The head of the global economic forum OECD warned Britain that leaving the European Union would be tantamount to taxing its citizens - another in a growing cavalcade of cautionary advice ahead of a June 23 referendum on membership in the 28-nation bloc.

The warning by Angel Gurria, the secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, came just days after expressions of concern by US President Barack Obama, the UK Treasury and the International Monetary Fund.

He described the notion that Britain might gain a better trade deal outside the union as somewhat fanciful.

Gurria's assessment follows that made by the UK Treasury last week, which determined that leaving the European Union would cost Britain the equivalent of 6,100 US dollars per household.

The estimate was based on an analysis of the long-term costs and benefits of EU membership and its alternatives.

The ever-more dire OECD judgment came the same day that authorities reported Britain's economy slowed in the first three months of the year amid concerns about the global economy as well as the vote on EU membership.

The UK economy grew by a quarter-on-quarter rate of 0.4 percent in January-March, down from 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday.

Services, which comprise 78 percent of the British economy, continued to grow, expanding by 0.6 percent.

But other sectors declined, including construction, mining and manufacturing.

The head of the global economic forum OECD warned Britain that leaving the European Union would be tantamount to taxing its citizens - another in a growing cavalcade of cautionary advice ahead of a June 23 referendum on membership in the 28-nation bloc.

The warning by Angel Gurria, the secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, came just days after expressions of concern by US President Barack Obama, the UK Treasury and the International Monetary Fund.

He described the notion that Britain might gain a better trade deal outside the union as somewhat fanciful.

Gurria's assessment follows that made by the UK Treasury last week, which determined that leaving the European Union would cost Britain the equivalent of 6,100 US dollars per household.

The estimate was based on an analysis of the long-term costs and benefits of EU membership and its alternatives.

The ever-more dire OECD judgment came the same day that authorities reported Britain's economy slowed in the first three months of the year amid concerns about the global economy as well as the vote on EU membership.

The UK economy grew by a quarter-on-quarter rate of 0.4 percent in January-March, down from 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday.

Services, which comprise 78 percent of the British economy, continued to grow, expanding by 0.6 percent.

But other sectors declined, including construction, mining and manufacturing.

London - 27 April 2016

1. Wide of Angel Gurria, Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) speaking on stage at the Old Theatre, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

2. Man taking photos

3. Close of audience

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Angel Gurria, Secretary-General, OECD:

"Brexit would, rather like a tax, hit the wellbeing and the pockets of UK citizens. Unlike most taxes, however, this one will not finance the provision of public services or close the fiscal gap. The 'Brexit tax' would be a pure deadweight loss - a cost incurred with no economic benefit. And this tax would not be a one-off levy. Britons would be paying it for many years."

5. Cutaway of audience

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Angel Gurria, Secretary-General, OECD:

"We estimate that in a Brexit scenario, GDP per household in 2030 would be lower than the baseline, that means staying, by at least 3,200 pounds and up to 5,000 pounds in the most pessimistic case."

7. Various of audience

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Angel Gurria, Secretary-General, OECD:

"While no one knows precisely what the costs would be, what is striking about our estimates and those produced by the other institutions, is that all the numbers under a Brexit case are negative. The best outcome under Brexit is still worse than remaining. And the worst outcomes are very bad indeed. Very expensive. The Brexit tax just gets bigger."

9. Wide of stage

10. Cutaway of economist Professor Lord Stern listening on stage

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Angel Gurria, Secretary-General, OECD:

"Our conclusion is unequivocal. The UK is much stronger as a part of Europe and Europe is much stronger with the UK as a driving force. There is no upside for the UK in Brexit. Only costs that can be avoided and advantages to be seized by remaining in Europe. No one should have to pay the Brexit tax."

12. Close of audience

13. Wide of stage

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4045006

LEAD IN:

Scientists controlling EU projects worth millions of dollars say the British exit from Europe risks the future of medical research, and may endanger future treatments for cancer and children.

Research projects at Kings and University Colleges in London rely on the collaboration of hundreds of doctors and multidisciplinary scientists across Europe - which could come under threat because of Brexit.

STORY-LINE:

Precision medicine is changing the future for cancer patients.

This lab at University College London has devised a safer and simpler alternative to standard radioactive techniques of imaging tumours.

Professor Xavier Golay's team has discovered a way to make a tumour light up with a simple sugar solution.

Because the solution is not radioactive is doesn't carry the same side effects which make patients sick.

It means radiodlogists can see tumours in more detail and check them more frequently.

That in turn allows doctors to personalise drug treatments for the patient.

They can respond more quickly, seeing what works and what doesn't and that speed could save more lives.

The team here is about to begin a trial on the new imaging technique thanks to a six and a half million Euro grant from the European Union.

The whole university has 103-million Euros to fund medical and science projects over the next few years.

All currently funded projects will be allowed to complete - but it's what happens next that's vexing doctors and scientist who argue breakthroughs don't come to order at the end of one trial.

Golay says for the vast majority of scientists in Britain the result of the recent EU referendum - for the UK to exit - was a shock.

Golay says it's not just the money which will risk future projects like this.

His team - like most university and hospital research groups - comes from all over the European Union.

Collaboration on this imaging project is with other specialist scientists at the Max Planck Institute in Germany as well as other units including France and Italy.

He's already concerned about the future.

"I've heard of at least two, three very senior people who've said okay right, now I'm taking all my grant with me and I'm going back to Germany, Switzerland, France because actually, in that way, they know they'll still have access and it's not only access to funding because the funding is great in this country, it is really good. It's really (about) access to funding and this opportunity to collaborate."

At preschool age Rens Van Velzen's parents realised he was struggling with dyslexia, but when he went to school it became clear he was autistic.

Van Velzen, now a highly intelligent fifteen year old, is part of Europe's largest study into mental health disorder.

Here researchers like Hannah Haywood combine genetics, neuroimaging, cognitive testing and clinical assessments to try to discover what are the causes.

The research project called EU Aims is carried out here at Kings College London in collaboration with scientists in other centres of Europe.

Costing 32 million Euros it's also the biggest grant given to any one project.

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a developmental problem which affects the way people interact with the world around them.

People are affected differently and scientists want to understand why those differences occur.

Haywood says: "One can go on to a life where they never speak, they are highly affected and quite disabled. Another person can go on (to be) fully verbal and become a professor at Cambridge (University) and someone else can go on and live a full life with marriage and children, why does that happen? Why does it affect people so differently when it's effectively the same condition. So we're trying to answer those questions, we're trying to understand why it affects different people in different ways and I think the thing that really attracted me to the project is because, we're trying to highlight the great skills and strengths in this group as well as the things that people find difficult."

The goal is to identify biomarkers and develop drug treatments.

It's a long term study, but how long can it continue here and what happens to the research after the current funding ends in 2020?

Rens Van Velzen is already preparing for A-levels in maths, chemistry and physics.

But his autism means life outside the classroom is not always straightforward.

He explains: "Quite often when talking peer to peer, the other person can get frustrated with how I respond because they're (I'm) not responding the way that they're expecting me to respond as the people usually do. So quite often I don't pick up someone's annoyed, or that sort of thing. It's very hard to explain because I haven't had the experience of not having autism."

Haywood, like others on the team, is convinced the project must be protected and fears Britain leaving the EU will end large scale endeavours like this which progress more steadily because of the wide collaboration among doctors and scientists.

She says: "Quite often there can be a lot of negativity around being diagnosed and living with the condition and in my work, I've worked with autism for twelve years, I have met some of the most skilled and highly intelligent people."

Van Velzen has been part of the study since it started.

Now he's hoping for a career in astrophysics.

"I think I'll work on either discovering more about our universe and our place in it, or working on ways to get to other parts of the universe," says Van Velzen.

After completing puzzles in record time he goes on for tests in the eye tracking unit.

Studies have used eye-tracing technology to see how long autistic children spend looking at the social and non-social features in a series of images on pictures and videos like these.

Ren's mother Jose Van Velzen is a cognitive neuroscientist herself although she does not work on this project.

While she is confident about her son's academic success she worries about how he will cope with work and whether he will find happiness in personal relationships.

She says: "It is sometimes challenging for Rens to keep track of what the person he's talking to is feeling and how he's being perceived. He's very much driven by telling things as they are, or how he sees them and of course in normal interaction, in normal relationships you constantly monitor what the other person is thinking. That's definitely very challenging for him and he is aware that this is one of his weaknesses he needs to work on he cannot always deal with it at that particular time and I think that is something in general that will make relationships and work environments quite a challenging place for him."

According to scientists here this project is the first of it kind in the world developing the infrastructure which will underpin new treatments for autism.

There are hundreds of scientists involved in British research projects which are funded by the EU.

The lead scientist on the autism project at Kings is Professor Declan Murphy - and he too is concerned about what Brexit will mean.

He says:"It's virtually impossible for one country alone to recruit the amount of patients that you really need for a large scale, modern day trial, or study that's going to lead to reliable results. We increasingly recognise that big questions need big populations to come up with the right answers and we simply cannot deliver the amount of patients for the amount of science from one centre from one country. For Example my work needs approximately a thousand individuals who are affected by autism. You couldn't recruit that from one centre, or from one country within a time frame that is meaningful, but we can do that by going to mulitple centres across Europe, working together and learning from eachother."

The EU's Horizon 2020 budget is 80-billion Euro which funds medicine and science research across Europe.

Britain's split from the EU will leave a funding gap as well as a brain drain according to Murphy and he argues it will be the children with autism who will lose out.

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4045006

LEAD IN:

Scientists controlling EU projects worth millions of dollars say the British exit from Europe risks the future of medical research, and may endanger future treatments for cancer and children.

Research projects at Kings and University Colleges in London rely on the collaboration of hundreds of doctors and multidisciplinary scientists across Europe - which could come under threat because of Brexit.

STORY-LINE:

Precision medicine is changing the future for cancer patients.

This lab at University College London has devised a safer and simpler alternative to standard radioactive techniques of imaging tumours.

Professor Xavier Golay's team has discovered a way to make a tumour light up with a simple sugar solution.

Because the solution is not radioactive is doesn't carry the same side effects which make patients sick.

It means radiodlogists can see tumours in more detail and check them more frequently.

That in turn allows doctors to personalise drug treatments for the patient.

They can respond more quickly, seeing what works and what doesn't and that speed could save more lives.

The team here is about to begin a trial on the new imaging technique thanks to a six and a half million Euro grant from the European Union.

The whole university has 103-million Euros to fund medical and science projects over the next few years.

All currently funded projects will be allowed to complete - but it's what happens next that's vexing doctors and scientist who argue breakthroughs don't come to order at the end of one trial.

Golay says for the vast majority of scientists in Britain the result of the recent EU referendum - for the UK to exit - was a shock.

Golay says it's not just the money which will risk future projects like this.

His team - like most university and hospital research groups - comes from all over the European Union.

Collaboration on this imaging project is with other specialist scientists at the Max Planck Institute in Germany as well as other units including France and Italy.

He's already concerned about the future.

"I've heard of at least two, three very senior people who've said okay right, now I'm taking all my grant with me and I'm going back to Germany, Switzerland, France because actually, in that way, they know they'll still have access and it's not only access to funding because the funding is great in this country, it is really good. It's really (about) access to funding and this opportunity to collaborate."

At preschool age Rens Van Velzen's parents realised he was struggling with dyslexia, but when he went to school it became clear he was autistic.

Van Velzen, now a highly intelligent fifteen year old, is part of Europe's largest study into mental health disorder.

Here researchers like Hannah Haywood combine genetics, neuroimaging, cognitive testing and clinical assessments to try to discover what are the causes.

The research project called EU Aims is carried out here at Kings College London in collaboration with scientists in other centres of Europe.

Costing 32 million Euros it's also the biggest grant given to any one project.

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a developmental problem which affects the way people interact with the world around them.

People are affected differently and scientists want to understand why those differences occur.

Haywood says: "One can go on to a life where they never speak, they are highly affected and quite disabled. Another person can go on (to be) fully verbal and become a professor at Cambridge (University) and someone else can go on and live a full life with marriage and children, why does that happen? Why does it affect people so differently when it's effectively the same condition. So we're trying to answer those questions, we're trying to understand why it affects different people in different ways and I think the thing that really attracted me to the project is because, we're trying to highlight the great skills and strengths in this group as well as the things that people find difficult."

The goal is to identify biomarkers and develop drug treatments.

It's a long term study, but how long can it continue here and what happens to the research after the current funding ends in 2020?

Rens Van Velzen is already preparing for A-levels in maths, chemistry and physics.

But his autism means life outside the classroom is not always straightforward.

He explains: "Quite often when talking peer to peer, the other person can get frustrated with how I respond because they're (I'm) not responding the way that they're expecting me to respond as the people usually do. So quite often I don't pick up someone's annoyed, or that sort of thing. It's very hard to explain because I haven't had the experience of not having autism."

Haywood, like others on the team, is convinced the project must be protected and fears Britain leaving the EU will end large scale endeavours like this which progress more steadily because of the wide collaboration among doctors and scientists.

She says: "Quite often there can be a lot of negativity around being diagnosed and living with the condition and in my work, I've worked with autism for twelve years, I have met some of the most skilled and highly intelligent people."

Van Velzen has been part of the study since it started.

Now he's hoping for a career in astrophysics.

"I think I'll work on either discovering more about our universe and our place in it, or working on ways to get to other parts of the universe," says Van Velzen.

After completing puzzles in record time he goes on for tests in the eye tracking unit.

Studies have used eye-tracing technology to see how long autistic children spend looking at the social and non-social features in a series of images on pictures and videos like these.

Ren's mother Jose Van Velzen is a cognitive neuroscientist herself although she does not work on this project.

While she is confident about her son's academic success she worries about how he will cope with work and whether he will find happiness in personal relationships.

She says: "It is sometimes challenging for Rens to keep track of what the person he's talking to is feeling and how he's being perceived. He's very much driven by telling things as they are, or how he sees them and of course in normal interaction, in normal relationships you constantly monitor what the other person is thinking. That's definitely very challenging for him and he is aware that this is one of his weaknesses he needs to work on he cannot always deal with it at that particular time and I think that is something in general that will make relationships and work environments quite a challenging place for him."

According to scientists here this project is the first of it kind in the world developing the infrastructure which will underpin new treatments for autism.

There are hundreds of scientists involved in British research projects which are funded by the EU.

The lead scientist on the autism project at Kings is Professor Declan Murphy - and he too is concerned about what Brexit will mean.

He says:"It's virtually impossible for one country alone to recruit the amount of patients that you really need for a large scale, modern day trial, or study that's going to lead to reliable results. We increasingly recognise that big questions need big populations to come up with the right answers and we simply cannot deliver the amount of patients for the amount of science from one centre from one country. For Example my work needs approximately a thousand individuals who are affected by autism. You couldn't recruit that from one centre, or from one country within a time frame that is meaningful, but we can do that by going to mulitple centres across Europe, working together and learning from eachother."

The EU's Horizon 2020 budget is 80-billion Euro which funds medicine and science research across Europe.

Britain's split from the EU will leave a funding gap as well as a brain drain according to Murphy and he argues it will be the children with autism who will lose out.

London, UK - 7 July 2016

1. Various CT scans showing liver cancer pre and post therapy to illustrate the relationship between tumours and glucose

2. Mid of Professor Xavier Golay looking at scans in his MRI lab at the UCL Institute of Neurology

3. Various of Golay and researcher looking at scans

4. Close of tumour in rat highlighted by non radioactive glucose

5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Xavier Golay, professor of neurophysics, UCL Institute of Neurology

"I've heard of at least two, three very senior people who've said okay right, now I'm taking all my grant with me and I'm going back to Germany, Switzerland, France because actually, in that way, they know they'll still have access and it's not only access to funding because the funding is great in this country, it is really good. It's really (about) access to funding and this opportunity to collaborate."

6. Close of autistic teenager Rens Van Velzen answering questions testing his cognitive and executive function at Kings College London

7. Close of psychologist Hannah Hayward asking questions

8. Mid of Velzen ticking off words he understands

9. Various of Velzen watching next task being set up

10. Mid of Velzen touching laptop screen to pick out the emotion displayed on the photo on the monitor

11. Close of Velzen touching the word "Cautious"

12. Close of touch screen

13. Mid of Velzen watching screen observed by Hayward

14. Close of Velzen

15. SOUNDBITE: (English) Hannah Hayward psychologist, EU Aims (autism research project) Kings College London

"One can go on to a life where they never speak, they are highly affected and quite disabled. Another person can go on (to be) fully verbal and become a professor at Cambridge (University) and someone else can go on and live a full life with marriage and children, why does that happen? Why does it affect people so differently when it's effectively the same condition? So we're trying to answer those questions, we're trying to understand why it affects different people in different ways and I think the thing that really attracted me to the project is because, we're trying to highlight the great skills and strengths in this group as well as the things that people find difficult."

16. Close of Hayward starting stopwatch

17. Close of cube pattern Velzen has to recreate

18. Close tilt down of Hayward observing

19. Close of Velzen

20. Close pan from pattern and blocks being constructed by Velzen

21. Mid of Velzen completing puzzle watched by Hayward

22. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rens Van Velzen, teenager in Kings College autisim research group

"Quite often when talking peer to peer, the other person can get frustrated with how I respond because they're (I'm) not responding the way that they're expecting me to respond as the people usually do. So quite often I don't pick up someone's annoyed, or that sort of thing. It's very hard to explain because I haven't had the experience of not having autism."

23. Various of Van Velzen completing other puzzles with black and yellow blocks

24. SOUNDBITE: (English) Hannah Hayward psychologist, EU Aims (autism research project) Kings College London

"Quite often there can be a lot of negativity around being diagnosed and living with the condition and in my work, I've worked with autism for twelve years, I have met some of the most skilled and highly intelligent people."

25. Various of Hayward attaching EEG wires to Van Velzen before eye tracking tests

26. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rens Van Velzen, teenager in Kings College autisim research group

"I think I'll work on either discovering more about our universe and our place in it, or working on ways to get to other parts of the universe."

27. Mid of monitor displaying photographs of facial expressions with options to pick the right description

28. Close of Van Velsen tapping keyboard

29. Mid of test continuing on monitor

30. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jose Van Velzen, Rens' mother (who is also a cognitive neuroscientist)

"It is sometimes challenging for Rens to keep track of what the person he's talking to is feeling and how he's being perceived. He's very much driven by telling things as they are, or how he sees them and of course in normal interaction, in normal relationships, you constantly monitor what the other person is thinking. That's definitely very challenging for him, and he is aware that this is one of his weaknesses he needs to work on he cannot always deal with it at that particular time and I think that is something in general that will make relationships and work environments quite a challenging place for him."

31. Mid rear view of Rens Van Velzen being shown photos in the eye tracking suite

32. Various of monitor

33. Various of Hayward carrying out tracking test

34. Hayward's monitor showing Rens Van Velzen responding to photographs

35. Mid rear view of Van Velzen watching animated patterns appear on screen

36. Various of Professor Declan Murphy lead scientist on the EU Aims study on autism

37. SOUNDBITE: (English) Professor Declan Murphy lead scientist, EU Aims study on autism, Kings College London

"It's virtually impossible for one country alone to recruit the amount of patients that you really need for a large scale, modern day trial, or study that's going to lead to reliable results. We increasingly recognise that big questions need big populations to come up with the right answers, and we simply cannot deliver the amount of patients for the amount of science from one centre from one country. For example, my work needs approximately a thousand individuals who are affected by autism. You couldn't recruit that from one centre, or from one country within a time frame that is meaningful, but we can do that by going to mulitple centres across Europe, working together and learning from eachother."

38. Mid rear view of Rens Van Velzen responding to picture during eyetracking test

39. Close of EEG reading on monitor

Protesters demanded "Brexit now" outside parliament in London on Wednesday, as the Treasury chief announced the first budget update since the referendum, saying Britain will have less money, more debt and a slower economy in coming years.

Philip Hammond delivered the economic statement to a less-boisterous-than-usual House of Commons as the country faces unease over the future and prepares to lock horns with the European Union next year on its exit from the bloc.

Though Hammond could take some solace in the resilience of the British economy in the months following the seismic June 23 referendum, the future is uncertain.

He said his goal was to get the economy "match fit" for the next chapter.

Meanwhile Brexit supporters said they felt that their elected representatives did not act fast enough to leave the European Union in the wake of the referendum.

London - 23 November 2016

1. Pro-Brexit supporters at rally, UPSOUND of chanting (English) "What do we want? Brexit. When do we want it? Now."

2. Various of pro-Brexit demonstrators

3. Various exteriors of UK Parliament

4. Carl Emmerson, deputy director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, outside Parliament

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Carl Emmerson, Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) deputy director:

"A lot of it is attributed to the fact that the UK has decided to vote to leave the European Union. There's increased uncertainty in the economy. That is pushing down growth. There's higher inflation, which is pushing down consumer spending. So that's expected to bear heavily on the economy over the next few years, which in turn will hit on tax revenues and push the government finances further into the red."

6. Cutaway of Emmerson

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Carl Emmerson, Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) deputy director:

"What the (UK's) Chancellor (Philip Hammond) has chosen to do is to push back his fiscal rules, loosen those fiscal targets, so he's got more headroom. He's chosen not to use that headroom all up with giveaways today. So what that means if things go worse, wrong over the next few years, if things deteriorate further relative to what the OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) expects, he's got headroom. Or if he wants to announce some giveaways to try and help the economy for example in the March budget or in next year's Autumn statement he can do that. So he's left himself some headroom by relaxing those fiscal targets."

8. Brexit supporters at rally

9. Demonstrator holding sign (English) reading: "It's time to leave.eu"

10. Brexit supporter holding sign (English) reading: "We want our country back", UPSOUND (English) "What do we want? Brexit. When do we want it? Now."

11. Woman draped in British flag at protest

12. Kim Rose, UKIP candidate for Southampton and organiser of rally, leading chant, UPSOUND (English): "(UK Prime Minister) Theresa May - don't delay"

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Kim Rose, UKIP candidate for Southampton and organiser of rally:

"We've organised this because it's been five months since we had our referendum, five months for people to decide what we want. Parliament feel that the people are stupid and that they know different when quite frankly it was the people that actually died in the Battle of the Somme and it was the people who stood on the beaches of Dunkirk. It was the people who fought the Battle of Britain, and now today it is the people that are saying: 'we want what we voted for'."

14. Brexit supporter Tom Twigger at rally

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Twigger, Brexit supporter:

"Millions of pounds they've robbed from the British people, millions of pounds. And now they're trying to rob the nation of it's nationhood, it's sovereignty and put us into a world populous with no democracy."

16. Various of rally

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus058122

House Speaker Paul Ryan appeared to back the vote of Britain to leave the European Union.

Friday he highlighted the Republican values of sovereignty, self-determination, a government by consent and limited government, adding, "these principles are being expressed here at home and around the world. So we clearly understand the thinking behind these principles."

The comments came as House Republicans unveiled a plan for a simpler tax code, the sixth and last installment of a GOP agenda designed to be a policy counterpoint to the personality-driven campaign of Donald Trump.

Ryan and other Republicans announced the plan at a news conference Friday morning. The proposal would lower tax rates for both families and businesses, although it falls short of the 25 percent top rate for individuals that Ryan promised not long ago.

Instead, the tax reform plan proposes a 33 percent top tax bracket instead of the current top rate of 39.6 percent restored by President Barack Obama in a 2013 victory over Republicans in the wake of his re-election.

The Ryan plan also lacks the detail required to measure whether it maintains the current distribution of the tax burden by income range.

The plan won't face a vote this year but, like other elements of Ryan's agenda, provides a template for potential action next year.

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus058122

House Speaker Paul Ryan appeared to back the vote of Britain to leave the European Union.

Friday he highlighted the Republican values of sovereignty, self-determination, a government by consent and limited government, adding, "these principles are being expressed here at home and around the world. So we clearly understand the thinking behind these principles."

The comments came as House Republicans unveiled a plan for a simpler tax code, the sixth and last installment of a GOP agenda designed to be a policy counterpoint to the personality-driven campaign of Donald Trump.

Ryan and other Republicans announced the plan at a news conference Friday morning. The proposal would lower tax rates for both families and businesses, although it falls short of the 25 percent top rate for individuals that Ryan promised not long ago.

Instead, the tax reform plan proposes a 33 percent top tax bracket instead of the current top rate of 39.6 percent restored by President Barack Obama in a 2013 victory over Republicans in the wake of his re-election.

The Ryan plan also lacks the detail required to measure whether it maintains the current distribution of the tax burden by income range.

The plan won't face a vote this year but, like other elements of Ryan's agenda, provides a template for potential action next year.

Washington - 24 June 2016

1. SOUNDBITE (English): Rep. Paul Ryan Speaker of the House:

"No.Obviously, markets are going to react when new news and information like this occurs. I believe the markets will eventually stabilize. That's point number one. Point number two. All the more reason for America to lead. America needs the lead. The world wants America to lead and with tax reform plan America will clearly be leading and on so many ways by having a code, the Ways and Means committee, they had to make a decision. Stick with the current system and get it so it's in the middle of the pack with the rest of the world or do we have a plan that leapfrogs and leads the rest of the world. This is a plan that leapfrogs and leads the rest of the world. And so for all of these moments of possible uncertainty that are happening around the globe having strong, powerful, confident American economic leadership is in need and this does that."

++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY WHITE FLASHES++

2. SOUNDBITE (English): Rep. Paul Ryan Speaker of the House:

"Well sure. The question is about the Brexit vote. I do believe. Look. As an American we value the principle of sovereignty, self-determination, a government by consent and limited government. These are very important principles and these principles are being expressed here at home and around the world. So we clearly understand the thinking behind these principles. Let me just say since you're going off the tax script, I'll go off it with you just for this moment Deirdre, England is our indispensable ally. Our friends in the United Kingdom are our indispensable ally and this is a very special relationship and that's going to continue no matter what. Period. End of story."

House Speaker Paul Ryan appeared to back the vote of Britain to leave the European Union.

Friday he highlighted the Republican values of sovereignty, self-determination, a government by consent and limited government, adding, "these principles are being expressed here at home and around the world. So we clearly understand the thinking behind these principles."

The comments came as House Republicans unveiled a plan for a simpler tax code, the sixth and last installment of a GOP agenda designed to be a policy counterpoint to the personality-driven campaign of Donald Trump.

Ryan and other Republicans announced the plan at a news conference Friday morning. The proposal would lower tax rates for both families and businesses, although it falls short of the 25 percent top rate for individuals that Ryan promised not long ago.

Instead, the tax reform plan proposes a 33 percent top tax bracket instead of the current top rate of 39.6 percent restored by President Barack Obama in a 2013 victory over Republicans in the wake of his re-election.

The Ryan plan also lacks the detail required to measure whether it maintains the current distribution of the tax burden by income range.

The plan won't face a vote this year but, like other elements of Ryan's agenda, provides a template for potential action next year.

House Speaker Paul Ryan appeared to back the vote of Britain to leave the European Union.

Friday he highlighted the Republican values of sovereignty, self-determination, a government by consent and limited government, adding, "these principles are being expressed here at home and around the world. So we clearly understand the thinking behind these principles."

The comments came as House Republicans unveiled a plan for a simpler tax code, the sixth and last installment of a GOP agenda designed to be a policy counterpoint to the personality-driven campaign of Donald Trump.

Ryan and other Republicans announced the plan at a news conference Friday morning. The proposal would lower tax rates for both families and businesses, although it falls short of the 25 percent top rate for individuals that Ryan promised not long ago.

Instead, the tax reform plan proposes a 33 percent top tax bracket instead of the current top rate of 39.6 percent restored by President Barack Obama in a 2013 victory over Republicans in the wake of his re-election.

The Ryan plan also lacks the detail required to measure whether it maintains the current distribution of the tax burden by income range.

The plan won't face a vote this year but, like other elements of Ryan's agenda, provides a template for potential action next year.

Washington - 24 June 2016

1. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan stands behind Majority Whip Steve Scalise

2. SOUNDBITE (English): Rep. Paul Ryan Speaker of the House:

"No.Obviously, markets are going to react when new news and information like this occurs. I believe the markets will eventually stabilize. That's point number one. Point number two. All the more reason for America to lead. America needs the lead. The world wants America to lead and with tax reform plan America will clearly be leading and on so many ways by having a code, the Ways and Means committee, they had to make a decision. Stick with the current system and get it so it's in the middle of the pack with the rest of the world or do we have a plan that leapfrogs and leads the rest of the world. This is a plan that leapfrogs and leads the rest of the world. And so for all of these moments of possible uncertainty that are happening around the globe having strong, powerful, confident American economic leadership is in need and this does that."

3. Ryan stands behind Scalise.

4. Cutaway of photographers

5. Wide of Ryan at podium

6. SOUNDBITE (English): Rep. Paul Ryan Speaker of the House:

"Well sure. The question is about the Brexit vote. I do believe. Look. As an American we value the principle of sovereignty, self-determination, a government by consent and limited government. These are very important principles and these principles are being expressed here at home and around the world. So we clearly understand the thinking behind these principles. Let me just say since you're going off the tax script, I'll go off it with you just for this moment Deirdre, England is our indispensable ally. Our friends in the United Kingdom are our indispensable ally and this is a very special relationship and that's going to continue no matter what. Period. End of story."

7. Ryan greeting people after event

Global shares were mostly lower on Monday amid worries about Britain's exit from the European Union and a downgrade of Italy's credit rating

It comes as British Prime Minister Theresa May is set to deliver a speech outlining her vision of Britain's post-EU future and market players are worried what she says may indicate a "hard" approach to the nation's exit.

Her office has said she will call for a "truly global Britain" that is more open to the world when she lays out plans for negotiations with the European Union.

That prospect alarms many in Britain's huge financial services sector, which relies on EU access.

Germany's vice chancellor, responding to an interview with President-elect Donald Trump, has rejected threats by Trump to put tariffs of up to 35 percent on German automakers if they set up plants in Mexico instead of the US and try to export cars to the US from there.

Trump had also claimed German automakers don't behave fairly because a lot of German cars are seen in the US, but few American cars in Germany.

Frankfurt - 16 January 2017

1. Various of Frankfurt Stock Exchange trading floor

2. SOUNDBITE (German) Robert Halver Head of Market Research, Baader Bank:

"I think BMW, VW, Daimler, as well as Audi and Porsche will in future make additional investments in America. If they create jobs they will buy out from protectionist measures and import taxes and Mr. Trump will most certainly ask for this."

3. Trader at desk

4. SOUNDBITE (German) Robert Halver Head of Market Research, Baader Bank:

"Thirty-five percent punitive taxes on German cars is a big number that hurts. We do not know whether it will be as bad as that, but what is certain is that the car industry will use appeasement strategies in order to not be affected too negatively by the big Caesar"

5. Traders at desk

6. SOUNDBITE (German) Robert Halver Head of Market Research, Baader Bank:

"Just like America, Mrs. May for Great Britain will try to blackmail us by suggesting hard Brexit. The subject will be let's cut all ties to Europe and if Europe will not back down, Great Britain will turn into a tax haven with low business taxes that will be the strategy. I hope that we will come to some sort of agreement with the British, I have always regretted that the British will leave us. We still need them"

7. Trader at desk

8. SOUNDBITE (German) Robert Halver Head of Market Research, Baader Bank:

"If we indeed had massive tax cuts for cooperation, some German businesses would surely consider to move at least the administration to Great Britain to profit from this. The Irish success their low tax politics shows that taxes are a very important element of competitiveness."

9. Various of trading floor

Germany's finance minister said on Wednesday that he didn't expect a "race to the bottom" on business taxes after Britain announced plans to cut its corporation tax rate.

Speaking at a press conference in Berlin, Wolfgang Schaeuble said Britain's move would have little influence on German policy.

British Treasury chief George Osborne said on Monday that he plans to cut UK corporation tax to below 15 percent to encourage investment and ease business concerns after voters chose to leave the European Union.

Some London-based businesses are considering leaving for other European cities to benefit from the large EU common market.

The British pound hit a new 31-year low against the US dollar on Wednesday, as worries reawakened about the economic repercussions of Britain's decision to leave the EU.

Schaeuble also stressed that it's up to Britain to decide what future relationship it wants with the EU.

Departing British Prime Minister David Cameron has left the decision to formally trigger EU exit talks to his successor, who will be elected by members of the governing Conservative Party in September.

Germany's finance minister said on Wednesday that he didn't expect a "race to the bottom" on business taxes after Britain announced plans to cut its corporation tax rate.

Speaking at a press conference in Berlin, Wolfgang Schaeuble said Britain's move would have little influence on German policy.

British Treasury chief George Osborne said on Monday that he plans to cut UK corporation tax to below 15 percent to encourage investment and ease business concerns after voters chose to leave the European Union.

Some London-based businesses are considering leaving for other European cities to benefit from the large EU common market.

The British pound hit a new 31-year low against the US dollar on Wednesday, as worries reawakened about the economic repercussions of Britain's decision to leave the EU.

Schaeuble also stressed that it's up to Britain to decide what future relationship it wants with the EU.

Departing British Prime Minister David Cameron has left the decision to formally trigger EU exit talks to his successor, who will be elected by members of the governing Conservative Party in September.

Berlin - 6 July 2016

1. Wide of German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble at press conference

2. Photographer

3. Journalist looking at press release

4. SOUNDBITE (German) Wolfgang Schaeuble, German Finance Minister:

"So now he (George Osborne) has announced (a cut in corporation tax), and we will meet next week at the ECOFIN. There we will surely hear explanations from him about that (the tax cut), at least I hope. But we have no intention in Europe of starting a race to the bottom, this makes no sense."

5. Journalist taking notes

6. SOUNDBITE (German) Wolfgang Schaeuble, German Finance Minister:

"We are not against tax competition, but we favour public budgets in all member countries being fairly and appropriately financed. That's why the British announcement has no effect on our tax policy considerations."

7. Camera

8. SOUNDBITE (German) Wolfgang Schaeuble, German Finance Minister:

"Honestly, I have to say I don't fully understand what those who conducted this campaign (to leave the European Union at the UK's referendum) imagined, because now they are all running away from what they caused in droves. That wasn't a very diplomatic comment, but one that came from the depth of my soul."

9. Wide of presser

10. SOUNDBITE (German) Wolfgang Schaeuble, German Finance Minister:

"There are other countries which also have a relationship with the European Union, and with the single market - Norway, Switzerland. But one thing is clear. Membership of the single market means of course to accept the basic freedoms of Europe (European Union). That's what Switzerland had to painfully acknowledge with a referendum, but it carried it out. And furthermore you also have to participate in the funding. If now the supporters of Brexit, who lead this campaign, meant that they had wanted Great Britain to take the status of Switzerland in its relationship with the European Union, you need to put this to those who are still around, those who lead this campaign. I cannot answer this."

11. Wide of Schaeuble shaking hand of moderator

12. Schauble leaving press conference

Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said Prime Minister Theresa May's speech appeared to suggest that if a deal with the European Union didn't work Britain would move to become a low tax, "bargain basement economy on the offshores of Europe."

Corbyn said May needed to be clearer on her objectives.

In her speech May said Britain will leave the EU's single market - but will "seek greatest possible access to it" - as it exits the trade bloc.

May says her plans for Brexit cannot allow the U.K. to remain in the single market of the bloc because that would mean "not leaving the EU at all."

May said she wanted Britain to be part of a customs union agreement with the other EU states, and remove as many trade barriers as possible. She did not provide details, but said she had an "open mind" on how to do it.

Corbyn said "she seems to be wanting to have her cake and eat it."

The Labour leader said he would soon be setting out the party's idea of future relationships with Europe "but also our ideas about future trading relationships with the rest of the world."

UK POOL

London - 17 January 2017

1. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jeremy Corbyn, Opposition Labour Party leader:

"Throughout the speech there seemed to be an implied threat that somewhere along the line if all her optimism of a deal with the European Union didn't work, we would move into a low tax, corporate taxation, bargain basement economy on the offshores of Europe, and I think she needs to be a bit clearer about what the long-term objectives are."

++BLACK++

Question off camera: (English) Will you vote for Britain to leave the single market?

2. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jeremy Corbyn, Opposition Labour Party leader:

"We have said all along that we will not block Article 50 coming in and that's going to be very soon within Parliament. We will be putting a case for market access to Europe, we'll be putting a case for regulation of labour market and all the issues that go with that, we'll be putting a very strong case to the British people and to Parliament. This is two years away and it's quite nice that at last we've got confirmation that 27 member state parliaments will get a vote, including ours, and of course the European parliament also gets a vote on this."

Question off camera: Specifically on leaving the single market, that is something that you will now accept will happen?

3. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jeremy Corbyn, Opposition Labour Party leader:

"She has said that leave the single market and at the same time says she wants to have access to the single market. I'm not quite sure how that's going to go down in Europe. I think we have to have a deal that ensures that we have access to the market, we have British jobs dependant on that market, that's what we'll be pushing for. Whether it's specifically this form of single market I don't know. She seems to be wanting to have her cake and eat it."

++BLACK++

4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jeremy Corbyn, Opposition Labour Party leader:

"Well she concedes that herself, she concedes that we depend a great deal on the people who have come to work in this country and also she makes the correct point which indeed Parliament has already voted on, that EU nationals living in Britain should be allowed to remain here just as much as British nationals of which there are probably 1.5 million living across Europe are able to continue living there. So there's going to have to be a close relationship with Europe in the future. We're going to hold them to account on all of this because I think there are enormous dangers in this and when she talks about future trade arrangements, all she said was that Donald Trump said we'd be first in the queue. First in the queue? For an investor protection type trade treaty? I don't know exactly what she has in mind in that."

++BLACK++

5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jeremy Corbyn, Opposition Labour Party leader:

"Well be obviously responding to the statement in Parliament today, Keir Starmer (shadow Brexit Secretary) will be doing that, Emily (Thornberry, shadow Foreign Secretary) and Keir have been making the point all along that there has to be proper parliamentary scrutiny of that. We will be doing all of that and of course when the major debate comes up, which I hope will be very soon, we'll be setting out our idea of future relationships with Europe but also our ideas about future trading relationships with the rest of the world. We want to ensure that jobs and markets are protected in this country, we want to ensure that British manufacturing industry has a chance to export. She makes all these optimistic statements, every economic indicator in Britain is going in the wrong direction at the present time."

++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++

It's been 25 years since the Penallta Colliery fell silent: the river once black with soot is now green and nature has taken back its place in this valley in South Wales.

Eddie Cullen grew-up here in a family of miners and remembers the decline of the town and the sorrow at seeing the heart of his community torn away.

"Everyone was frightened when the pit shut," he says.

With dire poverty and high unemployment rates, South Wales has benefited from generous grants and financing schemes from the European Union to rejuvenate the area's economy.

Yet on 23 June - the day of the UK referendum - the region voted massively to leave the EU.

The modern highway connecting Brynmawr with other former coal-mining towns in the Valleys region of South Wales was partly funded by the European Union, replacing a three-lane road known for its many deadly accidents.

In Abbw Vale, where 62 percent voted out, EU funds have also been used to improve railway lines, open museums, schools and training centres built where the steel works once stood.

Paul Thomas, who voted 'remain', worries Brexit could jeopardise these achievements.

"There was going to be more development but we don't know what's going to happen now," he says.

But back in the old city centre retired truck driver John Thompson doesn't agree, saying that "there's been no benefit to this area at all"

"Leave" campaigners say many of the EU projects are gimmicky and haven't led to any tangible improvements for people.

Also, they consider the EU money as British money to begin with, since overall Britain contributes more money than it gets back from the EU.

Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies, was one politician to go against the party's UK leader, Prime Minister David Cameron, and vote for Britain to quit the EU

Davies used the metaphor of an out-of-control car to describe the EU, saying that people used the referendum to effectively say "I want to get out, the way this car is driven, we're going to hit a brick wall."

But for one Welsh company, Brexit was the brick wall.

In Pontypridd, a town climbing up misty hillsides north of Cardiff, Jenny Hughes said her education consultancy firm lost three potential contracts the day after the referendum as European partners pulled out.

Even though Wales receives hundreds of millions of pounds annually in EU funding, more than half of the Welsh electorate voted for Britain to leave the EU.

Puzzling many analysts, the "leave" vote was strongest in deprived post-industrial areas that have arguably benefited the most from EU support.

"Wales might have shot itself in the foot," says Ed Poole, lecturer in politics at Cardiff University, explaining that Wales has been one of the biggest net beneficiaries of being in the European Union.

A study he co-authored before the vote estimated that Wales receives a net annual benefit of 245 million (British) pounds (327 million US dollars) from the EU budget, or about 79 pounds (105 US dollars) per head.

That compares with a net contribution of 151 pounds (201 US dollars) per head for all of the United Kingdom.

It's possible, Poole says, that some voters didn't fully understand the role of EU funds in supporting their communities - or chose to ignore it.

It's been 25 years since the Penallta Colliery fell silent: the river once black with soot is now green and nature has taken back its place in this valley in South Wales.

Eddie Cullen grew-up here in a family of miners and remembers the decline of the town and the sorrow at seeing the heart of his community torn away.

"Everyone was frightened when the pit shut," he says.

With dire poverty and high unemployment rates, South Wales has benefited from generous grants and financing schemes from the European Union to rejuvenate the area's economy.

Yet on 23 June - the day of the UK referendum - the region voted massively to leave the EU.

The modern highway connecting Brynmawr with other former coal-mining towns in the Valleys region of South Wales was partly funded by the European Union, replacing a three-lane road known for its many deadly accidents.

In Abbw Vale, where 62 percent voted out, EU funds have also been used to improve railway lines, open museums, schools and training centres built where the steel works once stood.

Paul Thomas, who voted 'remain', worries Brexit could jeopardise these achievements.

"There was going to be more development but we don't know what's going to happen now," he says.

But back in the old city centre retired truck driver John Thompson doesn't agree, saying that "there's been no benefit to this area at all"

"Leave" campaigners say many of the EU projects are gimmicky and haven't led to any tangible improvements for people.

Also, they consider the EU money as British money to begin with, since overall Britain contributes more money than it gets back from the EU.

Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies, was one politician to go against the party's UK leader, Prime Minister David Cameron, and vote for Britain to quit the EU

Davies used the metaphor of an out-of-control car to describe the EU, saying that people used the referendum to effectively say "I want to get out, the way this car is driven, we're going to hit a brick wall."

But for one Welsh company, Brexit was the brick wall.

In Pontypridd, a town climbing up misty hillsides north of Cardiff, Jenny Hughes said her education consultancy firm lost three potential contracts the day after the referendum as European partners pulled out.

Even though Wales receives hundreds of millions of pounds annually in EU funding, more than half of the Welsh electorate voted for Britain to leave the EU.

Puzzling many analysts, the "leave" vote was strongest in deprived post-industrial areas that have arguably benefited the most from EU support.

"Wales might have shot itself in the foot," says Ed Poole, lecturer in politics at Cardiff University, explaining that Wales has been one of the biggest net beneficiaries of being in the European Union.

A study he co-authored before the vote estimated that Wales receives a net annual benefit of 245 million (British) pounds (327 million US dollars) from the EU budget, or about 79 pounds (105 US dollars) per head.

That compares with a net contribution of 151 pounds (201 US dollars) per head for all of the United Kingdom.

It's possible, Poole says, that some voters didn't fully understand the role of EU funds in supporting their communities - or chose to ignore it.

Hengoad - 29 June 2016

1. Various of abandoned coal mine

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Eddie Cullen, excavator driver:

"At first, everybody was frightened when the pit (coal mine) shut, but life has got to go on and we've still done well. There has been a lot of unemployment in Wales, but we've just got to travel further for the work, like me."

3. Cutaway of dog

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Eddie Cullen, excavator driver:

"Everybody has just had enough, you know. They want their identity back as a country, you know, rather than being run by people from outside the country."

5. Grafiti on abandoned coal mine reading (English) "Don't steal our heritage."

6. Various of abandoned coal mine

Near Brynmawr - 30 June 2016

7. Various of road sign indicating EU financing for the motorway

8. Traffic on motorway

Abbw Vale - 30 June 2016

9. Tilt down on piece of machinery from the old steel works that previously occupied site

10. Various of new college partially financed by the EU

11. Various of new recreational centre partially financed by the EU

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Paul Thomas, occupational therapist:

"My dad worked at the steelworks. He used to come home and tell us when we were kids that he'd have to use a push bike to go from one end of the factory to the other end of the factory. Sadly it's gone now, but with the EU funding we've got the leisure centre now, we've got the college, we've got the school, we've got the hospital. There was going to be more development here, but we don't know what's going to happen now."

Near Brynmawr - 30 June 2016

13. Various of the town

14. Street in centre of town with sign reading (English) "Vote Leave."

15. Close of Welsh flag

16. SOUNDBITE (English) John Thompson, retired truck driver:

"I would say no. We haven't seen no benefit to this area at all. They do leave us a road now as you know, you've seen the sign, the European sign on it, but what you've got to think about is: they don't give us nothing. It's our money, part of our money coming back to us. We've given them the money and they just send some back to us. They don't give us nothing really."

Cardiff - 29 June 2016

17. View over Cardiff Bay with National Theatre Wales in foreground

18. Close of sign reading (English and Welsh) "National Assembly for Wales."

19. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrew RT Davies, Welsh Conservative leader:

"Well, it's British money in the first place. It goes out there, and we leave 50 percent of that money out there and 50 percent comes back. So that's the narrative here. We are all for embracing cooperation with other countries, we are all for working as allies in national security and self-defence, but there comes a point where self-determination has to come into this as well."

20. Various of Andrew RT Davies, Welsh Conservative leader

21. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrew RT Davies, Welsh Conservative leader:

"Very often, these schemes will seem to be managed by elites and ultimately not delivering for the communities that were supposed to benefit, and so people actually used the opportunity of the referendum to say 'whoa, stop the car, I want to get out, the way this car is driven, we're going to hit a brick wall."

Pontypridd - 29 June 2016

22. Various of Jenny Hughes, co-founder of Pontydysgu, a Welsh educational research institute, looking at the company website

23. SOUNDBITE (English) Jenny Hughes, co-founder of Pontydysgu:

"So, all of a sudden, we personally can't tender for anymore, but more particularly, our partners or consortia that we work with are saying now, 'well, actually we don't want to work with you' - they do want to work with us but they don't feel they can because they don't know what's going to happen."

24. Hughes at her desk

Cardiff - 29 June 2016

25. Various of Ed Poole, lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Cardiff University, at his desk

26. SOUNDBITE (English) Ed Poole, lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Cardiff University:

"I would say that unfortunately, in the long term, Wales might have shot itself in the foot on an economic basis."

27. Cutaway

28. SOUNDBITE (English) Ed Poole, lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Cardiff University:

"It's not just the structural funds that benefit the poorest areas in Wales - that's to the tune of about 400 million (British) pounds (534 million US dollars) per year. It's also the agricultural policy, which is very specifically supporting small scale businesses, which is Wales' specialism because of the topography of Wales. It's about 260 million (pounds, 347 million US dollars) per year, and it's also access to the single market."

Merthyr Tydfil - 30 June 2016

29. Various of open-pit mine and surrounding landscape

Gina Miller needs to look no further than her own small investment firm to know that leaving the European Union would be bad for Britain.

She has an analyst who is Italian: would he need a visa? She has customers who are British retirees living in Spain: will they return home to keep access to health care and liquidate their euro investments? Her firm, SCM Direct, works closely with French bank Societe Generale: would that relationship continue?

"It could be terrible for the city,'' she said suggesting the impact could be similar to the 2008 financial crisis.

From the international banks in the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf to the traditional home of Britain's financial industry in the City of London and the hedge funds of Mayfair, bankers and money managers across the capital are watching the June 23 referendum on EU membership with trepidation. Many fear a vote to leave would undermine London's position as the world's pre-eminent financial center and damage an industry that underpins the British economy.

In case of a British exit, or Brexit, from the EU, US banking giant JPMorgan said last week that they would have to move staff to the continent to ensure it could continue to serve clients who want to invest there, Dimon said. Other global banks with customers in the rest of the EU would be in a similar situation.

Britain has been the gateway to the EU for many banks, brokerages and fund managers for decades. In addition to having a trusted legal system and institutions that operate in English, the language of international finance, London is in the right time zone to access most of the Earth during its working day and has a reputation for delivering top-notch financial services. The industry is also surrounded by an ecosystem of expertise, lawyers, accountants and consultants, to support it.

Some 60 percent of all European headquarters of non-EU firms are based in the U.K., according to TheCityUK, which lobbies on behalf of the financial industry. The UK hosts more headquarters of non-EU firms than Germany, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands put together.

London's advantages are such that people in favor of leaving the EU, such as Peter Hargreaves, co-founder of brokerage firm Hargreaves Lansdown, think it will retain its luster no matter what. He poured scorn on the notion that it could be easily replicated.

"In addition to the cost of building the infrastructure for a rival to the City of London one has also got to work out whether people will want to live in another financial center,'' he said. "They certainly wouldn't want to live in Paris, although Paris is a pretty city, purely because of the tax rates and in all honesty they wouldn't want to live in Frankfurt because actually there isn't even the housing there to house them. People want to live in London.''

London's financial sector has complained about a number of EU rules, such as limits on bankers' bonuses and an attempt to impose a tax on financial transactions.

Those considerations, however, are largely trumped by concerns that leaving the EU would make access to the other 27 EU countries more difficult, many analysts say.

The principle of "passporting" currently allows any firm registered in one EU country to operate in any other member state without facing another layer of regulation. It's the same principle that allows exporters to ship their goods to any EU country free of tariffs. Losing that freedom is a particular concern for the many foreign firms who use London not only as a financial hub but as an entry point into the EU.

While the UK could probably negotiate a new arrangement for trade in goods, it would be much more complicated to hammer out a deal on services, experts believe. The situation has no precedent, no country the size of the UK has ever left such an integrated economic union, so the outcome of any talks can't be predicted.

And anything that curtails Britain's financial industry has implications for the UK economy as a whole, not just the bankers who were pilloried for taking home million-pound bonuses while they fueled the global financial crisis.

The industry's importance is even more obvious in Britain's trade figures. While the country posted an overall trade deficit of 34.4 billion pounds (50 billion US dollars) in 2014, it generated a 72 billion pound surplus from exporting financial and related services.

"Uncertainty is bad news," said Vicky Pryce, an economist and former joint head of the UK government economic service.

"It will take some time for that to settle down, it will take some time for the negotiations to take place. There is a two year period during which officials and also ministers will have to sit down and try and negotiate a deal and we just don’t know whether even over that period something will come out that will be in the slightest bit beneficial for the city so a lot of uncertainty

The City of London - the square mile roughly bounded by the walls of the original Roman city - has been the financial heart of Britain since the 17th century, when merchants meeting at local coffee houses formed Lloyd's of London and the London Stock Exchange. It has survived wars, famines and fires and would likely survive any outcome from the EU vote. The question is in what form.

Jeffrey Evans, the Lord Mayor of the City of London, whose office has promoted The City as place to do business since the Magna Carta was signed in 1215, says leaving the EU in not a risk worth taking.

Speaking in an opulent drawing room that feels more like a museum, with Dutch masters lining the walls, Evans noted that leaving the EU is "a very important matter."

"This is a decision that will affect future generations," he said.

Gina Miller needs to look no further than her own small investment firm to know that leaving the European Union would be bad for Britain.

She has an analyst who is Italian: would he need a visa? She has customers who are British retirees living in Spain: will they return home to keep access to health care and liquidate their euro investments? Her firm, SCM Direct, works closely with French bank Societe Generale: would that relationship continue?

"It could be terrible for the city,'' she said suggesting the impact could be similar to the 2008 financial crisis.

From the international banks in the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf to the traditional home of Britain's financial industry in the City of London and the hedge funds of Mayfair, bankers and money managers across the capital are watching the June 23 referendum on EU membership with trepidation. Many fear a vote to leave would undermine London's position as the world's pre-eminent financial center and damage an industry that underpins the British economy.

In case of a British exit, or Brexit, from the EU, US banking giant JPMorgan said last week that they would have to move staff to the continent to ensure it could continue to serve clients who want to invest there, Dimon said. Other global banks with customers in the rest of the EU would be in a similar situation.

Britain has been the gateway to the EU for many banks, brokerages and fund managers for decades. In addition to having a trusted legal system and institutions that operate in English, the language of international finance, London is in the right time zone to access most of the Earth during its working day and has a reputation for delivering top-notch financial services. The industry is also surrounded by an ecosystem of expertise, lawyers, accountants and consultants, to support it.

Some 60 percent of all European headquarters of non-EU firms are based in the U.K., according to TheCityUK, which lobbies on behalf of the financial industry. The UK hosts more headquarters of non-EU firms than Germany, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands put together.

London's advantages are such that people in favor of leaving the EU, such as Peter Hargreaves, co-founder of brokerage firm Hargreaves Lansdown, think it will retain its luster no matter what. He poured scorn on the notion that it could be easily replicated.

"In addition to the cost of building the infrastructure for a rival to the City of London one has also got to work out whether people will want to live in another financial center,'' he said. "They certainly wouldn't want to live in Paris, although Paris is a pretty city, purely because of the tax rates and in all honesty they wouldn't want to live in Frankfurt because actually there isn't even the housing there to house them. People want to live in London.''

London's financial sector has complained about a number of EU rules, such as limits on bankers' bonuses and an attempt to impose a tax on financial transactions.

Those considerations, however, are largely trumped by concerns that leaving the EU would make access to the other 27 EU countries more difficult, many analysts say.

The principle of "passporting" currently allows any firm registered in one EU country to operate in any other member state without facing another layer of regulation. It's the same principle that allows exporters to ship their goods to any EU country free of tariffs. Losing that freedom is a particular concern for the many foreign firms who use London not only as a financial hub but as an entry point into the EU.

While the UK could probably negotiate a new arrangement for trade in goods, it would be much more complicated to hammer out a deal on services, experts believe. The situation has no precedent, no country the size of the UK has ever left such an integrated economic union, so the outcome of any talks can't be predicted.

And anything that curtails Britain's financial industry has implications for the UK economy as a whole, not just the bankers who were pilloried for taking home million-pound bonuses while they fueled the global financial crisis.

The industry's importance is even more obvious in Britain's trade figures. While the country posted an overall trade deficit of 34.4 billion pounds (50 billion US dollars) in 2014, it generated a 72 billion pound surplus from exporting financial and related services.

"Uncertainty is bad news," said Vicky Pryce, an economist and former joint head of the UK government economic service.

"It will take some time for that to settle down, it will take some time for the negotiations to take place. There is a two year period during which officials and also ministers will have to sit down and try and negotiate a deal and we just don’t know whether even over that period something will come out that will be in the slightest bit beneficial for the city so a lot of uncertainty

The City of London - the square mile roughly bounded by the walls of the original Roman city - has been the financial heart of Britain since the 17th century, when merchants meeting at local coffee houses formed Lloyd's of London and the London Stock Exchange. It has survived wars, famines and fires and would likely survive any outcome from the EU vote. The question is in what form.

Jeffrey Evans, the Lord Mayor of the City of London, whose office has promoted The City as place to do business since the Magna Carta was signed in 1215, says leaving the EU in not a risk worth taking.

Speaking in an opulent drawing room that feels more like a museum, with Dutch masters lining the walls, Evans noted that leaving the EU is "a very important matter."

"This is a decision that will affect future generations," he said.

London - 24 May 2016

1. Various aerials of Canary Wharf

London - 6 June 2016

2. Set up of Gina Miller, co-founder of wealth management company SCM Direct

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Gina Miller, co-founder of wealth management company SCM Direct:

"It could be terrible for the city because there is so much going on in the city, and we are seen as being one of the forefronts in the financial services and being a leader in that sector and if you look at all the modelling that has gone on there will definitely be a huge impact because a lot of the euro clearing happens in the UK. We have already seen that this first quarter of this year compared to last year, M and As - mergers and acquisitions - are down 39 percent, we've seen a real halt in foreign investment in the UK. If gilt markets - foreigners why would they want to buy our gilts, we could be hit in gilts we don't know what will happen with sterling. Nobody knows."

London - 24 May 2016

4. Aerial of the city

London - 22 May 2016

6. Pan of Bank of England

7. Pull focus from flowers to Bank

8. Workers and sign for Bank underground station

London - 24 May 2016

9. Set up of Jeffrey Evans, the Lord Mayor of the City of London

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeffrey Evans, the Lord Mayor of the City of London:

"Well, first of all it’s very important matter, it’s a, this is a decision that will affect future generations. The city of London we had, we reached a decision in March the corporation that we would take a position and that’s very strongly that we wish to remain in, it was a clear majority for that. And it’s, it’s very important the city of London is really, perhaps are most successful industry in the UK, recognises the financial, press and business services, we recogonise the importance of the EU to London and the UK."

London - 24 May 2016

11. Aerials of the city with the Shard and the Gerkhin

Bristol - 6 June 2016

12. Various of set up of Peter Hargreaves, co-founder of brokerage firm Hargreaves Lansdown

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Peter Hargreaves, co-founder of brokerage firm Hargreaves Lansdown:

"In addition to the cost of building the infrastructure for a rival to the City of London one has also got to work out whether people will want to live in another financial center. They certainly wouldn't want to live in Paris, although Paris is a pretty city, purely because of the tax rates and in all honesty they wouldn't want to live in Frankfurt because actually there isn't even the housing there to house them. People want to live in London it's got the best restaurants in the world, the best sport facilities in the world, the best theatres in the world, I mean why would anyone want to live anywhere else."

FILE: London - 22 February 2016

14. Various of trading floor and traders at GKFX brokers in London

Bristol - 1 June 2016

15. Set up Vicky Pryce, economist and former joint head of the U.K. government economic service

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Vicky Pryce, economist and former joint head of the U.K. government economic service:

"It is just possible, even if there is a 'Brexit vote', the UK we get some special allowance in terms of the way in which it operates, particularly in the service sector with the rest of Europe. But it will take some time for that to settle down, it will take some time for the negotiations to take place. There is a two year period during which officials and also ministers will have to sit down and try and negotiate a deal and we just don’t know whether even over that period something will come out that will be in the slightest bit beneficial for the city so, a lot of uncertainty. Uncertainty is bad news."

London - 24 May 2016

14. Aerials of the city

Government officials throughout Latin America expressed concern for the markets and their country's economies given Britain's vote to exit the European Union.

In Mexico, Treasury Secretary Luis Videgaray held a news conference to announce that the government will cut public spending by more than $1.6 billion (31.7 billion pesos) in response to the economic uncertainty posed by Britain's exit.

He said Britain's action will have only "a very moderate" effect on Mexico. Only about 0.5 percent of Mexican exports go to Britain, which accounts for only about 2 percent of foreign direct investment in Mexico.

In Peru, a number of congressmen expressed concern over the possibility that the exit might increase European instability by encouraging more countries to leave the Union.

In Argentina, Susana Malcorra, Argentine Foreign Minister told members of the press that "we consider it as something worth worrying about."

Government officials throughout Latin America expressed concern for the markets and their country's economies given Britain's vote to exit the European Union.

In Mexico, Treasury Secretary Luis Videgaray held a news conference to announce that the government will cut public spending by more than $1.6 billion (31.7 billion pesos) in response to the economic uncertainty posed by Britain's exit.

He said Britain's action will have only "a very moderate" effect on Mexico. Only about 0.5 percent of Mexican exports go to Britain, which accounts for only about 2 percent of foreign direct investment in Mexico.

In Peru, a number of congressmen expressed concern over the possibility that the exit might increase European instability by encouraging more countries to leave the Union.

In Argentina, Susana Malcorra, Argentine Foreign Minister told members of the press that "we consider it as something worth worrying about."

Mexico City, Mexico - 24 June 2016

1. Authorities arriving to press conference

2. Wide of press conference

3. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Luis Videgaray, Treasure Secretary:

"For this year 2016 we have instructed a second cut in public spending, this time only in the federal government. This second cut does not include PEMEX, for a total number of $1.6 billion (31.7 billion pesos). From them, the 91.7% comes from the common spend."

4. Camera and podium

5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Luis Videgaray, Treasure Secretary:

"The Mexican government has covered 100% of it's funding necessities for the rest of the year. It is important to say this because when financial markets become volatile and complex it is the strength of our economy that the government has covered funding for the rest of 2016."

6. End of presser

7. Mexico City's main square and flag waving

Lima, Peru - 24 June 2016

8. Omar Chehade, Peruvian Congressman walking through a hall

9. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Omar Chehade, Peruvian Congressman:

"I think (Brexit) is going to have a domino effect. Because Scotland will want to leave (UK) as they did before the referendum which it lost by very little in the United Kingdom a few years ago. Scotland will want to leave the United Kingdom and Ireland will want to do the same and it will cause chaos, the world cleaning house monetarily and economically cleaning house."

10. Room inside Congress

11. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Yonhy Lescano, Peruvian Congressman:

"I believe it is an issue for the British people to decide if they want to leave the European Union. Obviously, it will have some effect, positive effects, negative effects. It seems that the European Union is very worried that it will have a negative impact."

Buenos Aires, Argentina – 24 June 2016

12. Argentine Foreign Minister, Susana Malcorra walking into press conference

13. Press conference

14. Members of media looking on

15. Close of lens of camera as it films Malcorra speaking during press conference

16. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Susana Malcorra, Argentine Foreign Minister:

"The world is going through a very difficult time, of fear, of division. We see it in Europe, we see signs of it coming from the United States, a trend that is somewhat xenophobic in nature, where phobias of all kind are accentuating and we consider it as something worth worrying about."

17. Press conference

LEAD IN:

Red, pink, white, sparkling wines and a variety of other alcoholic beverages are quenching the thirsts of visitors to the Hong Kong Vinexpo.

Scotch whisky makers are still buoyant about business opportunities despite worries of Brexit (British exit from the European Union) causing a possible tax hike.

STORY-LINE:

It's a wine lover's paradise.

More than 1,300 exhibitors from all over the world are showcasing a wide range of wines and spirits to people looking for something of higher class in their glass.

The Chairman of Vinexpo, Xavier de Eizaguirre, says there is a slowdown in wine consumption in Europe and China. However he says while people are drinking less volume, they are buying more expensive bottles.

"It's really a trend, in Europe the main producing countries such as France, Italy and Spain have been consuming wines for generations. Today we see a change in terms of consumption habits. People drink less than in the past, but they drink better. So obviously that has an impact on the overall amount of wines consumed, but it's a very positive impact in terms of quality and also in terms of economics, because they drink more expensive wines than before," he says.

Scotch whisky sales remain strong and have a loyal following from consumers worldwide. But there are some concerns about sales if Britain leaves the European Union.

Scottish distillery Duncan Taylor Scotch Whisky Limited, who have almost 8 decades of experience, wants the United Kingdom to stay in Europe.

The company's chairman Euan Shand is concerned about possible tax increases and export regulations if the June 23rd vote decides the UK will leave.

Europe accounts for 40 percent of the company's market sale.

"If taxes go too high, people might not buy so much Scotch whisky, but I think deep down, Europeans have got a great palate for Scotch whisky and I can't really imagine that they're going to stop drinking it," says Shand.

This year is the 300th anniversary of Italian's famous Chianti Classico appellation. As the world's largest wine producer in 2015, Italy has harvested 49.5 million hectolitres of wine last year, according to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine.

The Italian wine company Marchesi Antinori Srl which started making wine in 1385 has its wine farms in the Chianti region, making its signature Chianti Classico wines.

The company is now expanding into in Asia, concentrating on China.

The Vice President of Marchesi Antinori SPA, Albiera Antinori says: "Our major market is still Italy, with 35 percent (sales) followed by North America, then the rest of Europe. For us, at the moment, Asia (market) is still very small, it's about 6 percent of our production. I think China will need a little bit of time to get to know Italian wines, so we just need to come here more and have the wines tasted."

The Hong Kong Vinexpo runs 24-26 May 2016

LEAD IN:

Red, pink, white, sparkling wines and a variety of other alcoholic beverages are quenching the thirsts of visitors to the Hong Kong Vinexpo.

Scotch whisky makers are still buoyant about business opportunities despite worries of Brexit (British exit from the European Union) causing a possible tax hike.

STORY-LINE:

It's a wine lover's paradise.

More than 1,300 exhibitors from all over the world are showcasing a wide range of wines and spirits to people looking for something of higher class in their glass.

The Chairman of Vinexpo, Xavier de Eizaguirre, says there is a slowdown in wine consumption in Europe and China. However he says while people are drinking less volume, they are buying more expensive bottles.

"It's really a trend, in Europe the main producing countries such as France, Italy and Spain have been consuming wines for generations. Today we see a change in terms of consumption habits. People drink less than in the past, but they drink better. So obviously that has an impact on the overall amount of wines consumed, but it's a very positive impact in terms of quality and also in terms of economics, because they drink more expensive wines than before," he says.

Scotch whisky sales remain strong and have a loyal following from consumers worldwide. But there are some concerns about sales if Britain leaves the European Union.

Scottish distillery Duncan Taylor Scotch Whisky Limited, who have almost 8 decades of experience, wants the United Kingdom to stay in Europe.

The company's chairman Euan Shand is concerned about possible tax increases and export regulations if the June 23rd vote decides the UK will leave.

Europe accounts for 40 percent of the company's market sale.

"If taxes go too high, people might not buy so much Scotch whisky, but I think deep down, Europeans have got a great palate for Scotch whisky and I can't really imagine that they're going to stop drinking it," says Shand.

This year is the 300th anniversary of Italian's famous Chianti Classico appellation. As the world's largest wine producer in 2015, Italy has harvested 49.5 million hectolitres of wine last year, according to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine.

The Italian wine company Marchesi Antinori Srl which started making wine in 1385 has its wine farms in the Chianti region, making its signature Chianti Classico wines.

The company is now expanding into in Asia, concentrating on China.

The Vice President of Marchesi Antinori SPA, Albiera Antinori says: "Our major market is still Italy, with 35 percent (sales) followed by North America, then the rest of Europe. For us, at the moment, Asia (market) is still very small, it's about 6 percent of our production. I think China will need a little bit of time to get to know Italian wines, so we just need to come here more and have the wines tasted."

The Hong Kong Vinexpo runs 24-26 May 2016

Hong Kong, 24 May 2016

1. Close of glass of different wines

2. Tilt up of rose wines (Price: US $13.4 per bottle)

3. Mid of rose wine with gold (Price: US $200 per bottle)

4. Close of bottles of wines with gold

5. Pan to right of various Italian wines

6. Mid of woman next to wine bottles in different sizes

7. Mid of visitors and wines on shelf

8. Wide of Xavier de Eizaguirre, Chairman of Vinexpo shaking and smelling wine

9. Close of Xavier de Eizaguirre, Chairman of Vinexpo tasting wine

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Xavier de Eizaguirre, Chairman of Vinexpo:

"It's really a trend, in Europe the main producing countries such as France, Italy and Spain have been consuming wines for generations. Today we see a change in terms of consumption habits. People drink less than in the past, but they drink better. So obviously that has an impact on the overall amount of wines consumed, but it's a very positive impact in terms of quality and also in terms of economics, because they drink more expensive wines than before."

11. Mid of man smelling a glass of white wine

12. Mid of Echezeaux Grand Cru wine (Left) in limited production of 2,400 bottles only (Price: US $558 per bottle) and Corton Grand Cru wine (Right) in limited production of 2,000 bottles only (Price: US$558 per bottle)

13. Wide of Meursault-Genevrieres Premier Cru wine in limited production of 900 bottles only (Price: US$1339)

14. Pan to left from Slovakian wine booth to Scotch whisky booth

15. Mid of visitors in a Scotch whisky booth

16. Tilt up of Euan Shand holding a glass of Scotch whisky

17. Close of a glass of Scotch whisky

18. SOUNDBITE (English) Euan Shand, Chairman of Duncan Taylor Scotch Whisky Limited:

"I could imagine that, Scotch whisky is sold in over 200 countries worldwide. I don't think if there's split up between Britain and Europe that people would stop drinking Scotch whisky. I think there's relationships formed over hundreds and hundreds of years, so I cannot imagine it is going to make a huge dent to Scotch whisky, but it depends on taxation. It's a fickle world out there and if taxes go too high, people might not buy so much Scotch whisky, but I think deep down, Europeans have got a great palate for Scotch whisky and I can't really imagine that they're going to stop drinking it."

19. Close of two bottles of Scotch whisky (US$78 per bottle)

20. Close of a bottle of Scotch whisky made in 1975 (US$1751)

21. Pan to right of Italian wine booths

22. Close of Italian wines

23. Wide of an Italian wine booth

24. Mid of Albiera Antinori, Vice President of Marchesi Antinori SPA pouring wine into glass

25. Close of Albiera Antinori, Vice President of Marchesi Antinori SPA tasting wine

26. SOUNDBITE (English) Albiera Antinori, Vice President of Marchesi Antinori SPA:

"Our major market is still Italy, with 35 percent (sales) followed by North America, then the rest of Europe. For us, at the moment, Asia (market) is still very small, it's about 6 percent of our production. I think China will need a little bit of time to get to know Italian wines, so we just need to come here more and have the wines tasted."

27. Wine of various Italian wines

28. Close of Castel Del Monte Aglianico wine (Left) and Primitivo Salento wine (Right)

29. Mid of visitors

30. Tilt down from chandelier to wines on shelf

31. Mid of two men tasting wine

32. Mid of a wine tasting event

33. Close of man tasting wine

34. Shift focus of wine glasses

35. Wide of visitors

Government officials throughout Latin America expressed concern for the markets and their country's economies given Britain's vote to exit the European Union.

In Mexico, Treasury Secretary Luis Videgaray held a news conference to announce that the government will cut public spending by more than $1.6 billion (31.7 billion pesos) in response to the economic uncertainty posed by Britain's exit.

He said Britain's action will have only "a very moderate" effect on Mexico. Only about 0.5 percent of Mexican exports go to Britain, which accounts for only about 2 percent of foreign direct investment in Mexico.

In Peru, a number of congressmen expressed concern over the possibility that the exit might increase European instability by encouraging more countries to leave the Union.

In Argentina, Susana Malcorra, Argentine Foreign Minister told members of the press that "we consider it as something worth worrying about."

Government officials throughout Latin America expressed concern for the markets and their country's economies given Britain's vote to exit the European Union.

In Mexico, Treasury Secretary Luis Videgaray held a news conference to announce that the government will cut public spending by more than $1.6 billion (31.7 billion pesos) in response to the economic uncertainty posed by Britain's exit.

He said Britain's action will have only "a very moderate" effect on Mexico. Only about 0.5 percent of Mexican exports go to Britain, which accounts for only about 2 percent of foreign direct investment in Mexico.

In Peru, a number of congressmen expressed concern over the possibility that the exit might increase European instability by encouraging more countries to leave the Union.

In Argentina, Susana Malcorra, Argentine Foreign Minister told members of the press that "we consider it as something worth worrying about."

Mexico City, Mexico - 24 June 2016

1. Authorities arriving to press conference

2. Wide of press conference

3. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Luis Videgaray, Treasure Secretary:

"For this year 2016 we have instructed a second cut in public spending, this time only in the federal government. This second cut does not include PEMEX, for a total number of $1.6 billion (31.7 billion pesos). From them, the 91.7% comes from the common spend."

4. Camera and podium

5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Luis Videgaray, Treasure Secretary:

"The Mexican government has covered 100% of it's funding necessities for the rest of the year. It is important to say this because when financial markets become volatile and complex it is the strength of our economy that the government has covered funding for the rest of 2016."

6. End of presser

7. Mexico City's main square and flag waving

Lima, Peru - 24 June 2016

8. Omar Chehade, Peruvian Congressman walking through a hall

9. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Omar Chehade, Peruvian Congressman:

"I think (Brexit) is going to have a domino effect. Because Scotland will want to leave (UK) as they did before the referendum which it lost by very little in the United Kingdom a few years ago. Scotland will want to leave the United Kingdom and Ireland will want to do the same and it will cause chaos, the world cleaning house monetarily and economically cleaning house."

10. Room inside Congress

11. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Yonhy Lescano, Peruvian Congressman:

"I believe it is an issue for the British people to decide if they want to leave the European Union. Obviously, it will have some effect, positive effects, negative effects. It seems that the European Union is very worried that it will have a negative impact."

Buenos Aires, Argentina – 24 June 2016

1. Argentine Foreign Minister, Susana Malcorra walking into press conference

2. Press conference

3. Members of media looking on

4. Close of lens of camera as it films Malcorra speaking during press conference

5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Susana Malcorra, Argentine Foreign Minister:

"The world is going through a very difficult time, of fear, of division. We see it in Europe, we see signs of it coming from the United States, a trend that is somewhat xenophobic in nature, where phobias of all kind are accentuating and we consider it as something worth worrying about."

8. Press conference

UK markets recovered on Tuesday, after two days of post-referendum losses.

The decision of the British people to vote to leave the EU last thursday had sent stock tumbling and the British pound reached a 30-year low.

On Tuesday the FTSE 100 index of the UK's biggest companies closed up 2.68 percent, mirroring European markets which also rallied.

Germany's DAX index had gained 1.93 percent on closing.

The British pound recovered somewhat, but remained near the 30-year lows it plunged to immediately following the British 'leave' vote.

Meanwhile a decision by rating agencies Standard and Poor's and Fitch to downgrade the UK's soverieign credit rating to AA from AAA in the aftermath of the vote hadn't yet had too much of an effect on the trading of UK sovereign debt gilts, said a market strategist.

UK markets recovered on Tuesday, after two days of post-referendum losses.

The decision of the British people to vote to leave the EU last thursday had sent stock tumbling and the British pound reached a 30-year low.

On Tuesday the FTSE 100 index of the UK's biggest companies closed up 2.68 percent, mirroring European markets which also rallied.

Germany's DAX index had gained 1.93 percent on closing.

The British pound recovered somewhat, but remained near the 30-year lows it plunged to immediately following the British 'leave' vote.

Meanwhile a decision by rating agencies Standard and Poor's and Fitch to downgrade the UK's soverieign credit rating to AA from AAA in the aftermath of the vote hadn't yet had too much of an effect on the trading of UK sovereign debt gilts, said a market strategist.

London - 28 June 2016

1. Various of trading floor and stock market traders at BGC brokerage company

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Mike Ingram, Market Strategist:

"The markets certainly rebounded significantly today and I would argue that to a large extent it's a reaction to the near panic stations that we saw in previous sessions, arguably some of the fallls, particularly in the finical sector that we have seen over the recent days have been absolutely enormous. Yes I think it's undoubtely the case that there will be an economic impact certainly in the UK and perhaps to a lesser extent abroad, but to see some banking stocks down 20, 30, 40 percent certainly looks to have been a bit overdone so I can certainly rationalise that. Also I think some of the political rhetoric has been dialled down a little bit, perhaps we're not gazing so much into the economic abyss that many though we might be certainly in the run up for the referendum. Of course we had project fear here in the UK (referring to a term used by the 'Leave' campaign about the 'Remain' campaign on the conseuqences of vote to leave the EU). So I think that's a steadying of nerves, but of course in the very early days yet we've come down a long way and we've still got a long way to go on the way up and tomorrow is another day but we'll still be here."

3 Cutaway

4 SOUNDBITE (English) Mike Ingram, Market Strategist:

"OK, the pound was trading up a little bit earlier on in the session. it got to 1.34 (Pound Sterling) in change versus the (US) Dollar, (it's) softened somewhat in that last couple of hours and it's pretty much unchanged now to 1.33 (Pound Sterling) to US Dollars. In terms of bond markets within Europe we have seen perhaps a little reaction in and around UK sovereign debt gilts (UK government liability listed on the London Stock Exchange). That might be up ascribed to the move overnight by Standard and Poor's and Fitch to both downgrade the UK sovereign (credit rating). Having said that it generally seems to be a "rest on" day, I've also seen bonds have a very mild sell-off as well so I would probably be a little bit cautious in theorising that this is the start of a more profound sell-off in UK sovereign debts."

5. Various of trading floor and stock market traders at BGC brokerage company

British Chancellor George Osborne on Wednesday warned that leaving the European Union would leave a 30 billion pound (42.4 billion US dollars) "black hole" in the country's budget.

Osborne gave a joint news conference with the opposition Labour party official Alistair Darling, who was chancellor from 2007 to 2010.

Darling said leaving the EU would be "absolute madness" and a "self-inflicted wound".

Officials from across the UK's political spectrum have joined together to campaign for or against leaving the European Union.

Voters decide on the UK's place in the EU in a referendum on June 23.

UK POOL

Ashford - 15 June 2016

1. UK Chancellor George Osborne and Labour party politician Alistair Darling arriving at news conference

2. SOUNDBITE (English) George Osborne, UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer:

"Let's take the mid range of what the impeccably independent Institute for Fiscal Studies says there would be in terms of a black hole in the public finances. The mid range, not the worst case, the mid range, is a 30 billion pound (42.4 billion US dollars) hole in the public finances. This would be a permanent and structural hole. We couldn't just borrow more money to tide ourselves over."

3. Osborne and Darling listening to audience

4. SOUNDBITE (English) George Osborne, UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer:

"And this is just the hard reality, we've both (referring to former Chancellor Alistair Darling) been there in the chair, you've got to make the books add up, and frankly, there are only a certain number of taxes you can put out that are going to raise the sums required and there are only a certain number of big government budgets you can cut, and that's the cold reality of quitting the EU."

5. Osborne and Darling listening to audience

6.SOUNDBITE (English) George Osborne, UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer:

"A vote to remain is a vote for a strong economy. With all my heart, I will be fighting every hour until next Thursday to persuade people that we are stronger, safer and better off by voting to stay in a reformed EU."

7. Osborne and Darling listening to audience

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Alistair Darling, Labour party politician and former Chancellor of the Exchequer:

"Here we are, six years after the (2008) banking crash, and the economy is growing, but we know the rest of the world is still in a fairly fragile state. Why on earth would we leave the largest single market we have, the largest one in the world, when we know there's going to be a hit, when we have no idea what the future holds, it's a leap in the dark, and when we know the consequence of doing that. The Chancellor couldn't leave it for several years before he got around to doing something about it, he'd have to sort it out now, which is why both of us are saying, with my experience eight years ago, George Osborne with experience now, we'd have to do something about it now. And that something is something we'd both like to avoid, we don't need to do it, it would be a self-inflicted wound."

9. Osborne and Darling listening to audience

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Alistair Darling, Labour party politician and former Chancellor of the Exchequer:

"This country next week is going to take a massive decision. A decision on which we can't go back. And if we do that, the risk is that we get ourselves into even deeper water because we're coming to it from a low base. Which is why I think it's absolute madness for us to take a leap in the dark, into a position where we can't come back. And that's why I think people should think long and hard about this, and just think about the risks as well as the gains if we remain in the European Union."

11. Wide of Osborne and Darling, audience applauding

12. Osborne and Darling leaving ++MUTE++

The European Union's Brexit negotiator says all parties need to prepare for "no deal scenario" on Brexit.

Speaking 48 hours before a crucial EU summit in Brussels on Tuesday, Michel Barnier told reporters that "on the EU side we are prepared."

He said the European Parliament and the Council have approved "nearly all the foreseen contingency measures," adding that they were down adopting the last two measures - short term visas and the EU budget for 2019.

As it stands, UK Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plan has been derailed in Parliament.

Now she is at the mercy of an exasperated European Union.

May was preparing Tuesday to ask the EU for a delay of at least several months to Brexit after the speaker of the House of Commons ruled that she can't keep asking lawmakers to vote on the same divorce deal that they have already rejected twice.

However Barnier said the bloc wouldn't automatically grant the request, and that it would be up to the 27 leaders to "assess the reason and the usefulness for an extension."

"What would be the purpose and the outcome of an extension?" Barnier said.

May has warned opponents that a failure to approve her agreement would mean a long, and possibly indefinite, delay to Britain's departure from the EU.

Brussels, Belgium - 19 March 2019

1. Wide of Michel Barnier, EU chief Brexit negotiator

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Michel Barnier, EU chief Brexit negotiator:

"Ladies and gentlemen, last week the House of Commons voted against the withdrawal agreement and against a no deal scenario. But voting against no deal does not prevent it from happening. Everyone should now finalise all preparations for a no deal scenario. On the EU side we are prepared. The European Parliament and the Council have now approved nearly all the foreseen contingency measures and are working at the two last measures that still need to be adopted, namely on short term visas and the EU budget for 2019."

3. Journalists

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Michel Barnier, EU chief Brexit negotiator:

"The House of Commons also voted in favour of an extension of Article 50 period. If Prime Minister (Theresa) May requests such an extension before the European Council on Thursday it will be for the 27 leaders to assess the reason and the usefulness for an extension. EU leaders will need a concrete plan for the UK in order to be able to make an informed decision."

5. Wide of news conference

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Michel Barnier, EU chief Brexit negotiator:

"The key questions will be: does an extension increase the chances for the ratification of the withdrawal agreement? Will the UK request an extension because it wants a bit more time to rework the political declaration? Ladies and gentlemen I recall that this political declaration which sets out the framework of our future relation could be made more ambitious in the coming days if a majority in the House of Commons so wishes. If not, what would be the purpose and the outcome of an extension? And how can we ensure that at the end of a possible extension we are not back in the same situation as today? In any case the European Council will need to assess what is in the best interest of the EU: extending uncertainty without a clear plan would add to the economic cost for our businesses but could also incur a political cost for the EU. It is for the British government and parliament to decide very quickly what the UK wants to do next"

7. Barnier leaving

8. Exterior of European Council building

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK will offer the European Union a proposed Brexit deal on Wednesday that represents a compromise for both sides, as he urged the bloc to meet Britain halfway and allow for the country's orderly departure after years of wrangling.

Johnson's speech to Conservative Party members at their annual conference had been billed by his office as a take-it-or-leave-it "final offer" to the EU.

Yet as delivered, it was more like a plea to the bloc, and to Britons, to end more than three years of acrimonious wrangling over the terms of the UK's exit from the EU.

"Let's get Brexit done," was the repeated refrain to delegates at the conference in Manchester, northwest England.

Johnson, who has had a tumultuous 70 days in office, delivered a speech that was almost Boris-by numbers, peppered with puns, grand claims about Britain's greatness and jokes at the expense of his opponents - chiefly left-wing Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, whom he said would "foul up the economy".

It was also, pointedly, a pre-election speech, with a grab-bag of promises: more money for hospitals and police, unspecified tax cuts, greener buses and faster internet access.

UK POOL

Manchester - 2 October 2019

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Johnson, British Prime Minister: ++STARTS ON WIDE OF JOHNSON ON STAGE, PARTLY OVERLAID WITH VARIOUS OF AUDIENCE++

"A country that leads the way with clean green technology in reducing the greenhouse gases that cause climate change. A country that is happy and confident about its future, that is the vision for the country we love. And when the opposition finally screw their courage to the sticking point and agree to have an election, when the chlorinated chickens finally waddle from the hen coop where they are hiding, that is the vision for the country that we will put to the British people. And the choice is clear. We put up wages with the biggest expansion of a living wage for a generation. (UK opposition leader, Jeremy) Corbyn would put up taxes for everyone. We back our superb armed forces around the world and look after our veterans. Corbyn has said he wants the armed forces disbanded. We want an Australian-style points-based system for immigration, Corbyn has said he doesn't even believe in immigration controls. If Jeremy Corbyn were allowed into Downing Street he would whack up your taxes, he would foul up the economy, he would rip up the alliance between Britain and the United States and he would break up the United Kingdom. We cannot allow it to happen."

2. Various of audience applauding

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Johnson, British Prime Minister:

"But it is worse than that because it's become absolutely clear that he's now determined to frustrate Brexit. What do we want and need? Do we want more dither and delay? Do we want to spend another billion pounds a month on EU membership when that could be going on the NHS? No. Let's get Brexit done. Let's finally believe in ourselves and what we can do. This country has long been a pioneer. We inaugurated the steam age here in Manchester, we inaugurated the atomic age, the age of the genome, we led the way in parliamentary democracy, in female emancipation. And when the whole world had succumbed to a different economic fashion, this country and this party under a female prime minister pioneered ideas of free markets and privatization that spread across the planet."

4. Mid of leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg applauding

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Johnson, British Prime Minister: ++STARTS ON WIDE OF JOHNSON ON STAGE, PARTLY OVERLAID WITH MID OF AUDIENCE APPLAUDING++

"Every one of those ideas, every one of those ideas was controversial, every one of them was difficult. But we always had the courage as a country to be original, to do things differently. And now we are about to take another giant step to do something no one thought we could do to reboot our politics, to relaunch ourselves into the world, and to dedicate ourselves again to the simple proposition that we are here to serve the democratic will of the British people. If we do that with optimism and confidence then we all tell you we will not go wrong. So let's get on with sensible, moderate one-nation but tax-cutting Conservative government and figuratively if not literally, let us send Jeremy Corbyn into orbit where he belongs. Conference, let's get Brexit done and let's bring this country together. Thank you very much."

6. Various of Johnson walking off stage and greeting colleagues

7. Johnson greeting his partner Carrie Symonds and his father Stanley Johnson

8. Various of Johnson and Symonds leaving

For many Britons living in towns and villages across Europe, the stroke of midnight Friday will mean losing the right to vote and run for office, with Brexit acting as an electoral guillotine on those privileges.

From being active participants in the communities where they have sunk roots and pay taxes, British expats in France, Germany and elsewhere in the European Union will suddenly find themselves on the outside, with no say.

Andrew Nixey must give up his seat on the elected council in Saint-Martial-sur-Isop, the village in west-central France where he has lived and raised cattle for 20 years.

"The fact that we can't vote is illogical," he said in an interview in the kitchen of his lovingly restored farmhouse. "We pay taxes, why should we not vote?"

Many details of Britain's separation from the EU still must be sorted out, and there won't be a lot of visible changes on Saturday, after the tortuous divorce finally becomes official.

But the loss still will be felt especially hard by Britons who left their island nation long ago to make new lives on the continent.

Already disenfranchised by British electoral law, which prevents expats from voting in the United Kingdom after 15 years overseas, Brexit will for many usher in an uncertain future with no ability to vote anywhere.

The problem could be fixed by becoming citizens of where they've chosen to live - an often drawn-out process.

But some expats don't meet the requirements, some have applied but are still awaiting the paperwork, and some simply don't want to become French, German or whatever.

Others just haven't got around to it, waking up late to the fact that they'll soon have nowhere to vote at all.

The right for all EU nationals to vote and stand in municipal elections where they live, even if they're not citizens of that country, was enshrined in the 1992 Maastricht Treaty that established the EU.  

But rules in Europe are not uniform for non-EU citizens, which is what Britons will become after Friday night.

Some countries allow non-EU citizens to vote in municipal elections.

So even after Brexit, Britons should still have a voice at the local level in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands and in two cities of the Slovak Republic.

In Finland, they will need to have been residents for two years, while the residency requirement is five years in the Netherlands.

Britain also has been negotiating directly with other EU nations to extend the ability of British expats to vote and run for office after Brexit.

The British government says it has deals with Spain, Portugal and Luxembourg and is continuing talks with others. It says British expats should also still be able to vote locally in Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Lithuania, Malta and Slovenia.

But they'll no longer be able to vote or stand locally in France, which has tens of thousands of long-term British residents and many more part-time residents of vacation homes.

The French Interior Ministry says 757 Britons serve on municipal councils, more than any other expat group.

They will keep their seats until municipal elections in March, but they'll not be able to run or vote then if they haven't secured French citizenship.

For Briton Neil Baxter, an elected councilor in the French village of Mortemart, not being able to vote any more is another blow from Brexit.

"We just can't believe it has happened and it's happening and now that you have explained to me that finally we're not going to get a vote anywhere, I'm just gob-smacked," he says.

Nixey, the beef farmer, says his application for French citizenship is stuck somewhere in a Brexit-induced backlog.

He is not optimistic that he'll get it in time to stand again for re-election in Saint-Martial-sur-Isop.

He says that serving on the village council, dealing with the minutiae of local services like trash collection and road repairs, helped integrate him and his wife, Margaret, into the rural community where they raised two children.

He also feels it allowed him to play a bridge-building role between newly arrived Britons and their French neighbours.

About one third of the 140 residents of Saint-Martial and its immediate surroundings are British, many attracted by cheap housing and land.

Nixey worries that communication will suffer if he's not around to translate and help smooth out problems and misunderstandings.  

Saint-Martial Mayor Pierre Bachellerie says excluding the British expats will be "a big loss" for his other and other villages that have been revived by arrivals of British workers and retirees.

"It's sad. For me, it's incoherent and it's stupid, I find, to lose these people from our village electorate.

Because they bring life to our little villages and they pay taxes, like the French," he says.

Mortemart, France - 28 January 2020

1. Neil Baxter, a Briton who is also an elected member of the village council in Mortemart, at front door of his house with his dog

2. Baxter walking to the mayor's office

3. Baxter leaving the mayor's office

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Neil Baxter, British expat and Mortemart village councillor:

"Paperwork has to be done. Madame Gontier, the mayor, didn't speak English at the time, neither did a lot of them. Mortemart is an old village, with an elderly population. Us, we arrive, brighten things up a bit. And she knew that she would need help. So, you know, I gave her a hand with the translation, never thinking she would actually ask me to go on to the local council. And when she did, I thought, 'Oh, bloody hell, yeah. Why not? That will be interesting.' Because I am nosy and you get to learn a lot of things about Mortemart that I would never have known. So I was curious to do it and, at the same time help out the local Brits that are coming to live here."

5. Baxter talking in French about Brexit with the assistant to the mayor

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Neil Baxter, Elected village councillor:

"I think, to be honest, the majority, I have some British patients, we just can't believe it has happened. We just can't believe it has happened, and it's happening, and now that you have explained to me that finally we're not going to get a vote anywhere, I'm just gob-smacked."

Saint-Martial-sur-Isop - 27 January 2020

7. Beef farmer Andrew Nixey, a Briton who is an elected councillor in the village of Saint-Martial-sur-Isop, talking to his wife, Margaret, and leaving his house with their dogs

8. Nixey putting his dogs into the trunk of his car

9. Nixey driving

10. Mid of one of Nixey's dogs in the back of the beef farmer's car

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrew Nixey, British expat farmer and elected councillor of Saint-Martial-sur-Isop:

"I have a strong love of France. It's my life now. But I remain British. I don't feel French."

12. Nixey speaking French in a phone call outside his farmhouse

13. Nixey having lunch in his farmhouse

14. Close of one of Nixey's dog

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrew Nixey, British expat farmer and elected councillor of Saint-Martial-sur-Isop:

"It should be a human right, shouldn't it, the right to vote. I don't know. But that's the link for me. It's the loss of voting. We are a big chunk of the population. A third, roughly, of the population in this area is British. The fact that we can't vote is illogical. We pay, we pay taxes, why should we not vote?"

16. Nixey meeting the mayor of the village, Pierre Bachellerie, outside the mayor's office

17. Nixey and Bachellerie entering mayor's office

Saint-Martial-sur-Isop - 28 January 2020

18. Bachellerie doing paperwork in his mayor's office

19. SOUNDBITE (French) Pierre Bachellerie, Mayor of Saint-Martial-sur-Isop:

"All the English people who voted, it was very, very good for us. I don't see why that is being taken from them, because they bring life to the village, with the French. They take part in lots of things. It's fabulous for our little village. It's very much the same story in the 40 villages around here. The loss of the British electorate is a big loss for us."

Saint-Martial-sur-Isop - 27 January 2020

20. Nixey chatting to Bachellerie

Saint-Martial-sur-Isop - 28 January 2020

21. Bachellerie doing paperwork in his mayor's office

22. SOUNDBITE (French) Pierre Bachellerie, Mayor of Saint-Martial-sur-Isop:

"It's sad. For me, it's incoherent and it's stupid, I find, to lose these people from our village electorate. Because they bring life to our little villages and they pay taxes, like the French."

Saint-Martial-sur-Isop - 27 January 2020

23. Bachellerie saying goodbye to Nixey

The head of Gibraltar’s government said on Friday the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union “will forever live in history as a very sad day.”

Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabien Picardo said the speck of British territory on Spain's southern tip is departing the EU on Friday night “with a heavy heart, with sadness.”

In the U.K.’s 2016 Brexit referendum, 96% of voters in Gibraltar supported remaining in the EU.

Gibraltar’s economy relies heavily on connections to the EU and Spain.

About 15,000 people live in Spain and work in Gibraltar, most of them EU nationals. They make up about half of Gibraltar’s labor force.

A lot is also at stake for Spain, which exported 1.5 billion euros of goods to Gibraltar in 2018.

Gibraltar was ceded to Britain in 1713 but Spain still claims sovereignty over it.

Madrid considers the 30,000-strong territory a tax haven, where corporation tax is less than half of that of Spain.

More than two dozen international online gambling companies operate out of Gibraltar, lured by its low taxes and unimpeded access to the EU's single market.

The gambling companies account for around 25% of Gibraltar's economy.

Picardo plans to attend a brief midnight ceremony on the border with Spain, when the EU flag will be lowered and the British Commonwealth flag raised.

He said that during the ceremony the EU's anthem -- Beethoven's “Ode to Joy” will be played.

Gibraltar - 31 January 2020

1. Dawn at the Rock of Gibraltar

2. Wide view of Africa from Gibraltar

3. Wide of Gibraltar with Spain in the background

4. Wide of street in Gibraltar as city awakes

5. Border crossing with the Rock behind

6. EU, Gibraltar and UK flags waving in the wind

7. Various of traffic and workers crossing the border

8. Spanish side of the border with workers walking in

9. Spanish flag at customs controlled area

10. EU flag, Union Jack and Gibraltar flag with the Rock in the background

11. Border with the Rock behind

12. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Estela Lopez, 36-years-old, working 4 years for a local business in Gibraltar:

"I'm a little bit frightened really, because a lot of people work here every day, because everybody knows than the situation of Gibraltar Bay area is not good."

13. Workers crossing the border

14. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Maria Gabriela (no surname given), 23-year-old Portuguese citizen, working in Gibraltar as a waitress:

"I'm not Spanish, I'm Portuguese. I don't know what kind of agreement will be reached between Portugal and UK, and I don't know if is going to affect me or not, since I'm not Spanish."

15. Close of Maria Gabriela showing her passport

16. Traffic at the border

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Lafferty, 36-year-old structural engineer working in Gibraltar:

"I don't think anything is going to change really in the next year, and then we will see if an agreement can be made over trade in the next year and take it from there."

18. Spanish flag waving with the Rock behind

19. Various of car showroom, cars for sale

20. Various set up shots of Kevin Jones, Chief CEO of Bassadone Automotive Group

21. SOUNDBITE (English) Kevin Jones, Chief Executive of Bassadone Automotive Group:

"It is a sad day, but nonetheless in terms of the practicalities of Brexit, Gibraltar has always been outside the customs and tariffs agreement."

22. Cutaway of banner reading (English) "Limited Time Special Offer" at Bassadone Automotive Finance

23. SOUNDBITE (English) Kevin Jones, Chief Executive of Bassadone Automotive Group:

"The best agreement for us is an open border, a free flowing border, where people can come across the border as they have done for the last 30 years freely, at times there will be queues but as long as they are reasonable queues, and the same for customs that you know goods can be cleared into Gibraltar, out of Gibraltar."

24. Jones walking away

25. Various of changing of the Guard

26. Various of Gibraltar's Chief Minister Fabian Picardo at news conference

27. SOUNDBITE (English) Fabian Picardo, Chief Minister of Gibraltar: ++AUDIO AS INCOMING++

"On a day like today, the 31st of January 2020, which for us will forever live in history as a very sad day indeed, it's a pleasure to welcome those who have an interest in the rights of the people in this region and in particular the rights of workers."

28. Picardo with Spanish politician Teresa Rodriguez from Podemos Andalucia

29. SOUNDBITE (English) Fabian Picardo, Chief Minister of Gibraltar:

"We will therefore be lowering the EU flag with a very heavy heart, we will do it with sadness and with respect, and we want to show that we hold out a hand of friendship to the European Union and the people of the European Union by playing loud and clear 'The ode to joy' as the flag of the EU comes down, and then we will raise the flag of the Commonwealth, which is the family in which we will remain."

30. Picardo posing for the photographers

31. Various of Brexit information office

32. Pedestrians on a busy street

33. Various of souvenir shops

34. Pedestrians on a busy street

35. Various of duty free shop

36. Money exchange sign

European Union leaders began arriving for an in-person Council meeting in Brussels on Thursday.

The leaders are expected to discuss the EU budget, COVID-19, climate change, extremism, relations with Turkey, and Brexit.

After a last-minute dinner between UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ended in no agreement, the issue of a Brexit trade deal remains.

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin said "there shouldn't be any winners or losers" in the negotiations.

"Everybody stands to win if we can get a comprehensive trade deal over the line", he added.

Months of trade talks have failed to bridge the gaps on three issues — fishing rights, fair-competition rules and the governance of future disputes.

While both sides want a deal, they have fundamentally different views of what it entails.

Another item on today's meeting agenda is the EU's multi-annual financial framework for 2021-2027 and the recovery fund, totaling €1.8 trillion, which is currently being blocked by Poland and Hungary for its conditionality to the respect for the rule of law.

EU Commissioner for justice Didier Reynders told reporters that the EU should keep "the possibility to use such a mechanism if there are some breaches to the rule of law."

Brussels - 10 December 2020

1. Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin arriving

2. Cutaway of camera

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Micheál Martin, Irish Prime Minister:

"Look, the situation is serious, but I think it is in everybody's interest fundamentally that we reach a deal in relation to Brexit. There shouldn't be any winners or losers in these negotiations. Everybody stands to win if we can get a comprehensive trade deal over the line, but it will be very difficult, and as we know from last night's talks, both sides are apart, particularly on the issue of a level-playing fiel