Prime Minister Andy Burnham has stepped up his push for closer EU ties, saying that cutting post-Brexit red tape on trade will help ease cost-of-living pressures. Deals on food and farming, emissions trading, and youth mobility are already under discussion, with more expected ahead of a summit in Brussels on November 20.
"It pays to have a good relationship with your neighbours, and the practical deals we are agreeing with Europe will pay off for families across the UK," Burnham said. "Cutting red tape on food coming in and out of the country will ease pressure on prices at the supermarket, while making life easier for farmers and food producers."
Deals on Food, Emissions, and Migration
The areas being discussed would end red tape caused by Brexit checks on products such as sausages, flowers, and leather goods, according to The Mirror. A 200-page draft deal on removing checks on food and agriculture exports has been handed to EU nations, which the government believes could add up to £5.1bn a year to the economy.
Under an agreement on emissions, the UK will pay the EU billions of pounds to avoid a cross-border carbon tax, which comes into place next January. This could spare manufacturers additional carbon border charges and reduce trading friction, predicted to add up to £3.1bn a year to the economy.
Ambition and Challenges
On immigration, the UK lost access to tools such as fingerprint databases and real-time data on criminals when it left the EU. Government sources say restoring access could help tackle migration crime.
Burnham previously expressed hopes of rejoining the EU in his lifetime, saying: "I've said I'm going to be honest and say in my lifetime I would like to see that [rejoining the EU] happen, but I am not going to move ahead of the public."
However, the EU's former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier warned Burnham he will not be able to rejoin the single market "a la carte," telling the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: "There will be no possibility to have one freedom and not the other. The four freedoms are the four conditions to be in a single market."
