The European Union is willing to negotiate a better, mutually beneficial trade deal with Britain, one of Brussels ‘mot powerful conservatives has said.
Manfred Weber said Brexit had made ‘nobody… stronger’ – Fernando Sanchez /Europa Press News
The EU is willing to negotiate a better, mutually beneficial trade deal with Britain, one of Brussels’ most powerful conservatives has said.
Manfred Weber is president of the influential centre-Right European People’s Party (EPP), which counts 13 prime ministers among its membership, including Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor.
Mr Weber, the centre-Right Bavarian MEP who leads the largest group in the European Parliament, was once a fierce critic of Brexit.
However, he told The Telegraph the EU’s Brexit war with Britain was over, in a sign that Sir Keir Starmer could push for a renegotiation of the reset deal agreed in May.
The Government will be cautious about any concessions the EU could seek after the bloc previously cautioned Britain against any “cherry-picking” – attempting to gain the benefits of single market membership without the obligations.
Grimsby fish market
Sir Keir Starmer signed a deal guaranteeing EU fishermen access to UK waters for 12 more years – Oli Scarff/AFP
In the reset deal, Sir Keir agreed to follow EU rules, aligning with European food standards and submitting to the European Court of Justice in exchange for the freedom to export goods with fewer customs checks.
“With this change of government [Labour taking power], the whole Brexit saga was closed,” Mr Weber said in Berlin.
Pressed on how he viewed Brexit now, he said: “In this moment of time, it’s full respect for the decision. It is like it is.
“I think nobody today is stronger than we were before. That’s my assessment. But it is like it is.”
He added: “What I want to see is to close this debate, not to discuss the future with the emotions of the past.
“That is what I would love to see. And I think Starmer was the man who did this, and to make the restart with Brussels pragmatically and look for solutions.”
Asked if the Brexit war was over, he replied: “Definitely.”
This year’s deal with Brussels also included a defence pact, a 12-year fishing deal and a pledge to align with EU plant and animal health rules.
While some, including Labour rebels, branded the agreement a “betrayal” of Brexit, others said it helped draw a line after numerous rows between the UK and EU over issues such as sausages, fishing, Covid vaccines and Northern Ireland.
Mr Weber also dangled the possibility of negotiations to improve the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA), which is the Brexit trade deal struck by Boris Johnson.Labour has been seeking an ambitious renegotiation of the trade agreement since before the election.
Up until now, Sir Keir’s desire to overhaul the TCA has been rebuffed by the European Commission, which handles trade negotiations on behalf of the bloc’s 27 member states.
Brussels is reluctant to renegotiate a deal that it sees as weighted in its own interest, but Labour has signalled it is willing to be pragmatic if it deems it to be in the national interest.
There are already ongoing talks with the EU over the alignment on plant and animal health rules to boost trade.
Mr Weber is known as the second-most influential German in Brussels after Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission President and a fellow EPP member, and his remarks could signal a change in approach from the bloc.
“We are always ready to create better conditions for trade. We are the trading party of Europe. We are always ready to find solutions and compromises,” he said when discussing an improved trade deal with Britain.
“We believe in open markets. Whenever there is a chance to have, for both sides, a good deal, a good common understanding, then let’s do it.”
Asked what the next step in UK’s relations with the EU should be, he said: “The fundamental thing is obviously all economic issues, we both need growth. In all these areas we have to work together.”
The 53-year-old conservative is a member of the CSU, the Bavarian sister party to the ruling CDU in Germany.
He also welcomed British involvement in EU joint procurement plans to ramp up defence spending in Europe.
He praised the Prime Minister for his work on Ukraine and the party he played in talks with Donald Trump over security guarantees for Kyiv.
“Britain was part of Team Europe in the talks with Donald Trump. And that’s extremely, extremely helpful,” said Mr Weber, who is a staunch supporter of Ukraine.
In a speech this week, Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Europe minister, dismissed as “absolute nonsense” the idea that alignment meant “surrendering sovereignty, or freedoms”.
After agreeing the reset, Sir Keir said: “It’s time to look forward. To move on from the stale old debates and political fights to find common sense, practical solutions which get the best for the British people.”
Culled from Yahoo!News