STORY
The European Union has rejected a British proposal to create a single market in goods as part of a wider reset of UK-EU relations, according to reports cited by Reuters. The proposal would have involved closer regulatory alignment in order to reduce trade barriers for goods between the UK and the EU.
The EU is reported to have suggested that Britain should instead consider joining a customs union or accepting deeper economic alignment through the European Economic Area. Those options would be politically difficult for the UK Government because they could require a reversal of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s position against the return of free movement of workers.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said the Government was negotiating an ambitious package of measures before a planned UK-EU summit in July. The talks are expected to include arrangements on food and drink standards, emissions trading and wider economic co-operation, as ministers seek to reduce some of the trade frictions created by Brexit.