UPDATE WITH STATEMENT BY 10 DOWNING STREET
By Aysu Bicer
LONDON (AA) - The EU’s new trade chief on Thursday suggested that the UK could be included in a pan-European trade agreement, but stressed that “the ball is in the UK’s court.”
Maros Sefcovic, the EU's commissioner for trade and economic security, told the BBC that the bloc could consider allowing the UK to join the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention (PEM), a trade pact that enables tariff-free movement of goods between member nations.
The agreement, originally agreed in 2012, includes the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Ukraine, Georgia, and several North African countries.
While the UK’s Labour government has ruled out rejoining the EU’s single market or customs union, some businesses have expressed support for joining the PEM, citing potential benefits such as easing supply chain complexities, reducing red tape, and improving trade.
However, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Sefcovic noted that while the proposal had not been “precisely formulated,” any further steps would depend on the UK’s willingness to engage.
“We would have to have the same rules and we have to upgrade them at the same time, we call it dynamic alignment,” he said, referring to regulatory standards within the agreement.
Despite the EU’s openness, the UK government has indicated it is not actively pursuing this option.
Housing minister Matthew Pennycook, speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today program, stated that the UK was “not seeking to participate in that particular arrangement.”
However, No 10 does not rule out UK joining PEM, saying it's "not customs union" and doesn't cross government "red line."
At the Downing Street lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson said that 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."
Meanwhile, Lib Dem leader said Labour's rejection of EU offer to join Europe-wide customs scheme is an "act of economic negligence."
In a statement he said: "It is alarming that the government is happy to negotiate with China but won’t even look at a better trading arrangement with our closest neighbors in Europe. This is an act of economic negligence."
"If the government thinks it will get growth back in the economy by borrowing Boris Johnson’s playbook on European negotiations it is going to end up being sorely disappointed," he noted.
"It is time for a proper UK-EU customs arrangement so we can strengthen our negotiations with Donald Trump, cut the red tape on our businesses and grow the economy," he added.