As senior government officials work to put a plan in place, Britain may be on track for a Swiss-style relationship with the European Union, with the goal to strengthen economic ties with the bloc.
According to senior government officials, frictionless trade with the EU requires a Swiss-style relationship, which could happen over the next decade.
However, the move is unlikely to result in a return to freedom of movement.
“It’s obviously something the EU would never offer us upfront because they would say you’re trying to have your cake and eat it,” a source told The Times, “but I think we’ll get it because it’s overwhelmingly in both sides’ business interests.”
Through a variety of bilateral agreements, Switzerland’s relationship with the EU allows them access to the European single market.
Their model also includes more liberal EU migration policies and contributions to the EU budget.
Switzerland is also facing an EU push to give the European Court of Justice more power in the relationship. It opted to keep free movement from the EU in a recent referendum, despite frequently debating whether it was wise to do so.
For the European Research Group, these are red lines.
They were also red lines for Boris Johnson and Lord Frost, the UK’s chief Brexit negotiator, when developing the UK’s 2020 negotiation strategy.
Ministers believe the EU’s approach to relations with the UK is softening as the continent grapples with issues caused by rising inflation and the conflict in Ukraine.
“I think we will be doing everything we can proactively within our power to make changes to improve things when it comes to the EU,” one told The Times.
“The bigger picture on this is the EU seeing something which they weren’t expecting, which is massive support for European security from the UK with respect to Ukraine and they can see we are serious about being sensible grownups with the biggest military in Europe doing our bit.”