Too big to ignore, too unstable to support broader aims – the UK-EU relationship must change

Share this article: 19 September 2024 David Henig is the Director of the UK Trade Policy Project at the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE). The Conservatives seriously proposed a Brexit with no deals with the EU. Since the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) has been in place, the EU has said it can’t be reopened in any circumstance. Now Labour wants a reset but would prefer a quiet one that nobody really notices. What is it about the world’s second-largest trade relationship[i] that means it is talked down consistently? Similarly, an integrated UK and EU is surely crucial for European competitiveness and security, so why does neither side see this? Why the UK and EU need each other Most obviously, this is the ongoing aftermath of a divorce so messy that both parties simply want to pretend everything is now fine for them. Except, geography means the... Read More