Chancellor calls for business-like relationship with EU

Making working people better off must be the aim of our economic reset with the EU, Chancellor Rachel Reeves will tell a meeting of finance ministers in Brussels today (Monday).

Reeves becomes the first UK Chancellor to attend a meeting of EU finance ministers since the UK left the EU – a clear signal of the UK Government's commitment to reset the relationship with the EU and realise the economic potential of our shared future.

In her speech, the Chancellor will set out that part of the government's mission to drive economic growth and make working people better off, a central part of our Plan for Change, will be achieved through a closer relationship with the European Union.

She will talk to three key areas of the UK-EU relationship: tackling shared challenges, including the war in Ukraine; championing free trade as a driver of economic competitiveness; and strengthening bilateral economic partnerships.

She will go on to say that by taking these on together, we can have a meaningful impact on putting more money in people's pockets through lower prices and better jobs through increased investment.

Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer, will say:

“This is the first time a British Chancellor has addressed the Eurogroup since Brexit.

“And there could be no more important moment to do so, than now.

“It is a signal of the new UK Government's commitment to resetting our country's relationship with the European Union; and the importance I place in realising the economic potential of our shared future.”

She will add:

“I know that the last few years have been fractious. Division and chaos defined the last government's approach to Europe. It will not define ours.

“We want a relationship built on trust, mutual respect, and pragmatism. A mature, business-like relationship where we can put behind us the low ambitions of the past and move forward, focused instead on all that we have in common.

“And all that we might achieve together to keep our countries safe, secure and prosperous.”

On strengthening economic ties, she will say:

“I believe that a closer economic relationship between the UK and the EU is not a zero-sum game. It's about improving both our growth prospects.

“The reset in relations is about doing what is the best interests of our shared economies and those that depend on it.

“That means breaking down barriers to trade, creating opportunities to invest and helping our businesses sell in each other's markets.

“That's why I'm here today; that's what our reset seeks to achieve.

Reeves will also underscore the importance of the UK and EU's unwavering support for Ukraine over 1,000 days since Russia's invasion, delivered most recently through a G7 loan of $50bn backed by the extraordinary profits on immobilized Russian sovereign assets. She will say that Ukraine's national security ensures the UK and Europe's national security too.

While in Brussels, the Chancellor will also attend a series of bilateral meetings with European counterparts. International economic partnerships are a crucial part of the government's number one mission to grow the economy and make every part of the UK better off.

There will no return to the single market, the customs union, or freedom of movement. But, following their meeting on 2 October, the Prime Minister and President of the European Commission Ursula von de Leyen agreed to strengthen the UK-EU relationship and put it on a more solid, stable footing.

The EU reset feeds directly into the government's Plan for Change to be achieved via its five missions – one of which is growth. The reset will help contribute to the government's ambitions to grow the economy, invest to create an NHS fit for the future and tackle irregular migration.

The UK and the EU share the world's second largest trading relationship, facilitating over £660 billion (€750 billion) in trade each year. The UK and EU countries together also comprise 24 of NATO's 32 allies, united in a commitment to collective security.

The government will publish a Trade Strategy in 2025, renewing the government's commitment to free and open trade. It will support the government's Industrial Strategy and Net Zero ambitions and enhance economic security. As part of this, the government will work with the EU to identify areas where the government can strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit, including the economy, energy, security and resilience. Global partnerships are crucial to the UK government, with direct benefit to the domestic economy – the International Investment Summit held in October secured a record breaking £63 billion of investment and nearly 38,000 jobs are set to be created across the UK as a result.

Today's Eurogroup attendance comes after Reeves' speech at Mansion House in November, where she set out that advocating free and open trade especially with economically important partners was in the UK's national interest. Reeves' visit to Brussels comes ahead of her next international visit, which will be to Beijing in the new year.

Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce said:

“If our economy is to grow then we must export more. 

“That's why we urgently need a better trading relationship with our closest and biggest market, the European Union. The current arrangement isn't working for our members. 

“Right now, UK firms wanting to trade with Europe are struggling under huge regulatory and paperwork burdens.   

“Businesses will be encouraged to hear the Chancellor talking about a reset in our relationship with the EU which genuinely breaks down barriers to trade.  

“A better deal can't come soon enough for UK exporters. It's vital that talks move at pace in the coming months to make life easier for businesses to thrive.”

Note to editors

• The Chancellor's attendance of today's Eurogroup meeting of Euro zone finance ministers is upon invite as a G7 partner to the EU.