports 11.5 billion cubic feet per day, mostly from ports in Louisiana, Texas and Maryland.
“The abundance and complementarity of Canada and the United States’ energy resources have made both nations more prosperous and more secure in their supply,” says Daniel Dufort, president and CEO of the MEI. “Both countries stand to reduce dependence on Chinese and Russian energy by expanding their pipeline networks – the United States to the East and Canada to the West – to supply their European and Asian allies in an increasingly turbulent world.”
Under this scenario, Europe would buy more high-value light oil from the U.S., whose domestic needs would be back-stopped by lower-priced heavy oil imports from Canada, whereas Asia would consume more LNG from Canada, diminishing China and Russia’s economic and strategic leverage over it.
* * *
The MEI is an independent public policy think tank with offices in Montreal, Ottawa, and Calgary. Through its publications, media appearances, and advisory services to policymakers, the MEI stimulates public policy debate and reforms based on sound economics and entrepreneurship.
As the nation’s largest, most broadly supported conservative research and educational institution, The Heritage Foundation has been leading the American conservative movement since our founding in 1973. The Heritage Foundation reaches more than 10 million members, advocates, and concerned Americans every day with information on critical issues facing America.
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Poilievre on 2025 Election Interference – Carney sill hasn’t fired Liberal MP in Chinese election interference scandal

From Conservative Party Communications
“Yes. He must be disqualified. I find it incredible that Mark Carney would allow someone to run for his party that called for a Canadian citizen to be handed over to a foreign government on a bounty, a foreign government that would almost certainly execute that Canadian citizen.
“Think about that for a second. We have a Liberal MP saying that a Canadian citizen should be handed over to a foreign dictatorship to get a bounty so that that citizen could be murdered. And Mark Carney says he should stay on as a candidate. What does that say about whether Mark Carney would protect Canadians?
“Mark Carney is deeply conflicted. Just in November, he went to Beijing and secured a quarter-billion-dollar loan for his company from a state-owned Chinese bank. He’s deeply compromised, and he will never stand up for Canada against any foreign regime. It is another reason why Mr. Carney must show us all his assets, all the money he owes, all the money that his companies owe to foreign hostile regimes. And this story might not be entirely the story of the bounty, and a Liberal MP calling for a Canadian to be handed over for execution to a foreign government might not be something that the everyday Canadian can relate to because it’s so outrageous. But I ask you this, if Mark Carney would allow his Liberal MP to make a comment like this, when would he ever protect Canada or Canadians against foreign hostility?
“He has never put Canada first, and that’s why we cannot have a fourth Liberal term. After the Lost Liberal Decade, our country is a playground for foreign interference. Our economy is weaker than ever before. Our people more divided. We need a change to put Canada first with a new government that will stand up for the security and economy of our citizens and take back control of our destiny. Let’s bring it home.”
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