News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Saturday, April 26, 2025
Parts of the UK business community are getting impatient at the way Brexit negotiations are being conducted. Positions are hardening and the disagreement reaching a new dimension over Northern Ireland. Will the British government survive this standoff? Business anger There was a real sense of anger at the …
The EU is soon to formally release its draft guidelines for the future EU-UK trading relationship. The proposal it makes is as expected: a ‘plain vanilla’ free trade agreement. The text is a rebuff of May’s speech last Friday. The European Parliament presented today its own draft resolution on the …
Trade news in the EU in recent days was dominated by the bloc’s trade spat with the United States. In Britain on Friday, everyone was obsessing about Brexit and Prime Minister Theresa May’s speech on what her government wants to achieve for the country’s future relationship with the EU27 – …
With things suspiciously quiet on both the Mercosur and Mexico trade talk fronts, the biggest news concerning Brussels this week may be coming from Luxembourg, where the Court of Justice rules on the legality of intra-EU bilateral investment treaties. The week’s headlines will most likely be dominated by the looming …
There’s been a tremendous amount of media hoo-hah about the EU’s proposals on Northern Ireland in the draft Article 50 Withdrawal Agreement terms released today in Brussels. Here some highlights of the 119-page text relevant for trade policy wonks that are less visible in the media. Also, Tokyo explicitly said …
The European Commission is mulling a bilateral quota system for its future transport and transit rights relationship with Britain after Brexit. The executive body has drawn up the consequences of the UK’s departure from the EU for road, rail and maritime transport in a few slides on the topic …
The British government released its response to the European Union’s proposal on a transition period post Brexit. The text was part of the discussions held in Brussels on Tuesday. As widely reported in the press, the UK government is seeking a longer status-quo transition period by which all stays …
Be prepared to run away from Britain, and to run fast. That is, in short, the message the European Commission is sending to non-EU exporters and to UK exporters as part of its ‘Brexit preparedness’ activities with businesses representatives. The commission has been issuing a long list of notices to …
It’s been an intense week in EU trade, with Brexit issues and disputes with Washington starting to dominate the picture. Here is what else happened. EU and Mercosur – still talking It’s been another tough week of haggling over the final terms of a long-sought free trade agreement …
The UK and the EU are finalising a new round of negotiations towards a withdrawal agreement and a transition period this week. The UK commentariat was up in arms against Brussels’ perceived rigidity and against ‘punishment’ provisions included in its transition-related proposals. But signs suggest the EU is probably not …
