Exclusive: Chris Bryant says policy agreements are being done in bits and pieces but a greater vision is needed by both sides
It was all smiles and warm handshakes when the two men in charge of renegotiating the UK’s relationship with the EU met in Brussels this week.
Maroš Šefčovič and the UK minister for EU relations, Nick Thomas-Symonds, sharing a stage on the third floor of the vast European parliament building, were at pains to show the cross-Channel relationship was in a good place after years of rancour.
The deep frustration about the lack of progress in the “resetting” of the relationship between the UK and the EU was evident on stage and behind the scenes.
Šefčovič, the European commissioner for trade, told MPs and MEPs gathered at the EU-UK parliamentary partnership assembly (PPA) of the need for a reboot but also hinted at the need for more ambition in the next round of talks, reminding the British in the room that an over-arching Swiss-style deal, as offered to the former prime minister Boris Johnson, was still very much on the table.
