The meeting in London on Monday between UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the EU's top officials was planned to bring the first results from London’s much-vaunted “reset“ in ties.
But old habits die hard and the two sides are squabbling to the last over long-standing bugbears that threaten to stall the rapprochement.
Other sticking points include an EU push for a scheme allowing young people to move more easily between the two sides that London fears threatens its red line on returning to free movement.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and Starmer could look to give the talks a final shove over the finishing line at a summit of European leaders in Albania on Friday.
If they can overcome the last hurdles, then the “security and defence partnership” to be signed would be the highlight of the London sit-down.
That should mean more regular security talks, Britain considering joining EU military missions and the potential for London to fully tap into a 150-billion-euro ($167-billion) defence fund being set up by the bloc.
“It’s a framework for more cooperation,“ another EU diplomat said.
Those bonds have only tightened as Trump has rattled Europe by pushing for a quick end to the war in Ukraine.
A UK government official speaking on condition of anonymity said the defence pact is expected to be agreed.
“Inevitably there are things that are agreed for this summit, there will be things we agree to carry on discussing, and things we don’t get over the line at all,“ they said.
One sets out a shared vision on global issues and another lists the thorny subjects both sides hope to make progress on in the coming months.
London and Brussels are treading carefully as closer cooperation with the EU remains a politically divisive issue for Starmer who faces a growing challenge from diehard anti-EU Reform UK.
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