Business secretary Peter Kyle has said the British public are "not nostalgic" for the pre-Brexit past but are pragmatic and want to deepen ties with the EU on trade and the economy. Speaking after signing a cooperation deal on competition in Brussels, Kyle described the agreement as "a real vindication of the reset and the relationships that have emerged between the EU and the UK" since Labour came to power.
The deal marks an alignment on strategies for mergers and acquisitions, resulting from frequent discussions between the two sides. European Commission executive vice-president Teresa Ribera called it "a privilege" to sign the deal, which she said was "reinforcing the current good cooperation" with the UK.
Kyle said the public supported the pragmatism now producing closer ties with Europe, which could drive economic growth. "The public did vote for a government that had a reset with the EU as its core foreign policy in the election. So I think the public have always been looking forward and they're not really nostalgic for the past," he told reporters.
Among initiatives the UK would like to join is a "Made in Europe" scheme, expected next week, which would prioritise European products in public procurement. However, there is tension over the exact quantity of goods that should be European in procurement contracts. The French-led European Commission's push has faced lobbying from opponents within the EU who believe France is being too protectionist.
Kyle said he was in Brussels not to demand a slice of the action but to listen, citing existing UK-EU cooperation on Airbus. He described the trade and cooperation agreement secured by Boris Johnson as "not comprehensive enough or ambitious enough," adding it was imperative to improve on that as both sides share the same challenges.
His remarks came as EU parliament president Roberta Metsola said the UK and EU must go "even further" than the Brexit reset. On US trade, Kyle said he hoped for "clarity" in the coming days, while US trade representative Jamieson Greer indicated he intended to stick to the 10% tariff the UK had secured.
