:00:00. > :00:00.Will be looking at the international newspapers later.
:00:00. > :00:00.Now for the latest financial news with Sally Bundock
:00:00. > :00:19.Red lines: The head of the European Parliament meets
:00:20. > :00:23.Theresa May with a list of 'non-negotiables'.
:00:24. > :00:29.But will the UK's June election mean a softer approach to Brexit?
:00:30. > :00:32.Plus: Rural revolution - why anti-Europe candidates
:00:33. > :00:38.are finding fertile ground in the French countryside.
:00:39. > :00:49.Also coming up, Japan sees its biggest jump in exports
:00:50. > :00:56.We will have the numbers soon. It has been moving the markets in Asia.
:00:57. > :00:59.But first: We start here in London
:01:00. > :01:03.where in a few hours time the head of the European Parliament is due
:01:04. > :01:06.in Downing Street to meet the British Prime
:01:07. > :01:07.Minister Theresa May. Antonio Tajani's visit comes
:01:08. > :01:10.as the country prepares for an election which will be
:01:11. > :01:12.dominated by Britain's exit The European Parliament has a vote
:01:13. > :01:20.on the final Brexit deal, and has set out a series of "red
:01:21. > :01:23.lines" it won't compromise on, something Tajani will no doubt
:01:24. > :01:27.discuss with May today. It wants the final agreement
:01:28. > :01:33.to make sure the UK complies with a range of EU policies
:01:34. > :01:37.on issues such as the environment, It also stresses the
:01:38. > :01:44.United Kingdom must honour all its legal and financial
:01:45. > :01:49.obligations to the EU, which includes its agreement to pay
:01:50. > :02:00.into the budget until at least 2020. Now, that could mean
:02:01. > :02:07.a hefty exit - or divorce - And one that's bitterly
:02:08. > :02:15.disputed by some in the UK and it insists two major EU
:02:16. > :02:18.regulators currently based in London - the European Banking
:02:19. > :02:20.Authority and European Medicines Agency - will also have
:02:21. > :02:23.to move to the continent. Some in financial markets are now
:02:24. > :02:26.betting that getting the election out of the way in June will allow
:02:27. > :02:30.the UK to be much more flexible in agreeing to these demands,
:02:31. > :02:33.and avoid a so-called 'hard Brexit'. Markets have recognised that
:02:34. > :02:36.Theresa May defending an effective majority of only 17 in Parliament
:02:37. > :02:39.was likely to be quite problematic for her in the next
:02:40. > :02:42.couple of years while Brexit And so, on the basis that currently
:02:43. > :02:54.the Conservative party is enjoying a lead of 18%-20%
:02:55. > :02:57.in the polls, we might logically expect a much bigger and more
:02:58. > :03:00.defensible majority government post the June 8th election and make
:03:01. > :03:03.the negotiations that she has to conduct over Brexit
:03:04. > :03:10.that much more viable. That was the view there. But we get
:03:11. > :03:16.another from Anand Menon. Professor Anand Menon is Professor
:03:17. > :03:18.of European Politics and Foreign Affairs
:03:19. > :03:27.at Kings College London. Thank you for coming in. Mike Ingram
:03:28. > :03:33.Mac, and many have argued that it Theresa May does get their strong
:03:34. > :03:37.majority there that she is hoping for, she will get a better position
:03:38. > :03:42.to negotiation. What are your thoughts on a meeting today? In one
:03:43. > :03:47.sense, she is in a stronger position because it makes life easier
:03:48. > :03:53.Parliament. She has to make a lot of things happen. I don't think it will
:03:54. > :03:57.affect the European Union was that position. I don't think they care
:03:58. > :04:00.one way or another what her size of majorities in Parliament. I think
:04:01. > :04:03.they will put together what they think is a fair negotiating
:04:04. > :04:08.position. That won't change to matter what. How important is
:04:09. > :04:12.today's meeting? The European Parliament is not involved in the
:04:13. > :04:15.negotiations, but it does have designed. It is a curious one. We
:04:16. > :04:19.are not negotiating with the European Parliament. But we need to
:04:20. > :04:23.keep them onside. Because the worst of all world is that we get to the
:04:24. > :04:28.end of the two years, and they voted down. They can do that. Keeping them
:04:29. > :04:31.on side is important. Some of these things we have talked through, they
:04:32. > :04:35.described as red lines that cannot be crossed. The divorce bill of 60
:04:36. > :04:43.billion euros already, David Davis is saying that it is nothing like as
:04:44. > :04:47.nearly as high. This has been bandied about as a possibility. The
:04:48. > :04:50.first stage of our negotiations with the commission is going to be to
:04:51. > :04:54.figure out what we should be including in our bill and what we
:04:55. > :04:58.should not. I don't think that figure is set in stone. But the EU
:04:59. > :05:02.is making it clear that whatever the figure they arrive at, we had to
:05:03. > :05:06.pay. We can get around it. The issue of the timeframe, it has been said
:05:07. > :05:10.from the beginning that it is tight. We had to get negotiations in so
:05:11. > :05:14.that national governments can pass it through their own parliaments,
:05:15. > :05:17.and that it is signed. Now the timeframe is even tighter because
:05:18. > :05:20.the Prime Minister has to fight an election, first. What are your
:05:21. > :05:24.thoughts on that? Brussels seems to be fairly miffed about that. I think
:05:25. > :05:29.we can do the divorce within the time we got. That will be easy. --
:05:30. > :05:33.we have got. But I don't know any trade experts that think we can
:05:34. > :05:38.negotiate a trade deal to the future even with the two years, which we
:05:39. > :05:44.don't have. What we're looking at is more likely transition. A the
:05:45. > :05:47.translation is then lengthened between the negotiation and our next
:05:48. > :05:51.general election. So Theresa May might be able to say have a short
:05:52. > :05:56.transitional implementation phase that allows us falling off a cliff
:05:57. > :05:58.edge for the moment. I will probably talk to you again in the next little
:05:59. > :06:03.while. We appreciated. We are also in rural Provence
:06:04. > :06:07.in southern France - as the nation gears up for the first
:06:08. > :06:10.round of its Presidential It's in the countryside that most
:06:11. > :06:14.support has been building for the two populist anti-EU
:06:15. > :06:18.and anti-Euro candidates: The National Front's Marine Le Pen
:06:19. > :06:21.and the hard-left firebrand Jean-Luc Theo Leggett has been
:06:22. > :06:34.finding out why. Glittering under the Hajj son of
:06:35. > :06:38.Provence. These rice fields are floated before the crop is planted.
:06:39. > :06:41.Prices being grown in the region for centuries, but now the industry
:06:42. > :06:44.faces a difficult future. Competition from abroad and a big
:06:45. > :06:52.reduction in subsidies have taken a heavy toll on production. Growers
:06:53. > :06:57.say they that no help the government in Paris. They think that has to
:06:58. > :07:02.change. TRANSLATION: Politician should be
:07:03. > :07:06.focusing on rural issues in France. There are 15 million people living
:07:07. > :07:11.in rural areas. About one quarter of the population. Politics must become
:07:12. > :07:15.rural again. The rice business has its own particular concerns, course,
:07:16. > :07:18.but you will hear much the same sort of thing if you talk to farmers up
:07:19. > :07:22.and down this country. They are worried that their problem simply
:07:23. > :07:26.are not being taken seriously enough by politicians in towns and cities.
:07:27. > :07:30.In the small village here, farmers have gathered for the weekly market.
:07:31. > :07:34.They have little time for mainstream politics.
:07:35. > :07:37.TRANSLATION: Rural issues are taboo. It is only large towns and their
:07:38. > :07:41.inhabitants that politicians care for. Country people are being
:07:42. > :07:45.forgotten. TRANSLATION: I think it is the
:07:46. > :07:48.candidates on the far right and far left that people here would vote
:07:49. > :07:53.for. The extremes. TRANSLATION: I will vote Marine Le
:07:54. > :07:56.Pen. Because she is a woman, and we have never had a female president in
:07:57. > :08:02.France. She could bring something new that male leaders have not in
:08:03. > :08:06.the past. Opinion polls suggest that dissolution among rural people is
:08:07. > :08:13.providing a boost for the populist candidates. Jean-Luc Melenchon and
:08:14. > :08:18.the Front National's Marine Le Pen. They have a sense of abandonment
:08:19. > :08:21.from the major political parties. You know, they used to be a large
:08:22. > :08:25.portion of the population. Now they are very small portion, and
:08:26. > :08:31.therefore they are not in the centre of the political scene any more and
:08:32. > :08:35.so more and more they are turning to the Front National, which again
:08:36. > :08:39.looks like the only alternative for them. Although more than three
:08:40. > :08:44.quarters of friends's population now lives in cities, the countryside is
:08:45. > :08:47.still home to millions of voters. -- France. Their voices might
:08:48. > :08:51.ultimately become very important indeed. Theo Leggett, BBC News,
:08:52. > :08:55.Provence. Now, let's go to Asia now
:08:56. > :08:59.where markets are getting a boost from some strong trade
:09:00. > :09:01.figures from Japan. Rico Hizon has been
:09:02. > :09:08.looking at them for us. Nice to see you. This is great news
:09:09. > :09:14.out of Japan in the munch of March. It has sold a lot of goods overseas?
:09:15. > :09:19.But the big question now is can be sustained? For now, the Japanese
:09:20. > :09:24.stock-market and investors are cheering will stop this was better
:09:25. > :09:28.than expected. These export levels have not been seen in more than two
:09:29. > :09:32.years. And a strong result, which came in better than expected, may be
:09:33. > :09:37.a sign that the economy is indeed picking up in the world's third
:09:38. > :09:41.largest economy. Export gains were led by strong than full auto-parts
:09:42. > :09:46.and optical instruments, such as mobile phones and tools to make
:09:47. > :09:51.semiconductors. And by regions, exports to China rose by more than
:09:52. > :09:58.16%. Shippers to America expanded by three and a half %. So the
:09:59. > :10:03.fundamentals are improving here, you now have the International Monetary
:10:04. > :10:08.Fund raising its forecast, projecting a 1.2% annual expansion
:10:09. > :10:13.this year from a previous forecast of just .8%. And also a key business
:10:14. > :10:19.confidence survey also pointing to rising optimism amongst big
:10:20. > :10:22.Manufacturer 's. Soap Shinzo Abe might be pulling the right strings,
:10:23. > :10:28.pushing the right buttons, and he has been trying for years to
:10:29. > :10:34.rejuvenate growth and end a period of the non- inflation through a
:10:35. > :10:38.policy of easy money, stimulus, and reform. -- predator. But the
:10:39. > :10:43.question is can be sustained in April and the coming months? We will
:10:44. > :10:48.rely on you to keep us informed. We will see you soon. -- So, Shinzo
:10:49. > :10:52.Abe. That is all promised on World Business Report for the time being.
:10:53. > :11:04.We will see you in a minute for a review of the new stories. See you
:11:05. > :11:06.in a moment. Sally will be back in a