EU and the UK
date: 22/06/2018
Article 50 negotiations
On 19 June, the European Commission and the United Kingdom published a joint statement outlining progress on the draft Withdrawal Agreement since March 2018. On 20 June, the Commission's Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier attended the College of Commissioners meeting to provide an overview ahead of the European Council.
Michel Barnier's speech on the EU’s proposal for a future partnership with the UK in the area of internal security
On 19 June, Michel Barnier delivered a speech at the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights in Vienna on the EU’s proposal for a future security partnership with the UK.
President Jean-Claude Juncker, accompanied by Mr Barnier for part of the trip, visited Dublin on 21-22 June and spoke to the Irish parliament on Brexit-related issues (see below).
Latest news on the Article 50 negotiations can be found here
European Commission clears Comcast's proposed acquisition of Sky under EU merger rules
On 18 June, the European Commission approved unconditionally under the EU merger regulation the proposed acquisition of Sky by Comcast. The proposed transaction would combine Sky plc (Sky), the leading pay-TV operator in Austria, Germany, Ireland, Italy and the UK and Comcast Corporation (Comcast), owner of Universal Pictures and operator of TV channels such as CNBC, Syfy or E!. The Commission found that the proposed transaction would lead to only a limited increase in Sky's existing market share for the acquisition of TV content and the wholesale supply of TV channels.
UK ranks 5th among EU's innovation leaders
The UK is among the EU's "innovation leaders" according to the 2018 edition of the European Innovation Scoreboard that rates European countries by their research and innovation performance. For a second year in a row the UK innovation and research system is ranked 5th in the EU. Sweden continues to be EU's top innovation leader followed by Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands. The UK outperforms both Germany (7th) and France (11th) which are part of the second group of countries in the survey – 'strong innovators'.
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