26 September 2023

UNITED KINGDOM: ‘Agile’ team to head EU talks

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UNITED KINGDOM

United Kingdom Prime Minister, Boris Johnson says he will personally take charge of a new Taskforce Europe team of Public Servants and advisers tasked with negotiating a new relationship with the European Union.

His office in Downing Street said the “small and agile” team of 40 would have responsibility for negotiating future agreements with Brussels.

The Government has already confirmed that the Department for Exiting the European Union, which led the withdrawal talks with the EU, ceased to exist after the UK formally left the EU on 31 January.

A Prime Ministerial spokesperson said Taskforce Europe would have a Chief Negotiator who would report directly to the Prime Minister.

The spokesperson said the team would include members of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Treasury, with the unit intended to “work closely with Departments across Whitehall on specific policy areas” affected by the EU trade talks.

Sir Tim Barrow (pictured), who is currently the UK’s Permanent Representative to the EU, will become the UK’s ambassador to the bloc, while the body he heads up – known as UKRep – will become the UK Mission to the European Union.

“The UK will seek to deepen our relationships across the world with future partners and Ministers and to do this you can expect Ministers to undertake travel to support this ambition by visiting countries around the world,” the spokesperson said.

Mr Johnson is expected to spell out his negotiating objectives for talks with the EU in the coming weeks.

Ministers have already signalled that the UK will look to diverge from many EU rules and standards as it seeks a Canada-style free trade deal with the bloc.

London, 28 January 2020

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