Hamish Falconer has pledged to create a ‘more ambitious relationship’ with the bloc
The government minister in charge of post-Brexit negotiations with Europe has said he wants a “deeper” relationship with the EU.
Hamish Falconer, who was appointed as Andy Burnham’s top EU negotiator when he came to office last month, has pledged to create a “more ambitious relationship” with the bloc as Labour continues to seek closer ties.
Mr Burnham has promised to “consolidate the progress made on the existing UK-EU negotiations” undertaken by Sir Keir Starmer, but it is not yet known whether he will stick to the government’s so-called ‘red lines’ in Labour’s manifesto for the next election.
“I would want a deeper relationship, a more ambitious relationship with the EU,” the Labour MP told The Guardian.
“There’s also a whole range of areas in relation to services where I’d really like it to be progressed. Services is obviously an area where the EU itself is less closely integrated and there’s a lot of discussion within the EU about where to take the productivity challenge for them – that’s a challenge we can recognise here in the UK as well. So, particularly on services, I’m really interested in where we can go further.”
He added: “I think that we have made some real initial progress on resetting but now we’ve got to deliver.”
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However, he reiterated that the government is still “committed to our manifesto red lines,” which rule out rejoining the customs union and single market or allowing free movement of labour.
“We’re committed to our manifesto red lines, but all of my experiences as a negotiator and the art of the possible is in part shaped by the nature of the relationship between two people negotiating,” he said.
“I used to be a negotiator with the Taliban. With the EU, this is a negotiation with our friends, with whom we share our values and with whom we feel solidarity.”
It comes just weeks after a government minister failed to rule out putting a promise to rejoin the EU in Labour’s next manifesto, suggesting that Mr Burnham could attempt to unpick Brexit in the next parliament.
The prime minister has previously said he is in favour of the UK rejoining the EU, but later clarified that he will not try to rejoin, arguing that the country would be stuck in a “permanent rut if we’re just constantly arguing”.
“I used to be a negotiator in the Foreign Office, often doing really hard negotiations. Ultimately, the character of the wider relationship is really important,” Mr Falconer said. “Yes, there are some really important technical questions that we have got to get right.”
“But we also need to put this in the big picture … there is also a massive wider European agenda, which is really important to us, and Britain is really important to that agenda too. Security, defence, tech. We are a big part of those discussions and those dilemmas.”
Meanwhile, the prime minister has reportedly been presented with a new post-Brexit proposal which calls for Britain to rejoin the EU’s single market.
The proposal would see Britain promise to extend the protection of Britain’s Armed Forces and nuclear deterrent across Europe, in exchange for access to the EU’s free-trade zone.
According to The Telegraph, former Tory MP Nick Boles, who quit the party in 2019 over Brexit and went on to help Sir Keir prepare for government, has drawn up a plan which would allow Britain to rejoin the single market.
The proposal, which has reportedly been seen by top government officials, including national security adviser Jonathan Powell, is said to include the suggestion that Britain should push for the creation of a “European confederation”, which would link the single market with Nato’s defence commitments.
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