The BMTA welcomes the latest UK-EU agreement on regulatory cooperation and it marks important progress but we understand that more work needs to be done.
Under the new framework, the UK and EU have committed to strengthening their regulatory cooperation. While the agreement is not legally binding, this sets out a structure for ongoing dialogue and information sharing between both sides. This means regulators will be in regular contact, discussing new rules and potential changes from the earliest stages of legislation.
This is a statement of intent that we’ve been pushing for since Brexit and it’s encouraging to see both sides recognise the importance of staying aligned, especially in sectors where British and European standards were already closely matched.
One of the key features of the agreement is the promise of early and regular engagement between UK and EU regulators. Both parties have agreed to notify each other about planned regulatory changes, allowing for timely adjustments and minimising surprises that could disrupt trade. The UK will also be able to inform the EU when it chooses to align its own regulations with new EU rules in relevant sectors, a move designed to keep value chains integrated and reduce friction for businesses operating across borders.
The agreement emphasises the value of maintaining maximum alignment, particularly for goods and services that were harmonised before Brexit. However, it stops short of guaranteeing automatic mutual recognition of conformity assessments. Instead, mutual recognition will be considered in sectors where regulations remain closely aligned, but will not be granted across the board.
Regulatory cooperation will be managed through existing bodies set up by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, such as the Partnership Council and the Trade Specialised Committee on Regulatory Cooperation. These groups will oversee progress, respond to recommendations from advisory groups, and ensure transparency.
Importantly, the agreement commits both sides to engaging with stakeholders, including businesses, unions and consumer groups, when considering new areas for cooperation. Domestic advisory groups from both the UK and EU will have the opportunity to propose new topics for collaboration.
We have been in active discussions with the government on these issues since the UK’s departure from the EU and while we welcome the progress, we are clear-eyed about the challenges ahead in ensuring that UK conformity assessment, calibration, measurement and testing organisations can operate on an equal footing with their EU counterparts.
