But the cabinet minister tasked with the Brexit reset said he has learned to appreciate Slovakian red while Maros Sefcovic, the EU’s lead negotiator, “absolutely loved” his Welsh whisky.
The deal announced on 19 May gave UK defence firms the right to bid for part of a new EU fund in return for extending access to UK fishing waters. It committed the two sides for further talks on animal health and food safety rules – opening the way to the return of the EU pet passport – and to exploring closer ties on energy and carbon trading.
The Government met with EU counterparts in May as part of Starmer’s drive to reset post-Brexit relations and secure new deals with Europe (Photo: Getty)
It was said of Brexit that it wasn’t a moment but a process. The same could be true of the reset.
So Thomas-Symonds, one of Starmer’s closest allies, has the task of convincing voters that tangible benefits are coming – while thrashing out the details of a series of mini-reset deals with Brussels over the coming months and years.
Read Next
square UNIVERSITIES ExclusiveRead More
He says the deal gives Labour a great dividing line and that the Tories are in a mess about what to do about Brexit. “If the opposition parties seriously want to go into an election saying they want to undo a deal that is lowering bills, that is creating jobs, that’s giving us more tools to protect our borders, that is a political fight we relish.”
“What was in the deal was absolute clarity that there is no barrier to member states not allowing Brits to use e-gates. Now was that lack of clarity a problem? Of course, that lack of clarity was a problem. You’ve only got to ask anybody who has travelled to various member states.”
‘Be firm on our national interest’
“The prime minister tasked me with delivering this deal, and I managed to do it – supported by a great team – within 10 months. So I hope you take that as an indication of the speed at which I’ve been working, the intensity of which I’ve been working to get this done. And frankly, if you look at the comprehensive list of things that’s in that deal, I think some people would have been surprised that that could have been done within 10 months.”
“We’re going to be very firm on our national interest,” he insists. “On something like AI, where we obviously want to be a world leader in AI, and we’ve been very firm about what we want to do.”
That pragmatism, lest it be forgotten, extended to Wilson remaining neutral on the very question of whether the UK should join the EU 50 years ago.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Nick Thomas-Symonds: Labour will deliver Brexit reset benefits before next election )
Also on site :