Britain will allow European Union airlines to continue to fly into the country if it leaves the bloc without a divorce deal, the government said in technical papers published on Monday, adding that it plans to stick to EU rules on aviation safety.
The "no-deal" papers acknowledged the risk that flights could be grounded if Britain leaves the EU on March 29, 2019, without a deal and said some pilot and safety licences issued by the UK would no longer be recognised in the EU.
Britain said it wants to continue to participate in the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), but without a Brexit deal this might not be possible.
The UK government said it was aiming to avoid such a worst-case scenario, and would look for an agreement on flying rights if there was a disorderly Brexit.
_______________
Read more:
Labour will push for second EU poll if no general election
Brexit is the naughtiest thing Theresa May has ever done
The custodians of Europe were found wanting during the breakdown in Brexit talks
_______________
“In this scenario the UK would envisage granting permission to EU airlines to continue to operate. We would expect EU countries to reciprocate in turn,” it said in a paper published on Monday.
A deal between the UK and EU, or between the UK and individual countries, was possible, it said.
On aviation safety in a no-deal scenario, the UK said it would retain EU legislation, and that functions currently performed by EASA would instead be performed by Britain’s aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Agency (CAA).
The papers said that, for pilot licences, the CAA would need to validate any EASA licence used to fly a UK-registered aircraft, and UK-issued licences would need to transfer to EASA if they wanted to operate EU-registered planes.
On most other aviation safety certificates, including for aircraft and for maintenance, parts and cabin crew, however, Britain said EASA-issued documents would remain valid in the UK for two years from the date of Brexit.
They would then need to be replaced by CAA versions before the end of that period.
But it warned UK-issued licence and certificate holders that their certificates would no longer be valid in the EU.
For instance, in a potential headache for some parts suppliers and maintenance firms, the papers said the EU’s indications are that it would not recognise some safety-linked certificates issued by the CAA, meaning that UK-certified parts could not be installed on EU-registered aircraft, and UK-approved engineers would not be allowed to work on them.
The UK said it was encouraging the EU to take “reciprocal action in recognising UK-issued certificates”.
On security, the UK government said that, in the event of a no-deal Brexit, there would be no reason for the UK’s aviation security regime not to be recognised by the EU as equivalent, meaning no additional security restrictions.
However, if the EU decides not to recognise the UK aviation security system, then passengers from the UK transferring through EU airports and their luggage would have to be rescreened when changing flights in EU hub airports.
WIDE%20VIEW
%3Cp%3EThe%20benefits%20of%20HoloLens%202%2C%20according%20to%20Microsoft%3A%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EManufacturing%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Reduces%20downtime%20and%20speeds%20up%20onboarding%20and%20upskilling%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngineering%20and%20construction%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Accelerates%20the%20pace%20of%20construction%20and%20mitigates%20risks%20earlier%20in%20the%20construction%20cycle%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EHealth%20care%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Enhances%20the%20delivery%20of%20patient%20treatment%20at%20the%20point%20of%20care%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEducation%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Improves%20student%20outcomes%20and%20teaches%20from%20anywhere%20with%20experiential%20learning%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Written World: How Literature Shaped History
Martin Puchner
Granta
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
