The EU’s new trade chief has said the bloc could consider including the UK in a pan-European trade deal, but stressed “the ball is in Britain’s court”.
While Britain’s Labor government has ruled out a return to the single market and customs union after Brexit, the prospect of joining a continent-wide deal could open the door to closer cooperation with the EU and boost much-needed economic growth. can
Maroš Šefčovič, who led post-Brexit negotiations for the EU, told the BBC that allowing the UK to join the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention (PEM) was “something we could consider”.
The PEM is an agreement that was originally agreed in 2012 and allows goods to flow across borders without tariffs. Members include the European Union as well as some North African countries, Switzerland, Norway, Georgia and Ukraine.
Some businesses have supported the UK joining the PEM, saying it could help them streamline complex supply chains, cut red tape and improve trade.
The UK food and farming industry could benefit from such a move. Speaking at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Šefčovič said, “We have to have the same rules and we have to upgrade them at the same time, we call it dynamic alignment.”
Šefčovič, who is the commissioner for trade and economic security, admitted that the idea had not been “well-crafted”, but said “the ball is in the UK’s court”, leaving Keir Starmer on closer trade ties. Pressured to make a decision about with the block.
Starmer’s government hopes to “reset” relations with Brussels after taking office last year.
PEM membership was rejected by the previous Conservative government, but according to the BBC, Labor ministers have reportedly begun consultations on the benefits of taking part in business.
Šefčovič, who took over as trade chief late last year, said UK-EU relations were “definitely” in a better place and that his British counterpart Nick Thomas Symonds, the minister in charge of EU relations, were “on speed dial”. .
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Asked about Šefčovič’s proposal on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook said the UK government was “not looking to participate in this particular arrangement”.
“Generally the government has been very clear that we want closer relations with our European partners, not only in terms of trade but also, importantly, in terms of security and defense cooperation,” he said.
But he added: “As far as that particular arrangement is concerned, no, we are not looking to participate in that at this time.”
Labor MP Stella Creasy, who also heads the party’s affiliated campaign group, Labor Movement for Europe, backed a potential deal. “The red tape from Brexit affects British business in a number of ways – joining PEM will help reduce the paperwork associated with the original requirements rules which we have long argued the UK’s “There must be a way to eliminate the loss of trade,” he said.
Earlier this month, Lib Dem leader Ed Davey used a speech in London to say that a customs union with the EU was “the single biggest thing we can do to turbocharge our economy in the medium and long term.” can”. He also argued that closer ties with the EU in both trade and defense could help Britain “Trump-proof” itself against a second term for the US president.
