UK joining European trade deal would not cross 'red lines', says No 10
UK joining European trade deal would not cross 'red lines', says No 10
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Downing Street has said that the UK could consider joining a pan-European pact to boost post-Brexit trade without crossing its own "red lines" on future EU relations. Maros Sefcovic, the EU's chief negotiator for post-Brexit talks, suggested on BBC that the UK's participation in the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention (PEM) is "something we could consider". The PEM facilitates duty-free commerce across Europe and some North African and Middle Eastern countries.
Despite Nick Thomas-Symonds, minister for UK-EU relations, stating there are no current plans to join, No 10 hasn't dismissed future membership. The Prime Minister's spokesperson declined to provide detailed commentary but clarified: "The arrangement that’s been discussed is not a customs union.
"Our red line has always been that we will never join a single market, freedom of movement, but we’re just not going to get ahead of those discussions.". Joining the PEM has been supported by various business groups for sustaining intricate supply chains, yet the previous Tory government did not include it in their post-Brexit trade deal. Speaking to the BBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr Sefcovic remarked that the concept hadn't been "precisely formulated" and that the "ball is in the UK’s court".
The UK Government has begun consulting businesses on the benefits of PEM and how it could help cut red tape and improve trade, the BBC said. Mr Sefcovic also told the broadcaster he would like to see the possibility of a full-scale veterinary agreement between the EU and UK reviewed.
