EU trade chief says it ‘could consider’ UK joining pan-Europe customs deal
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Maroš Šefčovič says ‘the ball is in the UK’s court’ as British ministers reportedly consult businesses. The EU’s new trade chief has said the bloc could consider including the UK in a pan-European trade agreement, but emphasised that “the ball is in the UK’s court”.
While the UK’s Labour government has ruled out returning to the single market and customs union after Brexit, the possibility of joining a continent-wide deal could open the door to closer cooperation with the EU and bolster much-needed economic growth.
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) is “something we could consider”. The PEM is an agreement was originally agreed in 2012 and allows goods to flow tariff-free across borders. Members include the EU, as well as some north African countries, Switzerland, Norway, Georgia and Ukraine.
Some businesses have supported UK joining the PEM, saying it could help their complex supply chains, cut red tape and improve trade. The UK’s food and farming industry could benefit from such a move. “We would have to have the same rules and we have to upgrade them at the same time, we call it dynamic alignment,” Šefčovič said, speaking at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
Šefčovič, who is commissioner for trade and economic security, admitted that the idea had not been “precisely formulated”, but said that the “ball is in the UK’s court”, putting pressure on Keir Starmer to decide on a position on closer trade ties with the bloc.
