• Michel Barnier says opposing no-deal Brexit will not stop it in March (Guardian): Michel Barnier has warned that the move led by Labour MP Yvette Cooper to block the prime minister from delivering a no-deal Brexit is doomed to fail unless a majority for an alternative agreement is found. The EU’s chief negotiator, in a speech in Brussels, said the “default” for the UK was still crashing out if MPs could not coalesce around a new vision of its future outside the bloc.
  • Jacob Rees-Mogg narrows Brexiter objections to May’s plan (FT): Mr Rees-Mogg signalled that his demands were now limited to the agreement’s most contentious provision — the so-called “backstop” to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland. Conservative Brexiters are split between those who want to see the backstop removed entirely from the treaty text and others who would accept legal guarantees that it can never become permanent. Mrs May has dismissed eliminating the backstop wholesale as impossible and Brussels has said it will refuse to reopen negotiations on the exit treaty and will stand by Ireland, which insists on the measure. Mr Rees-Mogg also called for Mrs May to suspend parliament if necessary to prevent a cross-party attempt to avoid a no-deal Brexit from becoming law. The ERG chief was responding to growing expectations that the Commons will approve a cross-party amendment that could instruct Mrs May to seek a delay to Brexit if she fails to win MPs’ approval for a deal by February 26. But the prospect that the amendment will pass the Commons — which will vote on the measure on Tuesday — has alarmed Mr Rees-Mogg and other Eurosceptics, who prefer a no-deal exit to Mrs May’s agreement but want most of all to avoid any decision to delay or reverse Brexit.
  • Ireland hires 400 new customs officials in case of no-deal Brexit (Guardian): Niall Cody, the chairman of the Revenue Commissioners, will reveal the scale of no-deal contingency operations for the first time on Thursday, warning of the adverse impact for 70,000 Irish small to medium-sized businesses that trade with the UK.
  • UK services exports to EU soar in the run-up to Brexit (FT): As the UK prepares to withdraw from the EU, politicians have mostly been discussing goods-related trade deals. But the country is becoming more reliant on the bloc for its exports of services, which account for 80 per cent of the economy and are the main driver of exports growth. In the first three quarters of 2018, compared with the same period in 2016, UK services exports to the EU rose by 14 per cent, a faster pace than the 8.8 per cent growth to non-EU countries. Alternative deals currently under discussion barely include services. The World Trade Organization has not succeeded in opening services markets and Ceta, the deal between Canada and EU, includes restrictions in trade in sectors covering almost 70 per cent of the UK’s services exports.
  • Brussels prepares for post-Brexit fish clash with UK (FT): Brussels has recognised that EU member states may need to negotiate country-by-country fishing deals to access to UK waters after a no-deal Brexit. French, Dutch, Belgian, Swedish and Danish fleets are highly dependent on operating in UK waters, and abruptly losing access would potentially deal a devastating shock to many coastal communities. The Commission on Wednesday unveiled two proposals that aim to cope with a fish war with Britain after the UK’s scheduled March 29 exit by offering EU fishermen more time and money to adjust. The first piece of legislation gives fishermen access to up to €1.1bn of EU budget funds to compensate for a “sudden closure of UK waters”. The second proposes to extend existing arrangements with the UK — based on annual fishing quotas agreed in December — for the duration of 2019, if the UK offers “reciprocal” rights to the EU side. More controversially, the commission acknowledges that member states will also be able to negotiate “quota exchanges” with the UK, regardless of the circumstances of Britain’s exit.
  • Brussels to sue UK over tax breaks for commodities traders (FT): Brussels is to sue the UK in Europe’s highest court over tax breaks for commodities traders, according to EU diplomats briefed on the plans. Under the rules, Britain has a right to apply a zero VAT rate to commodities contracts traded on “terminal markets” such as the London Metal Exchange. Brussels argues that the UK has stealthily widened the exemption over time, creating a tax loophole that unfairly boosts the City of London at the expense of other EU financial centres.
  • Sony to move Europe headquarters to avoid Brexit disruption (BBC): The company said the move would help it avoid customs issues tied to Britain’s exit from the EU. Despite the move, Sony won’t shift personnel and operations from the existing UK operations. It is the latest Japanese company to flag a move to the continent in response to Brexit.
  • DHL could profit from no-deal Brexit, says boss (BBC): Deutsche Post DHL’s chief executive Frank Appel said in the long run Brexit would not benefit the UK or the EU. But he said the firm might profit in the short term from the disruption because “our business is to manage complex situations”. DHL, which employs 54,000 people in the UK was “starting to execute” plans for a no-deal Brexit, he said.