What is the pan-Europe customs area that the EU is open to the UK joining?
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Trade chief has said membership of Pan-Euro-Mediterranean convention could be part of ‘reset’ discussions. The EU trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, has said Brussels is open to British membership of a pan-European customs area as part of “reset” discussions between the UK and the bloc.
Šefčovič, who is responsible for post-Brexit relations for the EU, told the BBC that allowing the UK to join the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean convention (PEM) was “something we could consider”. Launched in 2012, the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean convention aims to make it easier for 25 countries, mostly in Europe and north Africa to trade with each other through common rules.
Signatories include the EU, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, six western Balkan countries, Ukraine, Morocco, Syria and Palestine. The UK is one of a handful of European countries not signed up. When countries sign free-trade agreements, they agree to reduce or lift tariffs on each others’ goods. Products, whether cars or chocolate bars, that benefit from reduced or zero tariffs must be made with a certain percentage of local materials to count as domestic goods. PEM expands the definition of “domestic”.
If, for example a Swiss manufacturer made a machine from EU-sourced parts, the item would be considered as “made in Switzerland” when exported to Turkey, benefiting from preferential trade agreements. Yes, but trade experts put different weight on PEM’s importance. The Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy has concluded that it would not be “a gamechanger” for UK exports to the EU. In research published in 2024, the trade thinktank said the share of ingredients in UK-made products sourced in PEM countries mostly ranges from 1.1% to 2.8%.
