UK vows to rebuild trade and investment ties with Europe – Euractiv

Hopes grew that Keir Starmer’s new Labour government will seek to rebuild closer ties with the European Union as King Charles presented the new government’s priorities in the UK House of Lords on Wednesday (July 17), focusing on “resetting the relationship”.

After more than four years of tension and regulatory disagreements following Brexit, the language on restoring Britain’s relationship with Europe, while terse, offers strong reassurances to industries hoping to benefit from improved commercial terms on both sides.

“My government will seek to reshape relations with our European partners and work to improve the UK’s trade and investment relationship with the EU,” the king said.

Overall, Wednesday’s King’s Speech — a long-standing British tradition in which the monarch sets out the new government’s legislative agenda in a coordinated speech to Parliament — brought few surprises, as Starmer’s promises had been clearly spelled out on numerous occasions in recent months.

The latest one happened in NATO members meet in Washington Last week, the new British Prime Minister reiterated that he would attach great importance to repairing relations with Europe.

Meanwhile, Wednesday’s speech also signalled a strong focus on economic reform and growth – another widely announced theme of Starmer’s policy for the next four years.

King Charles III said: “Stability will be the cornerstone of my government’s economic policy,” adding: “Every decision will be made in accordance with these fiscal rules: the government will legislate to ensure that all major changes in taxation or spending are subject to independent assessment by the Office for Budget Responsibility.”

Economic policy plan released

The last Conservative government before Rishi Sunak takes office in 2022 made history as the shortest-serving prime ministerial government in British history Liz Truss Her term ended less than two months after announcing tax cuts for the highest income brackets, which were not financed with any additional budget revenues, causing the pound to fall to a record low.

Meanwhile, King Charles said that “ensuring economic growth will be a fundamental mission of the new government”, which will “seek a new partnership with business and working people and help the country move beyond its recent cost of living challenges by prioritising wealth creation for all communities”.

On that note, he said the new government would work towards a “new deal” for the workforce that would “outlaw exploitative practices and strengthen employment rights.”

In addition, he said a Labor government would bring forward bills to “strengthen audit and corporate governance and pension investments”.

A Starmer government will also seek to implement building and planning reforms that will “seek to accelerate the delivery of high-quality infrastructure and housing”.

A long-foretold rekindling

The UK’s post-Brexit economic relationship with Europe and the agreements negotiated with its European counterparts under the Withdrawal Act have been one of the key factors in the failure of four consecutive Conservative governments since the June 2016 Brexit referendum.

In early 2020, then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson finally passed a redrafted Brexit deal, shortly after Theresa May resigned amid divisions within her Conservative Party over the bill, after the House of Commons rejected her proposals three times.

However, the tougher Brexit deal Johnson struck with Europe, parts of which were worked out under the so-called Irish Protocol, which scrapped the customs union with the EU, has led to less harmonized standards for goods and services, raising trade barriers between the two blocs.

Starmer vows to reverse thisStarting from his party manifesto, he promised to “break down unnecessary trade barriers”.

Earlier this month, Starmer made his first official visit to Scotland on July 7 and said: “I do think we can get a better deal than the failed deal that Boris Johnson brought to the UK.”

On the same day, his foreign minister, David Lammy Published an article Ahead of a visit to Germany, Poland and Sweden, the British government published a speech titled “Now is the time to reset Britain’s relationship with Europe” on the government website.

Meanwhile, new EU Relations Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds visited Brussels on Monday (July 15) for talks with European Commission Executive Vice President Maroš Šefčović.

At the same time, the two teams held a number of bilateral talks to “lay the foundations for further discussions between the UK and the EU as it seeks to reshape its relationship with the EU and build closer cooperation on common issues.”

European leaders will gather at Blenheim Palace in London on Thursday (July 18) for the European Political Community Summit, an intergovernmental forum established in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As Minister Lamy said during his visit to Europe, “a new spirit of cooperation will be demonstrated” at the summit.

(Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic)

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