The UK must honour its existing obligations if it wants an improved relationship with the EU, Brussels has told Westminster.
The FT reported that the European Commission (EC) has issued a list of eight demands that that the UK must fulfil to “demonstrate real UK government commitment” to honouring its Brexit deal with the EU.
These demands include requests to fully implement parts of the existing agreement on Northern Ireland and the rights of EU citizens living in the UK.
Maroš Šefčovič, the EU commissioner responsible for Brexit negotiations, raised the issues with the new European relations minister, Nick Thomas-Symonds, on his first visit to Brussels following Labour’s general election victory.
Fergus McReynolds, Charted Institute of Export & International Trade’s EU director, said the EC’s approach wasn’t a surprise:
“The EC has always been clear that trust is really important and fulfilling the terms of the agreement have always been the baseline of the EU relationship. There is a huge amount that we can progress on if trust is re-established, and this is a positive first step.
“The first step would be to treat the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) as a foundation rather than as a ceiling. More can be done on trade facilitation and border infrastructure; these rely on creating an atmosphere of trust.”
The TCA, which governs the UK-European trading relationship, is due to be reviewed in 2027.
Brexit ‘reset’
The intervention comes as the new Labour government looks to “reset” the EU-UK relationship.
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has talked on the necessity of specific deals on a veterinary agreement that would reduce border checks on sanitary and phytosanitary goods. He has already hosted a summit for European leaders and appointed Thomas-Symonds as his chief lead on the European relationship.
A changed approach and improved mood music are seen as crucial for this relationship.
In order to improve the UK-EU relationship, Westminster needed “to do everything in its power to depoliticise or at least de-sensationalise trade relations with the EU”, said Dmitry Grozoubinski, director at consultancy ExplainTrade, prior to the election.
‘Trust’
David Henig, UK director of European Centre for International Political Economy, said that in his conversations with EU representatives “they have always been clear that they felt the last UK government did not implement its various treaty commitments in good faith, and that a new one must do so to build trust”.
“As has been said many times, don't mistake a willingness in Brussels to talk for them suddenly going soft in just rolling over.”
Earlier this month, Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez put a proposal for a youth mobility scheme between Spain and the UK to Starmer. The Guardian reported that Starmer did not reject the offer out of hand.
Proposal
However, the prospect of re-negotiation has raised the issue of the UK picking and choosing the most favourable parts of the European relationship, taking a more ‘Swiss approach’.
“The EU really dislikes the Swiss model quite intensely and has a very low opinion of it. So they don’t really want the British to have anything resembling the Swiss model,” said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think tank, told Politico.
Switzerland has negotiated its arrangements with the EU on a case-by-case basis, often picking fights with Brussels on issues like migration.
During Brexit negotiations, the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, was firmly against the “cherry picking” approach, even producing a flowchart that set out the possible options for the UK in a more orderly fashion.
Committee
In other Brexit news, the House of Commons has announced that it will scrap the European Scrutiny Committee.
The committee has been in existence since 1973 and examined the impact of Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deals.
Prominent Brexiteers such as Sir Bill Cash and Suella Braverman slammed the decision, with Cash calling it a “disgrace”.