Throughout the UK’s membership of the EU, the Government’s official Brussels-based operations were conducted through the UK’s Permanent Representation to the European Union (UKRep). With the UK’s withdrawal from the EU in January 2020, UKRep was rebranded as the UK’s Mission to the European Union (UKMis). After EU exit, the work of UKMis has pivoted towards supporting UK engagement in the joint UK/EU bodies set-up by the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).
As of yet, no Select Committee has investigated these changes, in particular, how the strategic aims and objectives of UKMis differ—as is to be expected—from those of its predecessor. There is also considerable uncertainty regarding how the UK engages with the EU in areas that fall outside of the scope of the TCA (which EU membership provided a useful framework for UK engagement on).
This inquiry aims to use the Committee's considerable expertise to investigate these issues and influence how the Government best represents its strategic aims and objectives for the UK family to the EU.
Read the call for evidence for more details on the inquiry.