UK could rejoin EU ties within months under 'Switzerland plus deal', senior MEP says
Bernd Lange, the German MEP who chairs the European parliament's trade committee, said in London that a 'Switzerland plus deal' setting out closer UK-EU relations could be negotiated within months of any decision by Britain to deepen ties - and that the choice rests with the UK alone.
UK could rejoin EU ties within months under 'Switzerland plus deal', senior MEP says
A senior member of the European parliament has told London that the route back towards Brussels runs through a 'Switzerland plus deal' that could be wrapped up within months of a British decision to move closer to the bloc. Bernd Lange, the German MEP who was heavily involved in Brexit negotiations, chairs the European parliament's trade committee and made the remarks during a visit to the UK capital.
What 'Switzerland plus' would mean
Lange proposed a package that goes beyond the arrangement Switzerland itself has with the EU, while stopping well short of membership. He described the Swiss framework as a useful starting point but a passive one, an agreement that would not involve the country in EU decision-making.
"So we have the model of Switzerland … Switzerland plus, I would say, as that has some kinds of engagement but not the full membership."
The distinction matters for single market access. Switzerland buys in without a voice; a Switzerland plus deal for Britain, as Lange sketches it, would add some forms of engagement while keeping the UK outside full membership. Any such package, he said, could be negotiated within months of a decision to deepen ties with the bloc.
The Swiss template
Switzerland set the template Lange has in mind last year, when it cemented frictionless access to the single market across more than 100 agreements with a new framework deal. The breadth of that arrangement shows what a Swiss-style package can cover:
- Access to the EU electricity market, space programmes, Erasmus and the Digital Europe research programme
- Access linked to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
- Free movement of people
- An annual payment of €375m (£326m) into the EU's economic and cohesion funds
That is the model Britain rejected in the past - and the one Lange now suggests adapting.
Why Lange wants the UK back
Lange's case for a deal is not only technical. "I would love to see the UK back," he said. He argued that the EU missed the UK in decision-making because of its strong history of promoting open markets and democracy.
The Swiss-style route was available before. Boris Johnson rejected a Swiss-style relationship with the EU because it involved free movement and regulatory alignment. Lange now says the decision on the UK's relationship is entirely in the hands of the UK, and that an agreement could be achieved quickly if Britain chose something like Switzerland plus.
Talks in London
Lange made the comments in London, where a meeting was scheduled with trade minister Anas Sarwar, part of a team working on the UK's new position on EU relations. The encounter puts the Swiss plus proposal directly in front of the officials drafting Britain's approach.
For now, the ball sits on Britain's side of the channel. Lange's message was that a Switzerland plus agreement could be achieved within months of a UK decision, and that the UK alone will make that decision.
