It is nearly a decade since the UK voted to leave the EU but Brexit is once again back on the political agenda, as Keir Starmer seeks a “reset” in relations and new terms for Britain’s trading relationship with the bloc.
“We’ve been really clear from the get-go that this is not about re-entry to the EU,” the PM told The Sun. But it’s clear he does want a softening of trade barriers. “I want to make sure that we get a better deal for people,” he said, so that “they feel better off, they get better public services”.
Pushed on the possibility that he might agree, in return, to an EU demand for a free-travel agreement for under-30s, Starmer said that “freedom of movement is a red line for us, and [we have] no plans in relation to free movement on any level, but we’re entering into discussions”.
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The EU’s negotiation “blueprint”, leaked to The Times last week, included a plan “to make the UK accepting the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ)” a prerequisite “for a better trading relationship”. Among other key concessions that EU leaders will demand are a new fishing deal and a youth mobility scheme, said the paper.
The quest for a reset is going to require Starmer “to do some politically difficult things, which will undoubtedly anger the Conservatives and Reform,” Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, told The Times. But “if it can be negotiated”, it could set up the stage for “much closer co-operation across a range of other areas, such as energy, that would be mutually beneficial”.
The leaked EU documents reveal Brussels is preparing to “drive a hard bargain” and “name a high price”, in exchange for granting the British PM improved terms on defence, security and trade, said Arj Singh, deputy political editor of the i news site.
According to the Financial Times, the EU’s “tough red lines” include “an early deal on fishing rights” and sticking firmly to a “‘no cherry-picking’ mantra”.
The UK government has repeatedly said it would not rejoin the EU’s customs union or single market, or accept free movement, but a Number 10 spokesperson on Monday refused to rule out a role for the ECJ.
Politico citied a “senior EU official” back in May as saying oversight by the Luxembourg-based court would be a “prerequisite” to any new deal.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, The Sun has labelled the proposals a “fresh Brussels plot to have Britain surrender our sovereignty once again”, and has launched its Don’t Betray Brexit campaign to stop a “stealth attempt” to “bring Britain back into the EU fold forever”.
Leavers may declare the Brexit debate forever closed, said Polly Toynbee in The Guardian, but the new set of EU trade regulations that came into effect this month are “hammering Britain’s smaller exporters” and “proof that it isn’t over, but forever adding to our economic woes”.
Labour has made the right noises about wanting to move towards greater EU alignment on trade “but sticking points stay stuck”. Fishing rights will be an “early issue, emotive on both sides of the Channel”.
What next?
The EU negotiating proposals are due to be presented to a council of European ministers this week, ahead of the formal negotiations with the UK, which are set to begin next year. The proposals are essentially “a wish list” before EU national governments agree to “give Brussels a mandate to actually start formal talks with London”, reported Politico. Brussels certainly seems “unwilling to start talks with Starmer before these ground rules are agreed upon”.
And the road ahead does not look easy for the UK. Starmer’s recent attempts at “courting European leaders” suffered a “blow” this week, said The Independent, when the European Commission decided to take Britain to court over its alleged failure to comply with EU law on freedom of movement after Brexit.
This could be a sign of the mood in Brussels. While there may be some willingness to favour attempts to bring the UK closer to the EU on trade and security, most of the EU is content with the current status quo, according to the i news site.
“Many key countries are quite happy with how Brexit is going,” one diplomat told the site. “So it is on the UK to tell us: what’s the incentive?”
