From the Centre for European Reform, this is the CERR podcast.

Welcome to another Centre for European Reform podcast. My name is Sophia Resch. We have almost

reached the point in Brexit negotiations where things become concrete and the UK and the EU 27 are moving on to discussing their future

relationship. Now the UK is proposing a unique bespoke model based on regulatory alignment. John

Springford and Sam Lowe have written a piece for the CIA explaining that model and we've had

John on the podcast last week detailing while regulatory alignment would in fact be very difficult to

manage. This week I'm in conversation with Charles Grant, the director of the Center for European

Reform, to talk about the politics of this British proposal and how the British visions, how the

British ideas are received in Europe, in Paris, in Berlin and Brussels. Welcome Charles.

So one thing that John has referred to last week was that

in the EU 27, there's a view that the British proposal amounts to cherry picking. Charles,

could you just explain why the EU 27 might feel that way? First of all, I'd just say there

isn't formally any British proposal yet. There are hints of a future British proposal and British

officials are saying that people should look carefully at a publication from the Institute for

Government and one of the sort of proposals sort of scheme sketched out there which is for

the so-called three basket model. Very briefly, the idea is that all sorts of economic activity between the

UK and the EU would be divided into three baskets for the future relationship. Basket A, everything

very closely aligned. The UK follows the EU's rules and how it's almost being in the single market

in certain areas. That might be for the car industry, for example. Basket B, rough alignment,

the EU and the UK, have common objectives but decide to choose their own rules as to how they

should reach those objectives and have their own systems of law. That might be for financial

services, kind of managed mutual recognition. Basket C, where the single market isn't really relevant, the regulation

...