Select committee: Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation 45
3rd Report – From a Common Understanding to Common Ground: Building a UK-EU Strategic Partnership fit for the future
Published 4 Mar 2026
Addressed to Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Foreign Affairs Committee The UK-EU reset: rebuilding a strategic partnership in uncertain times All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
Given the claimed economic impact of the sectoral agreements envisaged in the Common Understanding is larger than that of most Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), we recommend that the Government mirror the Department for Business and Trade’s commitments on transparency of FTA negotiations in current (and future) negotiations with the EU. This means it would publish, at a minimum, “Strategic Approaches” for the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement, emissions trading systems linkage, electricity trading and youth mobility negotiations with the EU; conduct a Call for Evidence on each of these; as well as commit to publishing updates after each formal negotiating round with the EU. This would improve transparency of the negotiations, without providing a running commentary, and should enable key stakeholders to help inform the UK negotiating position in the current phase of the talks, and spot potential problems before the agreements are finalised. (Recommendation, Paragraph 120) 94
From: Foreign Affairs Committee, 3rd Report – From a Common Understanding to Common Ground: Building a UK-EU Strategic Partnership fit for the future (HC 857), 4 March 2026
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 21 May 2026 (deadline 4 May 2026).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government welcomes the Committee's contributions and says it has "considered the report's findings carefully", responding to the recommendations in turn, with many matters said to be subject to ongoing negotiation.
- On the Gibraltar Treaty, the Government says Parliament will be able to scrutinise it under the 2010 Act "once it has been signed", and that the Committee's views on a debate will be conveyed to the Leader of the House and business managers "for consideration".
- On Security Action for Europe (SAFE), the Government says it "was unable to reach an agreement" that met the national interest test, and that UK firms retain access to SAFE contracts under standard third-country terms.
- On the Sanitary and Phytosanitary and electricity negotiations, the Government says details are "subject to ongoing negotiations" and it "will not provide a running commentary". It aims to conclude ETS linking and Youth Experience talks by the next summit, and says the electricity agreement will come into force "within this parliament".
- On a dedicated Commons EU affairs committee, the Government says it "intends to consider the matter further", and on Galileo says it has no plans to rejoin.