Together with MEP Barry Andrew and MEP Thijs Reuten, I am delighted to invite you to a panel discussion organised by the Greens/EFA, Renew and Socialists & Democrat groups in the European Parliament on Common future, different rules? The new EU-UK relationship

The event will take place on Tuesday 4th July from 13:30 to 15:00 CEST in room SPINELLI 5 G1 in the European Parliament in Brussels and online.

With speakers providing a unique insight into regulatory divergence in the fields of data protection, GMOs and the right to strike, we invite you to join us for a panel discussion with the following speakers.

• Elena Crasta, ETUC - Works at the ETUC as a senior advisor on trade, external relations and industrial policy. Prior to this, she was a special advisor at the Just Transition Centre , set up by the International Trade Union Confederation ( ITUC ) to work with affiliates to secure their support for the green transition, international climate targets, and devise just transition plans. She has also worked for the Trades Union Congress ( TUC ) for 20 years, both in the UK and their office in Brussels, where she represented the TUC in the European Union institutions and liaised with the ETUC and its affiliated organisations. In this role she gained extensive experience of EU directives in the field of workers’ rights and social policy; worked also on trade policy, Brexit negotiations and regulation of the EU internal market; and represented the TUC in European social dialogue negotiations with employers.
  
• Claire Robinson, GMWatch - Claire Robinson is Co-Director and Editor of GMWatch, a public news and information service on agricultural genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and their associated pesticides. She is the author, with two genetic engineers, of the book GMO Myths and Truths: A Citizen’s Guide to the Safety and Efficacy of Genetically Modified Crops and Foods, currently in its 4 ^th edition, and is an author of several peer-reviewed publications on GMOs and associated pesticides.
  
• Mariano Delli Santi, Open Rights Group - Mariano supports Open Rights Group strategic litigation and political advocacy efforts, with a focus on data protection, artificial intelligence, and EU-UK regulatory divergence. He currently works on promoting privacy in the online advertising sector and in challenging the UK Government plans to break away from European data protection law. He holds a Juris Doctor in Law from the University of Milan, and an interdisciplinary Master’s Degree in IT Law from the University of Tartu.
  
• Stefan Fuhring - Head of Unit of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement in the European Commission

Tea, coffee and dessert will be served. The panel discussion will take place in English.

There is limited capacity in the room so please register for the event as soon as possible. You can also follow the discussion online, the link will be circulated after the registration has closed.

Background Info

Regulatory alignment means the degree to which UK and EU rules governing trade in goods and services will be the same or similar in future. This is particularly important post-Brexit, yet there are several areas in which the UK government has already diverged or threatens to diverge from strong EU protections.

Safeguards outlined in the Withdrawal Agreement mean that Northern Ireland will stay aligned with many EU rules on goods after the transition ends, while the 2023 Windsor Framework introduces the Stormont Brake, which will allow the to allow the UK government, at the request of 30 Members of the Legislative Assembly in Northern Ireland, to stop changes that would impact the everyday lives of communities in Northern Ireland. It remains to be seen how this will function in practice. On the other hand, the UK government will not commit to alignment for the rest of the UK. This poses some serious questions, including on the breaking of the ‘level playing field’, the complications for citizens and businesses, and the risk of creating a deregulation downward spiral in the EU.

With expert speakers from civil society, business and the Commission, this event will shed light on current deregulation trends in the UK. We will discuss the mid-term impact on the EU, how these changes are being monitored and what can be done to address regulatory divergence in the future.