Labour was accused of trying to “take Britain backwards into the slow growth EU” as the Chancellor meets EU finance chiefs today.
Rachel Reeves will be the first Chancellor to attend the Eurogroup meeting of EU finance ministers since Brexit as the Government continues its “reset” with the bloc.
She is expected to say that the UK and the EU should aim to have a “businesslike” relationship going forward at the gathering in Brussels.
But shadow business and trade secretary Andrew Griffith said: “The Chancellor should be spending all her energy working out how to reverse her devastating budget measures that have crashed confidence and will see fewer jobs, lower salaries, and higher taxes.
“If she is interested in growth, she should tell the Prime Minister to jump on a plane to the US and talk to Trump about getting a US-UK trade deal done, not trying to take Britain backwards into the slow growth EU.”
Reform MP Rupert Lowe added: “It’s becoming clearer by the day that this so-called ‘reset’ is nothing more than a ploy to drag us closer to the EU.
“Labour is still filled with europhiles who would love nothing more than to see us back in the European Union.
“Rachel Reeves needs to respect the decision taken by the British people in 2016 and focus on growing the British economy, not dragging us ever closer the EU.”
The Chancellor’s speech will focus on tackling shared challenges like the war in Ukraine, championing free trade and strengthening economic partnerships.
She will claim that “division and chaos defined the last government’s approach to Europe”, adding: “It will not define ours.”
Ms Reeves will say: “We want a relationship built on trust, mutual respect, and pragmatism.
“A mature, businesslike relationship where we can put behind us the low ambitions of the past and move forward, focused instead on all that we have in common.
“And all that we might achieve together to keep our countries safe, secure and prosperous.”
She will add that a closer economic relationship between the UK and the EU is “not a zero-sum game”.
Ms Reeves will say: “It’s about improving both our growth prospects.
“The reset in relations is about doing what is the best interests of our shared economies and those that depend on it.
“That means breaking down barriers to trade, creating opportunities to invest and helping our businesses sell in each other’s markets.
“That’s why I’m here today; that’s what our reset seeks to achieve.”
It comes as Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to “reset” the UK’s post-Brexit relationship with the EU.
But the Prime Minister, who backed Remain and a second referendum, has insisted he will not seek to return to the single market or customs union.
