Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

EU diplomats see ‘London talking to London’ as Westminster debates Swiss-style pact with Brussels

EU diplomats see ‘London talking to London’ as Westminster debates Swiss-style pact with Brussels

While Sunak’s government tries to hose down report it’s after closer ties, the EU has yet to be presented with anything concrete.
British politics might be abuzz with talk of a "Swiss-style" relationship with the European Union — but the mood on the Continent is one of polite bemusement.

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was this week forced to push back at a report in the Sunday Times that "senior government figures" in his fledgling administration are interested in a deal with the EU akin to Switzerland’s complex relationship with the bloc. One EU diplomat said the whole row felt like "London talking to London."

The private thinking in some of Westminster's corridors of power, the paper reported, was that the U.K. should pursue frictionless trade by “moving towards a Swiss-style relationship over the next decade.”

Switzerland is outside the EU and the European Economic Area, but it enjoys strong trade ties with the bloc, and has selective access to its single market as well as participation in the Schengen visa-free travel area and EU research and education schemes. In turn, Switzerland accepts closer alignment with EU laws.

Pressed on the report Monday, Sunak told a gathering of business leaders in Birmingham: “On trade, let me be unequivocal about this. Under my leadership the United Kingdom will not pursue any relationship with Europe that relies on alignment with EU laws."

He added: "Now I voted for Brexit, I believe in Brexit, and I know that Brexit can deliver – and is already delivering – enormous benefits and opportunities for the country."

But the comments came just days after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who backed staying in the EU in 2016, pledged to remove the “vast majority of trade barriers” with the EU to boost growth.

Conservative Brexiteers have already reacted with anger to the two suggestions, and the European Research Group — a pro-Brexit group of Tory MPs who were the thorn in the side of Theresa May at the height of the U.K.'s Brexit battles — is being closely watched for cries of betrayal.

Stewart Jackson, a former MP and government Brexit adviser who now runs a public affairs consultancy, said the new government had enough on its plate without “going to war with the ERG” which he reckons still have “more than enough sympathetic supporters” to “cause real trouble" for Sunak.

Yet while Sunak's government tries to hose down the report, the EU has yet to be presented with anything concrete.

“There’s nothing to comment on because there’s no proposal,” one EU diplomat said, adding that the EU would, of course, be very happy to review one. “I’m not trying to be flippant, but what would the proposal be?”

The EU, the diplomat said, wouldn’t react until London actually put something forward. “It comes back to a little bit that’s been ongoing for a long time: it seems to be London talking to London and London trying to figure out what London can accept,” he said. “I’m getting bored of giving the same answer.”

European Commission spokesperson Daniel Ferrie struck a similar tone, telling media in Brussels Monday that “that any relationship between the European Union and a third country is based on the balance of rights and obligations” — in this case governed by the existing Brexit divorce deals.

Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič had, Ferrie noted, already suggested Swiss-style agreements on sanitary and phytosanitary rules as a way to reduce trade friction. Those would, he said, “involve alignment with EU rules — EU SPS rules — and therefore, as a result, reduced checks and controls are the majority of SPs checks and controls.”

In Birmingham, England, where Sunak gave his speech, one business leader also gave short shrift to talk of more deal-making, even while backing the idea that a country expected to enter a "prolonged recession" needs to be "looking around the world for trade and export growth opportunities."

"Rather than speculating around a deal that actually isn't on the table — and the government confirmed that isn't the case — what we should be focused on is finishing the deal that's on the table that the former Prime Minister Boris Johnson negotiated," said Matthew Fell, policy chief for the Confederation of British Industry.

"Get the Northern Ireland protocol sorted," he added, referring to the long-running row over trade rules for Northern Ireland that has proved a drag on U.K. and EU ties. "That can unjam stronger collaboration on innovation, mutual recognition of skills, and so on. Let's get focused on implementing the deal that we do have, rather than speculating about a deal that we don't have."
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
×