Sir Keir Starmer is expected to unveil an agreement with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen during a UK-EU summit taking place in London on 19 May.
Pedro Serrano, the EU’s ambassador to London, said this week: “The summit will be the culmination of enhanced contacts at the highest levels since the July 2024 elections. Intense work is underway to ensure a significant outcome covering areas from security and defence, to growth and prosperity.”
Queues at European airports, particularly holiday hotspots, are often much longer than they were before Brexit (Photo: Phil Noble/Reuters)
While economists tend to argue that Brexit has squeezed economic growth, for most individuals in the UK, the most obvious impact of being outside the EU has been longer queues for passport checks.
And the queues at European airports, particularly holiday hotspots, are often much longer than they were before Brexit because of the need to stamp all British citizens’ passports and sometimes fewer staff being assigned to process non-EU nationals.
The Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) has called for “the removal of electronic travel schemes for UK and EU citizens travelling for short periods and touristic purposes” – but this is not on the agenda in the current negotiations.
People queue at the Gare du Nord after Eurostar trains were delayed by a British e-gate failure in Paris, France, May 30, 2024. (Reuters/Kevin Coombs)There is also no realistic prospect of mobile phone operators being compelled to axe the roaming charges that they now apply to British customers using their devices in the EU – the previous ban was a provision of the European single market, which the Government has firmly ruled out rejoining.
“While there may be less the Government can do about passport rules, a common-sense deal with the EU at this month’s summit which includes deeper alignment and a youth mobility scheme, backed by two thirds of British voters, can meaningfully address other issues made worse by Brexit including rising food costs, soaring childcare bills and medicine shortages.”
Schoolchildren and musicians in trouble
Abta said: “Since the UK left the EU it has become notably harder for school and youth groups to travel, with the introduction of restrictions on ID cards, the phasing out of collective passports (outbound), and removal of the List of Travellers regime, which allowed young people who would ordinarily require a visa to travel visa-free as part of an organised school group.”
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Brussels has reportedly rejected the idea of loosening the rules on musicians and other artists as part of the ongoing negotiations.
Tougher rules on companies exporting to or importing from the EU have affected businesses, with small firms complaining they are worst hit because they have less experience following cross-border regulations and filling in customs forms.
The Conservatives tried to tackle this issue when they were in government but found that the EU had taken “a precautionary approach to everything”, a source said – rather than trying to minimise the checks.
Dhoot warned, however, that this would only be a partial solution, while Anand Menon said that the increased red tape remained a burden on firms operating across borders even when they were able to continue trading: “The time and trouble to do stuff, even if you end up being able to do it, that is what businesses have to live with after day.”
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But polling experts say that voters have become increasingly supportive of closer ties to the continent in recent years, as Brexit has dropped out of the list of top priorities which is now firmly dominated by the economy, the NHS and immigration.
A Government spokesman said: “The UK and the EU share a common set of challenges and this Government has been clear that it is in our national interest to strengthen our relationship. We will not offer a running commentary on negotiations.”
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