EU Warns UK: Weakening Environmental Protections Could Jeopardize Trade Deal

According to the article, the EU has expressed serious concerns about the UK government's proposed planning and infrastructure bill, which aims to boost economic growth by removing EU-derived environmental protections. The EU's ambassador to the UK, Pedro Serrano, recently visited the environment secretary, Emma Reynolds, to warn that the bill could jeopardize the UK's free trade agreement with the EU.

The EU believes the bill's provisions, which allow developers to build on wildlife areas if they pay into a "nature recovery fund," undermine the "level playing field" rules that are a core part of the UK-EU trade deal. These rules state that the UK cannot regress on its environmental regulations in a way that would give it a competitive advantage over the EU. The EU argues the bill does exactly that.

The bill also threatens the UK's access to the EU's energy markets, which the UK heavily relies on, importing 16% of its electricity from Europe. EU officials have warned the UK government that the bill could imperil this energy trade. This would be a significant blow, as the UK government estimates the trade deal will add £9 billion to the UK economy by 2040.

Despite the EU's warnings, the UK government appears determined to push ahead with the bill in the hopes of boosting economic growth. However, experts warn that undermining environmental protections in this way could ultimately backfire by damaging the UK's crucial trade relationship with the EU.