EU could consider UK joining continent-wide trade deal, says post-Brexit negotiator
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The European Union could potentially consider the UK joining a continent-wide trade agreement, as Sir Keir Starmer’s Government seeks to reset relations with the bloc, according to an EU trade chief. Maros Sefcovic, who led post-Brexit negotiations for the EU, suggested to the BBC that the UK's inclusion in the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention (PEM) is "something we could consider".
The PEM facilitates tariff-free trade of goods across Europe, as well as some North African and Levantine nations. Some business groups have supported the idea of the UK joining PEM as it would help maintain complex supply chains, but the previous Conservative Government did not pursue this as part of a post-Brexit trade agreement.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr Sefcovic said the proposal had not yet been "precisely formulated" and that the "ball is in the UK’s court". The UK Government has started consulting with businesses on the benefits of the PEM plan and how it could help reduce red tape and enhance trade, according to the BBC.
Mr Sefcovic also expressed his desire to see the possibility of a comprehensive veterinary agreement between the EU and UK reviewed. If UK food and farm products were given single market treatment, he said it would mean "we would have to have the same rules and we have to upgrade them at the same time, we call it dynamic alignment".
