In an article/podcast in inews, entitled “Starmer’s Government sees closer ties with the EU as a key part of plans to ramp up economic growth”, the issue of deals with global partners to be a key part of trying to make Britain a more attractive destination for investment is allegedly discussed. See the full article at ‘RemovePaywalls.com’
I made some notes inspired or provoked by this article, which was published in late July. Although much of this is extracted quotes, I make some comments.
She [Reeves] has promised to make this country’s economy the fastest-growing in the EU, but has been hit with zero growth since taking power a year ago, prompting accusations her tax policies have put businesses off.
A report by the think tank UK in a Changing Europe found that work to bring Britain and the continent closer together is already well advanced, with the two jurisdictions aligning in 21 different areas – including climate and global dispute resolution – up from just four last year.
However, the Government has decided to keep diverging from the EU on a number of strategic policies, including financial services and the regulation of AI.
A government spokesman said: “We are not interested in divergence for divergence’s sake, or a race to the bottom in standards. If shared high standards with the EU will cut barriers to trade, we will consider them as long as they’re in our national interest and don’t cross our red lines.”
Sir Keir Starmer has promised that the UK will not rejoin the EU’s single market or customs union, or accept the free movement of European citizens.
The fights ahead
The “Brexit reset” deal agreed by Starmer and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen at a summit in May was hard fought, with the UK forced to give in to the EU’s demands for a long-term fisheries settlement in exchange for an agreement on food and agriculture trade.
But much of the hardest work is still to come, with ministers facing potential difficulties on two fronts.
The British negotiating team, led by Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds, now needs to turn the in-principle agreement into a reality. It is understood to have given up on the idea of striking further deals with the EU for now, in favour of fleshing out the details on what has already been agreed.
While both sides are signed up to progress on all areas, they have starkly different priorities. The UK has food and agriculture, defence and border security at the top of its list; for the EU, a youth mobility deal which would allow under-thirties from Britain and the continent to live and work abroad for a set period of time.
Brussels is expected to push for the largest possible cap on numbers in the youth mobility scheme in return for giving the UK what it wants on the other issues.
Meanwhile, ministers will also have to battle with MPs to push legislation enabling “dynamic alignment” of regulations through Parliament, a process they want to complete within a year at the most.
While the large Labour majority in the House of Commons means there is little prospect of the bill being blocked altogether, the Conservatives and Reform UK will use the debates to accuse the Government of seeking to reverse Brexit.
For me, this critically states that the UK-EU summit failed to complete anything, even defence & security. Mood is not enough. The UK needs the single market for food, and freedom of movement of capital and labour. The balence of payments with Europe is worsening, inward investment is declining (and has rarely been enough) and without skilled EU workers, GDP is adversly impacted. Furthermore, the UK would benefit from the shield of the Digital Services Act.
I commented on what I though the impact of the May UK-EU summit meeting was as an addition to my first impressionson this blog.
The inews article was published in July, and I have backdated this to near the date of occurrence.
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