Brexit: Future EU-UK relationship

Today (Weds 12 Feb.), the European Parliament will vote on the negotiating mandate for the future EU-UK relationship in the upcoming talks with the UK on a future trade agreement. Philippe Lamberts MEP, President of the Greens/EFA group and Member of the UK coordination group in the European Parliament, comments: 

"We have an interest in a relationship that is a close as possible and if we are to get an agreement, politicians on both sides will have to save face. Instead of the race to the bottom that the British government seems to want to pursue, the upcoming talks with the UK should be an opportunity to improve standards on areas where both lead. In some policy areas the UK is more ambitious than the EU and vice versa."

"Any FTA will not be as mutually beneficial as UK membership of the EU. However, we must strive for the strongest possible relationship with the UK based on common values and a level playing field that ensures the absence of any kind of dumping and lowering of standards. The goal should be to have an FTA where the most ambitious norm from each side of the channel is the standard this drives legislation upwards."