News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Monday, April 28, 2025
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 …
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 …
This week was relatively calm in the Brussels policy world. The entire European Commission team flew to Sofia feting Bulgaria as it took over the EU presidency for the next six months, lavishing praise and money on the bloc’s poorest country. Technocrat trade negotiators are far away in Mexico trying to hammer …
British MPs voted down two attempts by Labour frontbenchers to stop legislation on a new customs regime and trade policy powers to wind their way through Parliament in London. This comes despite a vigorous debate on both the content and constitutional arrangements around trade policy in Britain post-Brexit. On …
Happy New Year, dear subscribers! The year 2018 will offer a very narrow window of opportunity to bring key EU trade policy files forward. On the EU’s plate this year: finalise trade negotiations with Mexico and Mercosur, get key trade agreements with Singapore, Vietnam and Japan through the European …
The contours of the transition period for Britain’s exit from the EU are starting to take shape. Britain, in the meantime, is gradually preparing its trade policy life outside the EU as new bills pave their way in Westminster.
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 …
Brexit crunch time is nigh. With the European Council’s expected decision to accept to move on to talking about a transition period to avoid a ‘cliff edge’ Brexit, another type of ‘cliff edge’ is emerging: that of the EU’s existing free trade agreements with third countries. There is a …
