By Alimat Aliyeva

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has been presented with a
proposal to extend the UK’s nuclear deterrent across Europe in
exchange for Britain rejoining the EU Single Market for goods, The
Telegraph reported on Sunday.

The proposal was put forward by former Conservative MP Nick
Boles, who has called for the creation of a “European
Confederation” linking the EU’s free trade arrangements with NATO’s
defence commitments, according to Anadolu.

Under the plan, Britain would commit to spending 3.5% of its
gross domestic product on defence and extend its nuclear umbrella
to European countries not currently covered by the UK’s Trident
nuclear deterrent.

Ukraine, Switzerland, Norway and countries in the Western
Balkans would also be invited to participate in the proposed
framework, according to The Telegraph.

In return, Britain would be offered access to the EU Single
Market for goods without being required to accept freedom of
movement or join the eurozone.

Boles argued that Europe needed a new approach to security
cooperation amid uncertainty over the future of US commitments to
European defence.

“If we’re trying to do a bilateral negotiation in which we try
to persuade the EU to have us have access to the single market for
goods, we will fail,” Boles told The Telegraph.

He said a broader proposal addressing European security
concerns, including the war in Ukraine, could make a UK-EU
agreement more attractive to Brussels.

“We can explain this isn’t just a selfish British deal, it’s a
deal you can use to solve other problems yourselves,” he said.

The proposal comes after The Telegraph reported that former
Prime Minister Keir Starmer had approached the EU over granting
Britain access to the Single Market for goods.

According to the newspaper, Brussels rejected the proposal,
arguing that the bloc was unwilling to offer Britain special
treatment while the UK remained outside the EU.

Separately, a UK government source told The Telegraph that
officials were developing proposals aimed at deepening cooperation
between Britain and the EU.

The proposals are expected to be discussed later this year,
according to the report.