- The idea would go through a relationship with Brussels following the Swiss model, but critics do not want that pact.
- The prime minister does maintain his idea of redirecting contacts with the Union as far as possible.
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| Rishi Sunak in Downing Street. |
New controversy in the United Kingdom over an alleged plan by the Sunak government to "get closer" to the EU... that the cabinet denies
In today's politics, there are few relations more stormy than the one between the United Kingdom and the European Union. More than six years have passed since the Brexit referendum and almost two since the departure was confirmed, but the clashes have been constant. London has tried to alter the agreement signed by a now-disgraced Boris Johnson, and today Rishi Sunak has the challenge of healing wounds. There are so many fronts that he is not interested in belligerence with the Union, but at the same time, he has added a new controversy in this regard: days ago the news broke that the British Government was supposedly preparing a 'Swiss-style' plan.
The idea would be to approach the relationship with the EU from a kind of neutrality -although not strategic- and at the same time reach numerous economic and political agreements with Brussels. But such has been the controversy that the prime minister himself and prominent members of his cabinet have had to come out to deny it. Among them, the Minister of Economy - and number two for practical purposes of Sunak - Jeremy Hunt: "It has never been our plan."
In total, the Union and Switzerland have signed more than 120 bilateral agreements, including a free trade agreement in 1972 and two large packages of sectoral bilateral agreements whereby a significant part of Swiss legislation was brought into line with that of the Union at the time of signing. The first package of sectoral agreements (known as Bilateral Agreements I) was signed in 1999 to enter into force in 2002.
These seven agreements cover aspects related to free movement and the reciprocal opening of markets. Another package of sectoral agreements (Acuerdos Bilaterales II) was signed in 2004, gradually coming into force over the period 2005-2009. These agreements have to do fundamentally with the reinforcement of economic cooperation and the extension of cooperation to the areas of asylum and free movement within the Schengen area.
The United Kingdom, however, does not want such a model. Or at least Sunak's cabinet denies that this is the intention. "We do not support, would not contemplate, I do not support, have never contemplated, any agreement that means we are not negotiating or deciding the regulations we want as sovereign equals, paying unnecessary money to the EU, or even compromising freedom of movement," he said. a rather resounding Hunt, who also asked his fellow party members "that facts speak louder than words."
"I voted for Brexit, I believe in Brexit"
In this matter, the prime minister has to face the most right wing of the Executive and the conservative party, made up of the strongest defenders of the divorce of the EU. Thus, Sunak needed to reassure them. "I voted for Brexit and I believe in Brexit," said the Downing Street tenant. All in all, it is an issue that is far from closed despite the prime minister's goodwill to soften relations with Brussels.
The battery of EU agreements with Switzerland has a history and many years of work behind it. But with the United Kingdom, the situation is quite different. London still has several fronts opened by Brussels, among them the agreement on the future relationship with Gibraltar and, especially, the application of the Northern Ireland protocol, a mechanism created expressly to keep the Northern Irish within the common market and thus avoid a hard border in Ulster. The British government has threatened to impeach him for introducing barriers to trade within the UK.
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