Britain is prepared to accept more EU rules and pay Brussels for access to shared schemes, a minister hinted.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, who is leading Britain’s negotiations with the bloc ahead of a crunch summit on Monday, admitted the EU is “driving a hard bargain” in the final hours of talks.
The Government is set to host EU leaders in London next week as part of its efforts to “reset” relations after Brexit.
Mr Thomas-Symonds claimed the UK will make “pragmatic choices” as fears rise over a Brexit betrayal.
Mr Thomas-Symonds told BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: “Both sides are driving a hard bargain.
“I’ve been driven by ruthless pragmatism throughout this process in relation to standards, which you’re referring to.
“We will not compromise on our high standards. That’s exactly what we did in the US deal.
“We don’t come at this from an ideological perspective. We come from a practical perspective, where, when it is in our national interest to align on common standards, to make sure we get far easier trade, to mean that businesses that frankly have had to stop trading with the EU because of the red tape, can start trading again with the EU but also ensuring the businesses that are currently trading across the Channel but are facing all these barriers.”
BBC host Laura Kuenssberg hit back: “To do that, that will mean having to follow EU standards. It might be pragmatic, as you suggest, but that will mean having to follow more EU rules to make it happen.”
Mr Thomas-Symonds said: “It means taking a sovereign choice as to the standards, the common standards we wish to align to.
“That’s what we did in the US deal, where we wouldn’t compromise on our food standards, and it’s exactly that same pragmatic approach for jobs and growth.”
Pressed again if Labour will agree to follow EU standards, the Cabinet minister said: “It is about sovereign choices that we are making.
“We are a high standards jurisdiction. So is the EU. It’s about pragmatic choices to make sure that businesses can trade more easily and we can drive growth – good for people’s jobs, good for people’s living standards.”
Mrs Kuenssberg responded: “Will the UK contribute more money to EU schemes if we want to participate in them?”
Mr Thomas-Symonds said: “With EU schemes, we take an approach of ruthlessly assessing value for money.
“This is what is already happening at the moment.
“What we do, is we judge it on a case by case basis, is it value for money and will it deliver the jobs and growth for the British people.”
The BBC presenter then told viewers: “I know, for understandable reasons, you are being coy about exactly what you’re going to do, but it’s clear from what you’ve been saying this morning you are prepared in some circumstances to follow more EU rules and you may be prepared in some circumstances to pay into some EU schemes because you want to be pragmatic.”
And Nick Thomas-Symonds insisted any deal on a youth mobility scheme with Europe will have to be “smart and controlled” and will be “absolutely consistent” with the Government’s immigration policy.
He told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: “It’s about a smart and controlled scheme.
“As of today we have already 13 youth mobility schemes with other countries, nobody is remotely suggesting that that is freedom of movement with those countries, it absolutely isn’t.”
He added: “It will be absolutely consistent with the objective the Government set out in the Immigration White Paper last week.
“It is to reduce the level of net migration, that is the objective we set out last week.”