It’s not just this week’s announcement of an UK-EU summit in May indicating that things have turned serious.
This week, The i Paper revealed Cabinet tensions over the EU’s demand for a youth mobility scheme.
But both EU and UK sources believe this is far from a settled position in Brussels, and actually reveals splits between member states, which could play to the Prime Minister’s advantage as he looks for early wins in his reset.
Starmer this week revealed at a dinner with EU leaders the UK’s desire for “industrial collaboration” on defence which would see British firms granted access to European procurement.
Business asked to back a deal
Business leaders have also been asked to take to the airwaves to make the case for the reset, and particularly aligning with EU law to boost trade, as the Government attempts to get ahead of any Brexiteer backlash, according to one industry insider.
Despite the pace and new found confidence in Westminster, there remain hurdles.
Gozi who is an MEP in France and is regarded as an ally of Emmanuel Macron – is openly backing a “package” approach to negotiations, telling The i Paper the UK must show “concrete will” on fishing rights if it wants a deal on defence and security.
The UK needs to show “concrete will to finish the job we have started” with the current deal giving the EU rights to fish in British waters running out in 2026.
This is not an approach that has universal approval among EU member states, however.
Germany and Poland put defence first
But other nations such as Germany and Poland, which holds the rotating EU presidency, want a “two-tier” approach with a defence and security deal agreed regardless of talks on other issues because it is viewed as vital at a time of deep global instability, a European diplomatic source said.
“We have been discussing bits and pieces and a general attitude, I think there are different approaches between different member states.
They said that those who favour the two-tier approach acknowledge the need for a fishing deal, but suggested this should be packaged with trade, rather than defence and security. “because how else can you negotiate if there’s not give and take on both sides”.
UK wants quotas on any youth mobility scheme
As reported by The i Paper this week, some ministers are beginning to make the case for a compromise in this area, but the thinking in Government is that any scheme must not be uncapped – as demanded by the EU – and should instead be subject to quotas on the number of Europeans who can come to the UK every year.
As the reset process accelerates, UK sources have also sought to tackle EU criticism that the Government has been slow to set out what it wants. They argue that it was important for different departments to work through policy issues – for example Defra on a deal to ease food trade or the Ministry of Defence on security – before Starmer and Thomas-Symonds can put forward concrete positions.
The announcement of the summit on 19 May is now expected to lead to a flurry of talks on the various issues, with Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen no doubt keen to have something to show for their much-vaunted reset.
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