An attempt by the British government to negotiate bilateral trading relations directly with EU member states has apparently backfired, as the EU Commission asserted that it was its prerogative to represent the entire bloc rather than individual governments on trading matters.
An exposé by the anti-Brexit tabloid The Independent revealed this week that London had floated the idea of sorting out post-Brexit trading issues directly with national governments to avoid the bureaucratic and partisan process of appealing to the EU Commission.
According to The Independent, UK officials had contacted member states individually to inquire about their plans for checks on British exports to the EU, with the Commission ordering national governments to ignore the request.
The contact between the UK government and member states first began in June when the British Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) messaged EU member states asking each to fill out a questionnaire on their ability to manage new export controls on agricultural and food products. The matter was discovered by the EU Commission within a week and raised at the European Council in Brussels.
Despite formally leaving the EU in 2020, the UK has been plagued by legacy issues from Brexit around trade and regulation, most notably the question of the Irish border, as many Brexiteers fear that Brussels and an anti-Brexit UK establishment seek to frustrate the process.
In February, the UK government agreed to the so-called Windsor Framework with the EU to establish an Irish sea border instead of risking a hard border between the Republic and Northern Ireland, leaving the entire island within the EU Customs Union.
The EU Commission responded to the UK’s attempts to discuss trade terms with member states with a warning saying that the move fell well outside the post-Brexit arrangements formulated under Boris Johnson’s premiership.
The EU is often criticised for monopolising the ability of member states to negotiate trade matters bilaterally and is traditionally protective of that exclusive right, which it argues is essentially for Europe’s economic survival in a globalised world.
London is scrambling to decide on new post-Brexit trading rules set to come into effect in October as business groups lobby for maintaining the easy flow of goods from the UK to Europe at the risk of accepting the EU’s terms.
Speaking to The Independent, former UK Brexit Secretary David Davis downplayed the incident and said it was part and parcel of post-Brexit relations with Europe. “It’s ever the way: the EU is always suspicious of any attempt to talk directly to member states,” he added, saying that he suspected that Brussels imagined the interaction was part of a wider UK ruse to undermine EU solidarity.
The spat was referred to as a “storm in a teacup” by arch-Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg and comes as new post-Brexit custom rules are set to take effect on October 31st, with hauliers warning that a potential dispute could have a knock-on effect on Christmas food supplies.
