News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Saturday, April 26, 2025
With a British government not able to live up to the consequences of its decision to leave the EU while having cornered itself with a tight negotiation timetable after triggering Article 50, the current Brexit conundrum seems insoluble. If things continue as they are in Whitehall, Britain could end up …
It’s been quite a week for trade in the EU. There’s been movement on the WTO pig spat, in Paris on trade, and on data flows. Here’s what else happened. Mercosur – push, or shove Chief negotiators of the EU-Mercosur negotiations met on Friday and decided to meet …
The United Kingdom won’t be blocked from negotiating or renegotiating international trade agreements with third countries during the Brexit transition period, as long as it doesn’t start applying them before the end of that period, EU member states clarified today. Although doing so is the British government’s formal …
It’s been an intense week again for EU trade. While trade agreements with far away countries like those in the Mercosur bloc have taken a hit, the trade focus is now clearly shifting closer to home, namely to Brexit. Brexit: Habemus Phase II It was widely expected. Member …
It’s been an eventful week in Brussels. EU-Japan FTA – on track The EU and Japan finalised their free trade agreement negotiations this morning. The full text of the deal will be available in a few days. These FTA negotiations were politically concluded this summer. Negotiators worked …
It’s taken business lobby groups in the EU a long time to figure out what the UK’s departure from the bloc will mean for companies in the remaining 27 member states. Now, all minds are focused on the risks of a cliff-edge Brexit as failure of the divorce talks becomes …
Britain’s secretary of state for leaving the European Union was in Berlin on Thursday (17 November 2017) on a mission to win over Germany to some British proposals on the future relationship between the bloc and a United Kingdom that is set to leave the 28-member country bloc. In …
The current focus in policy discussions related to Brexit on both sides of the Channel is on a possible transition period to avoid an economically abrupt and damaging ‘cliff edge’. Economic players deplore a gap between the timeframes imposed by their business imperatives and the realities of the negotiations, including …
From Brexit to trade defence, an overview of the trade policy churn in the EU this week. Brexit transition The beginning of week in Brussels will be dominated by the whole Brexit affair. European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker will meet British Prime Minister Theresa May, her number …
A group of five business associations have called on policy makers in Brussels and London to agree as quickly as possible on a transitional agreement as Britain prepares to leave the European Union in late March 2019. The five associations “are concerned that more time will be needed for …
