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Chancellor Rachel Reeves spoke last week at a meeting of EU finance ministers as part of the government’s attempt to perform an economic reset with the EU. It was the first time a UK chancellor has attended such an event since the UK left the EU.
The Chancellor spoke about tackling shared challenges including the war in Ukraine, championing free trade as a driver of economic competitiveness, and strengthening bilateral economic partnerships. She said she was looking for a reset that would break down barriers to trade, create opportunities to invest and help businesses in both the UK and EU countries to sell in each other’s markets.
The speech was part of a trip where the Chancellor attended a series of bi-lateral meetings with European counterparts.
No return to the single market, the customs union, or freedom of movement is planned. However, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von de Leyen and Keir Starmer agreed on October 2 to strengthen the UK-EU relationship and put it on a more solid, stable footing.
The business community waits to see how these discussions will translate into concrete changes with EU trading partners.
See: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-calls-for-business-like-relationship-with-eu
Last week, the Chancellor unveiled her Spending Review setting out how government departments will allocate money over the coming years. While much of the focus was on large-scale public services like the NHS and schools, there are some important signals here for businesses to take note of - both in terms of opportunity and outlook.
The UK’s economic growth is set to slow more than expected, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which has downgraded its forecast for 2025 to 1.3%, down from 1.4% earlier this year.
