UK floated single market for goods with EU, media say
British officials proposed creating a goods-only single market with the European Union during talks in Brussels, pitching it as an ambitious reset of post-Brexit trade ties. The plan would cover trade in manufactured and agricultural goods while excluding services, freedom of movement, and a customs union, and ministers framed it to respect the government's manifesto pledges not to rejoin the full single market. EU officials met the idea with scepticism and rebuffed the pitch, saying it did not resolve core regulatory divergence. If pursued, a goods-only single market could cut border friction for UK exporters and reshape supply chains, but it would require deep regulatory alignment to function.
Big exclusive tonight The UK government pitched the creation of a single market for goods with the EU. But EU officials rejected the idea – and instead suggested a customs union or the European Economic Area. by @jenniferrankin.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
James D. Worth58The EU already has a single market for goods, it's called the single market.
Kat Meow22Oh for God's sake, let's just get over whatever Stupid Tendency thinks and rejoin Europe. It's the only sane thing to do and anyone with half a brain cell knows it.
Ken Macdonald16UK entitlement once again. No more special arrangements for us. If you leave a club, don't expect it to change its rules just for you.
Eoin Keating14Can they really be so ignorant of what the single market means? It has four components so it’s all four or none, no cherry picking. EEA is a sensible option but I can’t see how its terms would be acceptable to a spineless government chasing Reform votes. Knuckleheads.
Mr Fabio C 🇺🇦 🇬🇱11Ten. Goddamn. Years. And noone has yet learned bugger all.
Stephen Swan9More attempted “cherry picking “ by the UK. There are only three realistic options here: 1. Rejoin the EEA & EU internal market (and accept the ‘four freedoms’ etc); or/and 2. Negotiate a (not ‘the’) customs union with the EU; or 3. Start accession negotiations to rejoin the EU.
Jimmyrayreid7Why wouldn't we want a single market for services too? The UK is absolutely way better at a whole range of services than the rest of Europe
Dial M for Madeye 🏴 🇮🇪 🏴7I’m disappointed the EU offered alternatives at all, rather than simply telling London to f*ck off into the sea. That’s what I’d have done.
D B Webb6How long is this fucking idiocy going to go on. You're either out or in. We should be in.
Geordie Kakamora5In summary, being in the Single Market is not Government policy but being in the Single Market if it's our idea is.
Shortbreadfairy©️4Ootright exceptionalism when the Single Market exists already by Starmers Government
The Bishop 🇬🇧🇪🇺🇺🇦🇨🇦🏴☠️💙3The article makes it pretty clear that EU officials simply cannot hand Britain special low-commitment deals w/o triggering internal EU turmoil and gifting arguments to hard-right Eurosceptics across the bloc. And let’s be frank: the EU does not need Britain while Britain needs the EU.
Back to the future A single market in goods was Thorneycroft’s big alternative to EEC in 1956 It failed then and will fail again - not least because the UK is a services economy that needs a single market in services (which needs FOM) www.ft.com/content/b13e...
Bart Aafjes9So the UK is still cherrypicking..
Bettina Struff #Woke #FBPE #FBPR #NHS #RejoinEU6Absolutely. As a freelance fashion photographer I run a small business that used to export my services to the EU by shooting multiple 1 day gigs in Paris, Milan or Madrid every year. Since Brexit the visa and customs requirements make this impossible. So now I stay at home instead. #RejoinEU
This is not new. It's not the first time and it is indivaitve of a major problem for UKG. Firstly, they have promised to go "much further" in approaching Europe at the next Euro-UK summit.That looks dead without radical gearshift, which looks hard given domestic politics. A 🧵
Niall Ó Conghaile32Secondly, we're still, after more than ten years, witnessing the UK try to hack Europe. Get a three-pin into our sockets. Rights without responsibilities. In short, it has learned nothing about what Europe and MSs want. That seems extraordinary. 2
Andyinafield 14Ah, Mr Ó Conghaile. I've been expecting you. More seriously, ENDLESS SCREAMING!!!!!!!!!!!!
Luigi di Angeli9At this point it feels less like diplomacy and more like Groundhog Day. The UK proposes another version of “single market benefits without free movement”; the EU points out, again, that the four freedoms are indivisible. Rinse. Repeat.
David Nice8And Burnham has announced he won't help. Three more years of this timidity.
Bradley Kieser8Starmer misunderstood the Labour victory, thinking that people were voting for Conservative Lite, Cameron era Conservatives, rather than real change and genuinely for Labour. He's been utterly catastrophic as a result, turning Labour into Cameron era Conservatives. Pathetic, spineless, sackless.
Mark Purchase 🏴 🇪🇸 🇪🇺6I can’t be bothered with this nonsense anymore It makes my head hurt just thinking about it Instead I’m off to La Pérgola by the beach to listen to some guitar music and drink some cold beer
David Head6It looks hard because of a leadership deficit in UK.
botrange694.bsky.social4After more than 10 years the UK's goal is still to destroy the EU and build a sort of British Empire in Europe. EU membership would help me in Scotland but I'm not willing to make the sacrifice.
The UK government pitched the creation of a single market for goods with the EU as the cornerstone of the renewed partnership, @theguardian.com reports. The idea, which excluded free movement of people, was rejected by Brussels.
Tim 🌱☕️🏉🏏☀️🌧3Why the hell is the UK government so scared of free movement? Don't they realise that it works both ways? It's not just Europeans coming to the UK. It's the freedom of us to live and work in the EU, too. It's a win/win for all people. Are they really that stupid?
Steve Brown2UK politicians have learned nothing.
EXCL: The UK government pitched creation of single market for goods with EU as cornerstone of attempts to reintegrate British trade back into Europe.
Daily Herald #FBPE #NAFO 🇬🇧🇺🇦🇬🇱5Top Cabinet Office official on EU relations, Michael Ellam, presented idea to deepen economic r’ship with bloc - but sources say EU officials rejected idea – and suggested CU or economic alignment through EEA instead.
chris-in-normandie.bsky.social3The UK just doesn't get what the EU's Single Market is about. They got told ten years ago there will be no cherry picking or half-in half-out arrangements.
The red lines must go for there to be significant improvements to the UK-EU economic relationship. A single market for goods might appeal to the UK government, but it wouldn't work for the EU. The four freedoms matter - goods, services, capital & people! www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Cambridge for Europe6With the EU threatened by powers to the East and West that seek to divide, weaken, and undermine it, the UK must ask itself the following question with every proposal to the EU "does this strengthen the EU?" If the answer is no, the proposal needs to be dropped or improved.
Dr Nuits de Young2If it doesn't include getting back my stolen EU citizenship, I don't much care.
Yikes! This is disastrous for the "closer ties" cherry pickers. 10 years later and Brits still don't get this simple idea: "If you start going back on those principles - leading to a non-member being treated bettter than an actual member - you certainly would trigger an internal debate." 1/2
GylesNaMopaleen7As a reminder...this isn't just about allowing british goods to flow freely in the Single Market...crucially, this is about brexit checks that the UK gov cannot physically implement and have wasted millions on an elastoplast solution. This SPS deal is crucial to food safety in Britain👇 2/2
The EU has enough experience now to reject special treatment. Brexit was traumatic and a lesson for discussions, not negotiations. Hungary was traumatic and a lesson for discussions not negotiations.
Derek Mulready 🇮🇪🇪🇺3During the Foot&Mouth Disaster in the 1990s. MEP Dr Ian Paisley RIP. Introduced SPS checks between Britain and Northern Ireland. His Famous "Quip" the people may be British. But the Livestock is Irish. 🇮🇪🇪🇺
Jim FR 🔭🍻⭐️⭐️ 🌳2I mean, it’s not as if we hadn’t already spent the last ten years on this very theme, is it…
azurevista.bsky.social2They literally don't understand the EU at all. They think they can cherry pick benefits for the tax-dodger banker owned corporate run City of London without providing any benefits for the EU & UK taxpayers. The EU will continue to tell these Atlanticists to f*ck off.
