EU may be open to improving trade relations with Britain after Brexit as German finance minister says: ‘Call us!’

• Christian Lindner told BBC News that UK has a ‘standing invitation’ for talks
• He said: ‘If you want to intensify your trade relationship with the EU – call us!’ 

A top German politician has indicated that the EU might be open to looking again at post-Brexit trading relations with the UK, telling politicians to ‘call us’.

German finance minister Christian Lindner told BBC News that the UK has a ‘standing invitation’ on any future talks on reducing trade barriers or ‘obstacles in daily business life’.

‘If you want to intensify your trade relationship with the EU – call us!’

He told the broadcaster: ‘In the daily life of German corporates, there are new obstacles since Brexit… I don’t think (the) United Kingdom is benefiting from Brexit.

‘We really appreciate the United Kingdom and its values, its people… and I would really, really appreciate it if we can intensify (the trading relationship) again,’ he said.

The comments come after Rishi Sunak‘s deal with the EU on post-Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland, the Windsor Framework, appeared to usher in better relations between Brussels and London.

In February, the Windsor Framework was announced by Mr Sunak and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, with the Prime Minister claiming that the agreement ‘removes any sense of a border in the Irish Sea’.

The Prime Minister set out a wider array of planned changes and reforms, covering trade, VAT regulation and the role of Stormont in EU laws that apply to Northern Ireland.

At the core of the deal is the creation of a new system for the flow of goods.

The UK will also return to the European Union (EU)’s £85billion Horizon research programme, in another sign of improved ties.

Both Labour and the Conservatives remained committed to keeping the UK out of the EU’s single market, but Sir Keir Starmer’s party has been clear that it wants a better trade deal with the bloc.