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With talks 'officially' starting on 2 March, the EU and the UK need to attempt to reach an agreement on a deal before June. However, it looks like it could be a long road ahead. WORDS BY AKRITI GUPTA On 25 February 2020, the European Union’s (EU) General Affairs Council formally adopted the decision to authorise the opening of the future partnership negotiations between the EU and the UK. The forging of this partnership stems from the initial negotiations under Article 50 of the Treaty of the European Union, where an overall understanding on the framework for the envisaged partnership was identified by the EU and the United Kingdom (UK). With the talks ‘officially’ starting on 2 March 2020, the EU and UK will now attempt to replace more than forty years of closely aligned political and economic relations. The negotiations will be conducted in a way that ensures parallelism among the various sectoral tracks of the negotiation. In the interest of safeguarding rights for both blocs, the approved directives fully respect existing European Council guidelines and conclusions, as well as the previously agreed Political Declaration between the two entities. As they're key commercial elements, the directives will focus on areas of state aid, competition, state-owned enterprises, social and employment standards, environmental standards, climate change, relevant tax matters and other regulatory measures and practices.  Stating its own position, the UK has also published its counterpart of the negotiating directives, where the approach mainly lays out the suite of proposals with the EU. The central tenet of this approach is the widely discussed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) where the UK wishes to secure an arrangement which has the hope of ‘zero tariffs, zero quotas’ at the core of it. This proposal draws on previously forged EU agreements such as the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement, the EU/Japan Economic Partnership Agreement and the EU/South Korea Free Trade Agreement.  However, with the UK actively pursuing the right to rewrite its own rules, it is asserting the right to diverge from European rules governing a host of commercial concerns – from fishing access and financial regulations to health and safety, labour and environmental standards.  Addressing the House of Commons in February, Michael Gove, Minister for the Cabinet Office, stressed the UK’s decision to see the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020: "We want the best possible trading relationship with the EU, but in pursuit of a deal we will not trade away our sovereignty." Additionally, the UK has vocalised a demand for what it calls a "standard" free trade agreement – essentially, a “no-deal” Brexit if “good progress” hasn’t been made on trade talks by June 2020.  With the idea of a no-deal Brexit being a major source of worry among the general public, the statement above basically envisages the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal, and, in turn, inviting extensive disruption across all aspects of trade, both in goods and services, the avoidance of which has been at the core of three long years of negotiations all along.  As all eyes fall on the two blocs for further confirmation, the UK and EU have a long road ahead to forge an ambitious and fair partnership over four more months, it seems. 

CASSI CASSI recently held their AGM in Dublin. CASSI would like to congratulate their new Chair, Emma Noonan, and the rest of the newly appointed committee. They would also like to take this opportunity to thank the outgoing committee: Nuala McAdams, Ciara Cuggy, Ciara Flanagan and Conor Flanagan for their contribution to the society over the past number of years and wish them all the best in the future.  The committee is pleased to inform you that CASSI has entered a new three-year partnership with Barden Recruitment. Barden Recruitment have pledged 1,000 hours to mentoring and coaching Chartered Accountants Ireland students, and are excited to roll out their events with CASSI and the regional committees in the coming weeks.  The committee are also currently working on planning the annual weekend away in October. Keep an eye on their social media and emails for updates.  CASSD CASSD held their annual ball in the Ballsbridge Hotel, Dublin on Saturday 29 February. Photos to follow in the next month update.  CASSD will host its first event with Barden Recruitment on the 18 March. This event will bring speakers in from industry to provide an insight in what you can achieve as a Chartered Accountant. Look for updates on social media.  CASSU CASSU held pick-me-up-January drinks and pizza on 24 January in Marcus Ward, Belfast. The event will take place again at the end of March.   CASSU hosted their annual ball on Saturday 22 February at the Culloden Estate and Spa with a Hollywood glam theme. The night included a selfie mirror with red carpet, popcorn machine, themed cocktails, and a live band and DJ. Everyone had a brilliant night!  The committee is liaising with their charity for the year, The Simon Community, about CSR activities. They will post updates on social media as details are finalised.  They are also trying to set up a running or tennis club for all the sporty CASSU members, so keep your eyes peeled! CASSG CASSG held their AGM and are excited to get to work on the year ahead. They would like to congratulate and wish all the best to the new committee members.  CASSG will be holding their annual table quiz event in March. A finalised date will be announced shortly. Follow our Facebook page for more updates. CASSSE CASSSE are currently organizing an event for June to the Gowran races. More details will follow in the next update. CASSM CASSM's first social event of the year has already been organised – a weekend away to Sligo in March. There are a number of great activities planned to bring the region together. The trips are always eventful and well attended. We are all looking forward to the break!

A round-up of news and events from the Institute’s student societies around the country. CASSI CASSI held their weekend away in October 2019 at Mount Wolseley Hotel in Carlow. 400 students were unrecognisable in fancy dress in Foundry night club on Friday night and ready for the red carpet on Saturday evening at the hotel for the masquerade ball.         The weekend away also saw the return of Bingo Loco following high demand from 2018. Plenty of prizes were won, including a trip to Budapest! (Congratulations to Daniel Jamieson!)  In other news, the CASSI AGM will be held on 1 February in Dublin – all applicants are welcome and those wishing to apply to committee positions should e-mail nmcadams@uk.ey.com by 27 January at 5pm. We look forward to welcoming new faces! The CASSI Instagram account has gone from around 300 followers to over 1100 followers and is still growing. Facebook groups have also been created for each of the exam years to promote collaboration among students and to provide a platform for students to network. For up to date information, please check out the pages – CAP 1, CAP 2 and FAE!  CASSD  The CASSD committee held their AGM in November at Chartered Accountants House Dublin. They welcomed new members to the committee and elected people to the various roles. They also presented a cheque to their charity partner from 2018, Empower the Family.  CASSD are working alongside the Leinster Society to arrange health and wellbeing events where students and qualified professionals can network. The next wellbeing event will be on the morning of 14 January where Pat Divilly, speaker and high-performance coach, will talk about purpose, passion and fulfilment. There has been a focus within CASSD to create an awareness of the student society and the services on offer. They have pushed their social media platforms to new levels in starting this journey. This is closely linked with CASSI as a whole. You can check out their Facebook page here. The upcoming CASSD annual gala ball will take place on Saturday 29 February. Tickets will go on sale at the end of January.  CASSU The CASSU committee held their AGM in November in Chartered Accountants House Belfast. They welcomed new committee members to the group and took time to reflect on the past year and hard work of the outgoing committee. A special thank you to outgoing Chair, Vice Chair and Education Officer Ciara Flanagan, Conor Flanagan and Nuala McAdams respectively.  The new committee are currently planning the CASSU annual ball. The ball will take place at the Culloden Estate and Spa on the 22 February with an Old Hollywood Glam theme. Tickets are on sale now. The committee are also in the planning stages for other upcoming events, including food and drinks in a local bar at the end of January, a comedy night and a day at the rugby. More details on these events will be provided on social media in due course. CASSM CASSM rounded off 2019 with suitable aplomb, which included hosting the annual CASSM November social night, and 12 Pubs of Christmas (a member favourite!) in December. The CASSM November social night usually involves a trip to the greyhounds in Mullingar. However, partly due to a desire to spice things up and partly due to the negative publicity that greyhound racing has received in 2019, CASSM opted instead to have a trip to Galway to enjoy the Christmas markets and to socialise with our western counterparts.  The 12 Pubs of Christmas has long been a staple of the CASSM calendar, and 2019 once again saw members don a Christmas jumper and undertake the festive pilgrimage in Athlone. Plenty of laughs and good times were had. The outgoing CASSM Committee have fixed the 2020 CASSM AGM for 17 January. All nominations to the new CASSM committee must be submitted prior to the CASSM AGM. For more information and updates on Student Society events, visit your local chapter’s social media accounts.

Where did our money go in Q3 2019 and where is it going in 2020? We look over the cost of housing and Trump, and where Ireland has allocated its money next year.

CASS Ireland The annual weekend away was hosted by the CASSI committee at the Mount Wolseley Hotel Spa & Golf Resort in Carlow recently. Tickets sold out quickly for the weekend, which consisted of a fancy dress night on Friday, bingo loco on Saturday and a masquerade ball on Saturday night. CASSI would like to thank all those who attended and we hope you had a good weekend. We’re looking forward to next year already! CASS Galway CASS Galway hosted a celebratory night for CAP2 results and the completion of FAE exams on 23 August. This event had a very large turnout and was a very enjoyable evening! The Galway committee plans to host a soccer tournament in November and combine it with the new joiner night. This is in addition to the annual Christmas party, which is scheduled for 7 December. This is usually a successful evening and everyone is looking forward to it. CASS Ulster CASS Ulster hosted celebratory nights for CAP2 and FAE results to coincide with results day. The events were held in Ten Square and Fourteen, both in Belfast. Both events were well-attended and CASSU would like to congratulate all those who received their results. The Ulster committee will host its AGM on 20 November in Chartered Accountants Ireland. We would love to see some new faces on the committee with fresh ideas. Following the AGM, the committee will host a night at the Christmas markets to welcome the new committee and students to the society. CASS Dublin The Dublin committee hosted a welcome event for new students in Diceys recently. The event was well-attended and a successful introduction to the society for new students. The committee is now organising another event for the coming weeks, and students should keep an eye on social media for more details. CASS Sligo Over the past month, CASS Sligo has held two coffee mornings in Kate’s Kitchen and a student lunch in The Blind Tiger in Sligo town to welcome the newest students to the society. CASS Midlands Since the last update, CASS Midlands had a very enjoyable night out for new trainees with a night of bowling followed by drinks and food in the local pub and nightclub in Athlone. CASS Midlands also hosted a night out in Peddler Macs for all who received their FAEs and CAP2 results, which was also well-attended. Next month, CASS Midlands will host the annual trip to Mullingar Greyhound Stadium followed by a night out in Mullingar. For more information and updates on Student Society events, visit your local chapter’s social media accounts.