Hopes are growing that the UK-EU relationship is set to improve and deepen ahead of a pivotal summit next month.
The aim of the London gathering of British and European leaders 19 May is to “reset” the post-Brexit relationship, and it has been widely reported that a new defence pact could be announced.
UK prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, met the European Commission (EC) president Ursula von der Leyen in London last week, in Downing Street, for what have been described as “long and productive” talks.
“Discussing the ongoing negotiations to strengthen the UK-EU partnership, they both agreed that good progress had been made,” a UK government official told the Independent.
“They asked their teams to continue their important work in the coming weeks, with the aim of delivering as ambitious a package as possible at the first UK-EU summit next month.”
Movement on mobility
UK concessions on youth mobility and fisheries have been asks from the EU throughout the talks.
The Guardian reported on Friday that there has been some movement on the former, with the EU indicating that it would be willing to limit the time period for any mobility scheme allowing 18-to-30 year old Europeans to work in Britain, and Brits in the EU, to 12 months.
Quotas and sector restrictions – including a possible “one in, one out” model – were also discussed.
Groundwork
In return for movement on mobility, the UK could be added to the Security Action for Europe (Safe) programme, which allows member countries to co-operate on defence procurement.
Germany’s ambassador to the UK, Miguel Berger, also said that he hopes any agreements on defence and mobility could lay the ground for renegotiating the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).
A review of the TCA is due in 2026.
“It’s very important that the review of the TCA that comes next year is a process that is politically connected,” Berger is quoted as saying by the FT, adding that the summit in May would be a “starting point” for negotiations on trade.
However, British efforts to open access to the EU’s single market will be rejected, with France rejecting a proposed mutual recognition agreement on product standards, according to another FT report.
“It’s not going to happen,” an EU diplomat said. “Switzerland has this, but they pay into the EU budget and accept free movement.”
It is expected that discussions on trade will intensify after the summit in the autumn.
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