Starmer seeks to reset relations with Europe..
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Stammer’s argument is that British does not ultimately have to choose between the EU and the US that it is not a binary situation and the country can pursue closer ties with both.
The trouble is that Donald Trump, the US president-elect, does not appear to look at it in the same way. During the US election, he described the EU as a ” mini China” and his allies derided it as ” socialist”.
Given his pledge to impose tariffs on imports to the US, there is a real risk the UK could find itself on the wrong side of a trade war.
However, Starmer is aware of the EU’s importance as the UK’S largest trading partner. Even after Brexit the EU remains important to the UK for goods and services, and Starmer’s hopes of growth are pinned to reducing friction with continental Europe.
The prime minister has said he wants to reset relations with Europe and pursue closer trading ties. On Monday, in a sign of thawing relations, Rachel Reeves will become the first UK chancellor of the exchequer to attend a meeting of EU finance ministers since Brexit. Then in January Starmer is expected to head to Belgium for talks on security.
His aims in his reset are threefold. On the economic front, he want to negotiate a new deal that would eliminate the need for checks of food and agricultural produce crossing the channel.
A report yesterday found that the export of British food to the EU has dropped by nearly £3 billion a year since Brexit as checks at the border make it more difficult to do business. The second aim is security. Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal did not include any mechanism for co-operation on issues such as sanctions, coordinated defense procurement and capabilities. Since then the war in Ukraine has made the need for structured consultation more pressing, with both sides keen to create a formal agreement that could lead to Starmer and British ministers being routinely invited to high-level meetings in Brussels.
The third is more nebulous. Starmer wants to open the door to informal co-operation with Brussels across areas including financial services, migration and emerging technologies. The government wants to try to ensure the UK’S perspective holds weight in Brussels beyond the limited formal engagement within the current trade and co-operation deal.
However, it is a balancing act and the EU has its own “offensive asks” of the UK including access for young Europeans to live and work in Britain.
If Trump pushes ahead with tariffs on imports to the US, it could put Starmer in a politically difficult situation as he pursues closer ties with the EU.-The Times (5th December)
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Ranjana Senanayake
