Who has proposed Britain joining a European customs union – and could it really happen?

Europe’s new trade official responsible for post-Brexit negotiations has said a “pan-European [customs] area” is something the EU could consider as part of “resetting” relations between the UK post-Brexit and the EU. But how feasible would this be?

One exists at present in the form of the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention (PEM). It has a very wide membership from EU and non-EU states in Europe, including aspiring EU members in the Balkans and the likes of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. It also comprises north African and Middle Eastern countries bordering the Mediterranean, including Lebanon, Israel, Turkey, Syria, Egypt and Morocco.

Its rules allow members to source parts and ingredients for manufacturing from one another and to trade between themselves without tariffs.

Under post-Brexit arrangements, UK-manufactured goods sold into the EU are not subject to tariffs so long as they are made with a stipulated percentage of materials sourced from the UK or the EU. Otherwise, goods are subject to tariffs. However, if the UK joined the PEM, goods made with components or textiles from, for instance, Turkey (a big supplier of textiles and food) would no longer be subject to those tariffs.

The main argument for membership is that it would align rules for UK companies with their EU and (non-some EU) trading partners, reducing paperwork and costs. It could also answer current complaints that checks on UK goods entering the EU – and vice versa – can be inconsistent, and it could perhaps help to smooth out some of the complexities around goods entering and leaving Northern Ireland.

It was raised as a possibility at the Davos World Economic Forum by Maros Sefcovic, who is a vice-president of the EU Commission and has just become the EU trade official responsible for post-Brexit negotiations with Britain.

Sefcovic is a former politician and diplomat from Slovakia who has held many senior positions in the EU Commission. He is in a respected tradition of Slovak diplomats and is regarded as one of the most able EU officials. Among his other achievements, as energy commissioner he masterminded rerouting EU gas pipelines to pre-empt possible Russian cut-offs. If anyone can solve the conundrum of post-Brexit UK-EU relations, it is probably Sevkovic.

At Cabinet Office Questions in the House of Commons, Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Europe minister, said: “We don’t currently have any plans to join PEM.”

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On the other hand, a No 10 spokesperson said membership in the future had not been ruled out, and there are reports that the government has been talking to business about the possible advantages of joining the PEM. At Davos, Sefcovic said the “ball is in the UK’s court”.

Any customs agreement with the EU would be tantamount to rejoining the single market, which would come with the obligation to respect free movement of labour – a “red line” for the current Labour government, as it was for the previous Conservative governments. Joining the PEM would come with no such requirements, which is why it may be acceptable.

It might not transform the dynamic, but it could ease what has been a fractious and at times bad-tempered relationship for the nine years since the Brexit vote. Militating against this is Britain’s apparent reluctance to look favourably on openings for closer relations. A proposal for young people aged 18 to 30 to travel, live and work in each other’s countries was summarily rejected by both this government and its predecessor, although it remains on the table.

Membership of the PEM, which would carry no free-movement implications, might prove more acceptable, but would not necessarily lead to closer relations with the EU.