Healey to EU: Include UK in 'Made in Europe' Scheme, Avoid New Barriers!

Chancellor John Healey is heading to Dublin this Friday with a clear message for EU finance ministers: don't leave the UK out of the crucial 'Made in Europe' trade scheme. Healey will attend the Ecofin summit, aiming to strengthen partnerships in technology, defence, and manufacturing across the continent.

Treasury sources indicate he'll press for the EU to shape its procurement strategy to benefit everyone, rather than creating new obstacles for UK businesses. The 'Made in Europe' scheme, currently progressing through the European Parliament, is designed to shield European manufacturing from intense global competition, particularly from China.

It aims to give EU firms priority for public contracts and subsidies.

However, there's growing concern that if the UK is excluded, key British industries like car manufacturing and steel, which rely heavily on cross-border trade, could suffer significantly. Mr. Healey plans to emphasize the importance of learning from past challenges, such as the breakdown of talks regarding UK participation in the EU defence loans scheme, known as Safe.

He believes that closer ties with the EU are vital for British businesses, ensuring they have better access to both supply chains and customers, no matter where they are based in the UK. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has already voiced concerns about the 'buy European' programme, telling French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this month that it "could pose significant challenges" for UK industry.

This discussion comes ahead of a planned UK-EU reset summit in the autumn, which was postponed from the summer. The summit aims to finalize agreements on various fronts, including food and drink, linking carbon trading schemes, closer defence cooperation, and a youth mobility scheme, where Brussels is pushing for lower tuition fees for EU students at UK universities. While Mr.

Burnham seeks closer ties with the EU, building on previous efforts to reset the relationship, he remains firm on the 2024 Labour manifesto's "red lines." This means no return to the customs union or the single market, and no reintroduction of free movement.

Beyond the 'Made in Europe' discussion, Mr.

Healey is also scheduled to meet his Ukrainian counterpart, Sergii Marchenko, for the first time in Dublin, reaffirming the UK's continued support for Ukraine. #UKPolitics #EUTies #TradeTalks #EcofinSummit