The UK government\u2019s plans for Brexit remain very much a work in pro\u00adgress. Negotiations have begun but very few details exist on the proposed scope and intensity of fu\u00adture UK-EU relations. The UK it seems will be leaving the customs union and the single market. But what type of relationship will replace membership remains an open question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is also very little clarity on the UK\u2019s proposed trade and economic relations with non-EU countries. As an EU member, the UK participates in a range of free trade agreements with non-EU countries, both in Europe and in the rest of the world. In case of a \u2018hard Brexit\u2019 and the UK leaving the EU\u2019s customs union, the UK would lose the preferential market access these agreements provide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UK could try to negotiate replacement agreements with each European and non-European country. However, this could prove a long and very difficult task given the complexity of trade agreements today. One way to address this challenge would be for the UK to become a member or associate of the European Free Trade Association<\/a> (EFTA). This EFTA option is explored in a paper entitled The Option of Association: The United Kingdom Post-Brexit and the European Free Trade Association<\/em><\/a> and published by Foraus<\/a>, a Swiss foreign policy think tank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joining EFTA \u2013 an intergovernmental organization that serves as a platform for free trade between its members \u2013 would allow some continuity to be main\u00adtained in UK trade relations. This is not only true for trade with Switzerland and Norway \u2013 the two largest EFTA states and significant markets for the UK \u2013 but also for many ext\u00adra-European markets with which EFTA has conclu\u00added free trade agreements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n EFTA membership, far less demanding legally, politically and financially than EU membership, has its attractions. However, it also contains a commitment to establish the free movement of persons with the other EFTA countries. This could prove highly problematic for the UK go\u00advernment, given domestic political debate regarding immigration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How then could the UK proceed to develop constructive relations with EFTA and avail of some, at least, of the attractions of membership? One scenario would be to seek an association with EFTA. This association could be similar to the arrangement concluded between Finland and EFTA from the 1960s to the 1980s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A \u2018UKEFTA\u2019 association could secure the trade benefits of EFTA membership while not necessarily involving the same level of political com\u00admitment to which the existing members have signed up, especially in matters related to immigration and accession to all trade agreements concluded by EFTA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A UKEFTA association could be a temporary or permanent flexible arrangement depending on the preferences of all the stakeholders. The com\u00adbination of partial continuity and evident flexibility offered by association could be an asset for the UK as it navigates the many uncertainties of Brexit. \u00a0The featured\u00a0image<\/a><\/span><\/em> has been used courtesy of a <\/span><\/em><\/span>Creative Commons licence<\/span><\/em><\/a>.<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As the UK government\u2019s plans for Brexit remain very much a work in pro\u00adgress, Professor David Phinnemore and Cenni Najy ask what would EFTA membership mean for the UK post-Brexit. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2465,"featured_media":3089,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[42,374,98],"class_list":["post-3085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe","tag-brexit","tag-efta","tag-eu"],"mb":[],"acf":{"authors":{"simple_value_formatted":"
Cenni Nagy<\/strong><\/a>, is a Senior Policy Fellow at Foraus and Research Assistant in political science at the University of Geneva.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n