WIREDGOV

Open Europe's new report “Striking a Balance: A blueprint for the UK-EU future economic relationship” outlines a proposal for the future bilateral trading relationship where the UK remain highly integrated with the EU in goods, but obtains the flexibility to diverge in services.

Open Europe’s approach is based on an analysis of the structure of the UK economy and its trade patterns, a close examination of the different deals that the EU has already done from the CETA deal with Canada, via its agreements with the Ukraine and Switzerland, to the European Economic Area.  They believe that this proposal should be acceptable to both remainers and leavers, and also to the EU.  But nobody will get exactly what they want.

The debate at the moment is polarised between hardline leavers who refuse to accept giving up any sovereignty whatever the economic costs, and extreme remainers who want to either reverse the referendum result or at least recreate the entire structures of the EU from the outside. This is not where business or the public are. A sensible compromise recognises that giving up a little sovereignty can deliver good economic benefits, but there are diminishing returns in asking for more.

See Open Europe’s website for full article