The UK’s new Labour government is committed to reset relations with the European Union and has made important moves towards that in its first month. It wants a new “structured dialogue” with Brussels on security, energy and trade and hopes to leverage major geopolitical shifts at regional and world levels to do so. While Brussels welcomes this new direction of travel on Brexit after the really difficult eight years of Conservative rule it is sceptical of such grand British designs if they are not matched by detailed policy commitments.
The Labour government has a genuinely toxic inheritance from the Conservatives in this area, politically, diplomatically and technically. It has steered clear of any ambition to rejoin the EU single market or customs union even though it is willing to shadow the EU on product safety and hopes to reach a veterinary agreement on sanitary and phytosanitary food safety, both of which would ease the trade in goods.
These technical areas raise charges of betrayal from pro-Brexit media and hardliners, because they would align the UK dynamically with EU regulation and jurisdiction, without a voice or a vote in these areas. Labour’s abiding caution on Brexit puts it on the back foot in this sphere.
At this early stage in the new relationship Brussels wants to see the UK implement existing agreements before embarking on a wide yet vague new agenda. It is seeking completion of agreements on the Northern Ireland Windsor Protocol, wants progress on free legal movement by EU citizens in the UK, the Erasmus student exchange system and continuing access to fishing waters after a review in 2026. To some extent this is a holding position before the new European Commission takes over this autumn, but it also reflects the lower priority relations with the UK now holds in Brussels. British policy-makers should not underestimate this reality as they pursue their EU reset.
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British policy is stronger on its general orientation than on detailed strategy. While the desire for a restructured security dialogue matches international shifts and political and economic interests on both sides, the EU regime is based on precise treaty and legal agreements and requires they be met and adhered to.
Mutual trust may well start to be repaired as the issues now raised by the Commission are overcome, but in the medium to longer term there is much ground to be made up. Political decisions are needed on where precisely the UK wants to position itself as the EU also develops its politics and policies.
Ireland has a fundamental interest in improved UK relations with the EU. This is best pursued multilaterally through the EU as the UK clarifies its own priorities. A reset is underway, even if its final shape remains unclear.