Downing Street has left the door open to the UK joining an EU trading scheme as part of government plans to "reset" ties with Europe and boost economic growth.

The EU's new trade chief Maros Sefcovic, who led post-Brexit negotiations for the bloc, said last week he would consider letting Britain join the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention, which allows for tariff-free trade of goods across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

What did the commentators say?
"It's easy to see why a self-professed growth-obsessed government might seek to be closer to the EU," said Anand Menon and Joël Reland from Changing Europe in The Observer. "It's less clear why it's seeking what it is, or whether achieving any of it will be easy."

While the Labour government has ruled out rejoining the EU single market or customs union, it wants to improve what it has called Boris Johnson's "botched Brexit deal", and believes the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention could offer a straightforward way to do this without crossing so-called red lines. Boxed in by pre-election commitments aimed at winning over Eurosceptic voters, "all that's left is tinkering around the margins of the existing deal". And with the EU "far happier than the UK with the status quo", the bloc holds the upper hand in negotiations.

The problem is that a lot has changed since that deal was agreed. Five years on, it is "clear" that Brexit has "imposed costs, particularly on goods exports, without any large offsetting benefits", said The Economist. At the same time, the "geopolitical situation has deteriorated", with Russia's war in Ukraine, the rising influence of China and the return of Donald Trump as president all making "striking out alone in Europe less appealing".

There is "bafflement" in Brussels "that the UK is not being more ambitious on trade", said The i Paper. But the offer to join the PEM is "very much under consideration in Whitehall, where officials see no downside to entering the scheme".

What next?
Keir Starmer "will get 'Brexit 2.0' done", with "the suggestion of more to follow" in Labour's 2028-29 manifesto, said The Independent. But this much-vaunted "reset" may end up being "messy and fail to satisfy anyone – disappointing to the rejoiners and infuriating the Brexiteers".

It once seemed that "much like the British Empire, the sun would never set on WH Smith", said Alexander Larman in The Spectator. But the skies are looking dark. With the retailer seeking to sell off its portfolio of 500 UK high-street stores, a brand that has existed for more than 230 years may follow Debenhams and Woolworths and disappear from our streets.

WH Smith plans to retain only its "travel-retail" presence in airports, train stations and hospitals, the part of its business that makes up more than 85% of its profit.

'Shift online'
At the height of its popularity in the 1960s, "half the British population purchased their newspapers from WH Smith", said the Daily Mail. By the 1970s, it had become the "ultimate stationery destination", famous for "sleek interiors" and "state-of-the-art listening pods" where you could listen to vinyl records before buying them.

Sold by the original Smith family in the 1980s, the company went "from strength to strength", cementing its reputation as a "heavyweight in retail", and a "quintessentially British" one to boot. Yet while the chain appeared, against all odds, to have "survived the high-street cull", said The i Paper, complaints of "poor value for money" and the increasing "shift from people shopping in-store to online" help to explain "what went wrong".

'Metaphorical trip to Dignitas'
The unloved state of the chain's stores may have also played a part. In a recent Which? survey, WH Smith got the lowest ranking for customer experience in a high-street shop – the "ninth year in a row" it ranked in the "bottom two spots", said The i Paper. 

Time spent in any of the brand's high-street branches is now a "regrettable experience", said Larman in The Spectator. With innovation sparse and attempts at expansion unsuccessful, the stores are clearly "in need of a metaphorical trip to Dignitas".

WH Smith has confirmed that talks are in progress over the sale of its high-street stores but said there was "no certainty any agreement will be reached", leaving the jobs of 5,000 store staff hanging in the balance.

Foodies are thinking outside the box when it comes to inventive toast toppings. A "new generation of bakers" are elevating the "humble slice" to another level with a slew of "upmarket spreads", said Grace Cook in the Financial Times.

Among the highlights are Pollen Bakery's wildly popular Croissant Butter – an "indulgent" mix of caramelised pastry pieces with toasted white chocolate that sells out "within minutes" – and the nut-based brand Mada Mada's delicious Black Sesame Praliné. Both spreads are "disgustingly more-ish".

Other options include a coffee spread created by Swiss hikers Alexander Häberlin and Philippe Greinacher after they got "fed up with carrying bulky coffee-making equipment" on their outdoor expeditions, said Jonathan Wells in The Telegraph. "It may not look wholly appetising, but this dark paste could be the future of coffee." The "thick, glossy" mixture – which comes in a tube and is similar in appearance to Marmite – is a blend of ground coffee, coffee extract, sugar, water and naturally fermented xanthan gum.

So what does the No Normal Coffee paste taste like? "On toast, it's strong." The paste is "almost yeasty, like a dark, thick soy sauce", with notes of "bitter dark chocolate". That isn't to say it's "unpleasant" but it is rather strong, so "only the thinnest coating is required". Or if you aren't ready to brave it on toast, a teaspoon can be dissolved in boiling water to make your morning brew, as a "more authentic" alternative to instant coffee.

Goodbye to the lost children of Gaza. You were loved, you are remembered, you did not deserve it
Nesrine Malik in The Guardian
When the "final tally" of the war in Gaza "becomes clear", writes Nesrine Malik, "what will probably emerge is a colossal death toll of children". No one is "more innocent than a child", and such deaths are "the most unassailable proof of the injustice of this war". Before we "hurtle to the next stage of Gaza's calamity", we should "open ourselves up to the fullness of the little lives that were snatched away".

We boomers have more than paid our dues – so stop whining
Stefano Hatfield in The i Paper
The "cultural obsession" with "intergenerational wealth transfers" has again "raised its ugly head", writes Stefano Hatfield, as Gen X, millennials and Gen Z claim boomers have "hoarded wealth and profit at the expense of the young". But "let's get something straight". We boomers have "paid our dues" and society "must stop" expecting us to "solve problems that are bigger than ourselves". "It's time to stop asking the same tired questions" and "start thinking bigger".

I got an abscess on my spine – and now I could spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair. Here's why I badly regret having mocked the Worried Well…
Julie Burchill in The Mail on Sunday
After recently undergoing surgery, writes Julie Burchill, I was told that damage to my spine made it "highly likely" I would never walk again. I now "wish I hadn't been so proud about being (I thought) healthy as a horse", mocking the "Worried Well", and refusing to seek help until I was "crawling rather than walking". At least I've still "got my brain, my sense of humour, my shamelessness" – and for that, I'm "extremely lucky".