Brussels – Defence, energy, trade, fisheries, migration, young people. At the first summit between ‘an independent Britain and its allies in Europe’ – as Labour leader Keir Starmer described it – held today (19 May) in the City, Brussels and London are picking up the intricate fabric of EU-UK relations and mending some of the traumatic rifts inflicted by Brexit.
The rapprochement can only result from the major crises of recent times. It therefore starts with London’s participation in SAFE, the new EU instrument for financing the defence industry of Member States, and continues with greater integration of the UK into the single market in response to trade threats from across the Atlantic. Ursula von der Leyen, Antonio Costa and Kaja Kallas, all three present at the summit—accompanied by European Commissioner for Trade Maroš Šefčovič—return home with ‘three concrete results’: a joint declaration, a partnership for security and defence, and a joint understanding between the European Commission and the United Kingdom.
“These agreements reflect our common commitments,” said European Council President Costa during the joint press conference with von der Leyen and Starmer. Addressing the British Prime Minister, he added: “We are close, allies, partners, and we are friends.” The President of the European Commission echoed this sentiment, describing the two sides of the Channel as ‘historic and natural partners.’ Starmer was more cautious, as he has to answer to those who, nine years ago, chose to cut the umbilical cord with Brussels, saying that today’s agreement was reached ‘in the national interest’ and ‘in the same spirit in which we have reached agreements with the United States and India.’
According to Starmer, these agreements – the free trade deal with New Delhi and the tariff agreement with Washington – have allowed London to approach the summit with the EU ‘from a position of strength’. And so, less than a decade after Brexit, London has secured ‘unprecedented access’ to the single market, ‘the best of any country outside the EU’. In an attempt to convince the most sceptical, Starmer rattled off a list of the advantages of the rapprochement: the reopening of the single market across the Channel ‘will boost British exports’, the defence partnership ‘will offer new opportunities for industry’, while cooperation on emissions trading ‘will save British businesses £800 million in European carbon taxes.’
All this, the Prime Minister assured, without crossing the red line set out in the manifesto with which he entered Downing Street: “No return to the single market or the customs union, no return to freedom of movement.” Brussels, on the other hand, emphasised the importance of extending full mutual access to fishing waters for twelve years, until 30 June 2038. It also highlighted the chapter on energy, which paves the way for the UK’s participation in the EU electricity market: “This is positive for the stability of energy flows, for our common energy security and for lowering prices,” explained von der Leyen.
As regards access to SAFE, the €150 billion defence fund, London will initially have the option of participating in joint procurement. Then, through ‘further bilateral agreements’, the idea is that British companies will also be eligible for the programme. That is, provided that this instrument is approved as it stands by the EU Council, where it is still under discussion.
Then there is the issue of mobility, young people and Erasmus: among the innocent and indiscriminate ‘victims’ of Brexit on both sides of the Channel are undoubtedly the hundreds of thousands of British and European students and young workers who have lost opportunities for training and growth as a result of the UK’s departure from the EU. “I remember when I was a student here in London,” emphasised von der Leyen, who said she was “very pleased” with the agreement, still to be finalised, for the UK’s association with the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme. The “specific conditions, including financial ones,” should “ensure a fair balance in terms of contributions and benefits for the United Kingdom.” Also on the table is a programme of experiences for young people, to be established with a temporary visa scheme, to facilitate participation in ‘various activities, such as work, study, au pair placements, volunteering or simply travel.’
Today’s acceleration in the rapprochement between the United Kingdom and the European Union is remarkable. As BusinessEurope Director General Markus J. Beyrer stated, “it has given momentum to our fundamental economic partnership, but now concrete progress must be made to facilitate trade in goods and services.” According to Sandro Gozi, Liberal MEP and chair of the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Delegation, “for this breakthrough to be credible, we need to rebuild real trust, which translates into solid agreements on defence, security, energy and fisheries’ and even more so ‘on youth mobility, digital cooperation, artificial intelligence and research.”
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
