Pan-European

And his company – EP Group – intends to build a pan-European conglomerate built on three pillars: energy, retail and logistics.

The other part is about removing the restrictions in the constitution on borrowing that could, in theory, free up unlimited billions of euros for defence spending, both for Germany's armed forces and for a pan-European defence fund.

After Brexit took effect, the UK also initially stopped paying into the Horizon scheme, which funds pan-European scientific research.

Speaking to the BBC in Davos, Reynolds said that both ideas floated by Sefcovic - a fully fledged veterinary agreement with dynamic alignment - and a pan-European customs plan did not break the government's red lines.

His comments come after EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic told the BBC a new agreement, including so-called dynamic alignment on standards, is possible alongside other areas of pan-European co-operation on customs.