Context
As discussed in a previous SPICe blog, the UK-EU summit which took place in May 2025 led to three agreements, one of which was the Common Understanding on a renewed agenda for European Union – United Kingdom cooperation. As the blog highlighted, the proposals for developing the relationship were by and large commitments without detail with negotiations required to fill in the specific arrangements which will implement the principles set out.
This blog looks at how those negotiations to implement some of the conclusions reached in the Common Understanding are progressing. It focuses on the proposals for emissions trading (ETS) and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures. The negotiations in relation to ETS and SPS will take place within the context of the recent news about negotiations on UK participation in the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) fund breaking down.
This blog has been produced to inform MSPs about UK-EU negotiations where the topics under discussion fall within devolved policy areas. SPICe has published a separate blog examining progress on the proposals for a youth experience scheme.
What did the Common Understanding say about ETS and SPS?
For both the ETS and the SPS commitments, the UK and the EU agreed to link their schemes together, with the UK required to dynamically align with EU laws in both the SPS and ETS areas. It is the content of these two schemes which may be of particular interest to MSPs, hence the focus on these in this blog.
What’s happened since?
On 16 July 2025, the European Commission published a recommendation to the Council of the European Union that it open negotiations with the UK Government on a common sanitary and phytosanitary area and to link emissions trading systems.
On an SPS area, the recommendation states:
“A common sanitary and phytosanitary area between the Union and the United Kingdom would facilitate trade in products subject to sanitary and phytosanitary or other relevant rules mentioned above. It would result in the vast majority of movements of animals, animal products, plants, and plant products between Great Britain and the Union being undertaken without the certificates or controls that are currently required or expected. It would have to ensure that it does not compromise the Union’s internal market or its comprehensive approach to sanitary and phytosanitary risks as well as food standards. The agreement would thereby have to ensure a high level of protection against sanitary and phytosanitary risks as well as appropriate consumer protection in the Union and the United Kingdom.”
On ETS linkage, the recommendation states:
“Linking the United Kingdom and the Union’s greenhouse gas emissions trading systems would serve both parties’ sustainability objectives. It would advance the level playing field between the Union and the United Kingdom and reduce the risk of carbon leakage. It would furthermore increase certainty in carbon price formation, increase liquidity of the carbon markets, and remove the need for the application of the respective parties’ carbon border adjustment mechanisms to products originating in the other party.”
The recommendation sets out that the building blocks for both an SPS and ETS agreement are provided for in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement which provides the basis for the UK-EU current relationship.
On the specifics of new agreements, the recommendation reiterates the content of the Common Understanding including:
- Guarantee dynamic alignment with all the relevant European Union rules,
- a dispute resolution mechanism with an independent arbitration tribunal based on the Trade and Cooperation Agreement with a role for the Court of Justice of the European Union as the ultimate authority for all questions of EU law,
The recommendation also highlights that concluding SPS and ETS agreements would be consistent with other EU policies – such as contributing to ensuring a level playing field between the EU and the UK. A level playing field means a set of common rules and standards that are used primarily to prevent businesses in one country undercutting their rivals in other countries, in areas such as workers’ rights and environmental protections.
The Commission’s recommendation is that negotiations open for two agreements, one on SPS and one linking the ETS of the EU and the UK, with the Commission appointed as lead negotiator for the EU.
On 13 November 2025, the Council of the European Union authorised the opening of negotiations with the UK. Once negotiations are finalised, the agreements will have to be endorsed by the Council before they can enter into force in the EU.
The UK Government’s Explanatory Memorandum
Following publication of the European Commission recommendation, the UK Government published its Explanatory Memorandum setting out its position on the Commission document.
In a speech on the UK’s Future Relationship with the European Union in August 2025, the UK Minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations, Nick Thomas Symonds set out how the Government believes an SPS agreement will benefit the UK:
“we will enter into a food and drink deal as outlined in the Common Understanding signed in May.
It means aligning standards on food and agriculture when, and where, it’s in the interests of British businesses.
And it means shared rules.”
The Minister added that:
“most British exporters already align de facto with EU standards to keep selling their goods.
The question is not whether alignment is inherently wrong.
It’s whether, as a sovereign country, we decide where it works for us.
This government thinks that in some cases, like SPS, it is in our national interest to align with the EU. We have made that choice because it is pragmatic, and we own it.”
On the process for negotiating and then implementing an agreement with the EU, Nick Thomas Symonds said that negotiations were likely to begin in the autumn with legislation likely to be brought before the UK Parliament to implement the deal. He added that the aim was to get an SPS deal in place by 2027 “so businesses and consumers see the tangible impacts as soon as possible”.
Speaking to the College of Europe a month later, Nick Thomas Symonds provided more information on the Government’s reasoning for seeking to links the UK and EU ETS’ and the consequent need for alignment of standards in this area:
“It will help create a more energy resilient continent.
By linking the UK and the European energy and carbon markets, we can lower prices for industries and households, making us more resilient to price shocks.”
In both the speeches highlighted above, Nick Thomas Symonds set out the UK Government’s belief that the UK’s sovereignty allows it to make agreements with the EU which involve alignment of standards where it is in the UK’s interests, such as for SPS and ETS agreements.
Nick Thomas Symonds provided further detail on the timing of negotiations in a letter to the Chair of the House of Lords European Affairs Committee on 27 October 2025. The Minister told Lord Ricketts:
“Regarding the timeline for negotiations for ETS and SPS, we expect talks to begin in the autumn of this year (once the Commission’s mandate has been agreed by the European Council), with an aim to conclude both as soon as possible.”
Is there a role for the Scottish Government?
The role of the Devolved Governments in the negotiations or implementation of an agreement is not clear. Whilst the issues being negotiated include devolved policy areas, the negotiation of international agreements is reserved to the UK Government.
The most recent meeting of the Interministerial Group on UK-EU Relations took place on 23 September 2025. The meeting was chaired by Nick Thomas-Symonds MP whilst the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, Angus Robertson MSP attended.
The communique indicated that discussions included the outcomes of the UK-EU summit on 19 May and the progress of UK-EU negotiations. However, no further details were provided.
In its response to the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee Inquiry into ‘Transparency of Intergovernmental activity and its implications for parliamentary scrutiny’, the Scottish Government included an update on the UK-EU negotiations. The response stated:
“There will be a high degree of responsibility on the UK Government to include devolved governments in the negotiation process and to share information as promptly as possible. The Concordat on International Relations, agreed by the UK and devolved governments, states that the governments will co-operate on the formulation of UK policy and conduct of international negotiations. The extent to which future legislation and the implementation of policies under negotiation will sit within devolved responsibilities strengthens the need for close cooperation. Given the very significant degree of activity across policy areas, there will be an ongoing need for the SG to monitor activity to ensure that devolved interests are incorporated into the UK Government’s negotiating position and the practical planning for legislation.
At a ministerial level, we maintain a four-nations dialogue with UK, Wales, and Northern Ireland lead ministers through the Intergovernmental Ministerial Group in UK-EU relations. The Group last met in Edinburgh shortly before the summit and had a first post-summit meeting on 23 September to discuss the negotiations process. Bilateral engagement also takes place with Mr Nick Thomas-Symonds as Minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations. Both group and bilateral engagements have been an opportunity to raise concerns about the UK Government’s approach to Intergovernmental relations given the high degree of devolved input required to the negotiations.”
The Scottish Government also indicated its expectation that an agreement will require primary legislation to implement, and that this legislation will involve devolved competence which will trigger the Scottish Parliament’s legislative consent process.
On 10 November 2025, the Scottish Government published a position paper setting out its priorities for UK-EU negotiations. In the paper, the Scottish Government highlighted the outcomes for an SPS agreement and linking of ETS as positive outcomes from the May 2025 summit. On an SPS agreement, the position paper states:
“It is important that the details of the agreement reflect the interests of Scotland’s farmers and food and drink producers. This should include recognising the distinctive Scottish context in relation to areas like innovation, and also taking account of the variability of climatic conditions and risks from climate change as well as the economic conditions which producers face. We also wish to see re-establishment of trade in seed potatoes with the EU that was halted by Brexit.”
Whilst on ETS linkage the Scottish Government highlighted an imminent deadline in relation to the introduction of the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Model:
“Linking should also enable mutual exemptions for UK and EU exporters from the EU and UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms (CBAMs) respectively, and thus avoid unnecessary trade barriers for Scottish businesses. It is important that the UK Government acts with urgency to secure these exemptions by January 2026, when the EU CBAM is due to be fully implemented. If exemptions are not granted in time, mitigations must be put in place to help ease the administrative and financial burden to ensure Scottish business and trade activities are not exposed to avoidable costs and disruption.”
How might the Scottish Parliament scrutinise this work?
Because elements of the UK-EU negotiations relate to devolved matters, as the negotiations progress, it will be important that the Scottish Parliament continues to scrutinise the Scottish Government’s involvement in the negotiations and considers the implications for the Parliament of any agreement and how it is then implemented.
The Scottish Government position paper setting out its priorities for the negotiations highlighted the need for processes and procedures around the development of ETS linkage and an SPS framework including in the decision-shaping fora to respect devolved competence. On implementation of any agreement, the Scottish Government wrote:
“We also underline that implementation of agreements must respect devolved responsibilities of the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament under the devolution settlement. Legislation to enable the agreements into effect should have appropriate powers for Scottish Ministers in devolved areas, and safeguards for the Scottish Parliament – for example, statutory consent requirements when GB or UK wide action is proposed.”
The Scottish Parliament may need to consider an LCM on any bill to implement an agreement between the UK and the EU. In addition, because both ETS linkage and an SPS agreement would require the UK to dynamically align with EU law, it will also be important that the Scottish Parliament is able to effectively scrutinise any ongoing legislation in devolved policy areas which will be necessary to ensure that continued alignment is achieved.
Iain McIver, SPICe Research