MPs say Starmer’s UK-EU reset lacks ‘direction, definition and drive’ | Brexit
Keir Starmer’s efforts to reset Britain’s relationship with the EU lack “direction, definition and impetus”, parliament’s foreign affairs committee has said.
A report based on months of expert witness evidence found that the summit between the UK and the EU at Lancaster House last May “significantly improved the overall political relationship” after years of pressure from the Conservatives in Brussels.
However, it concluded that the UK “lacks clear strategic priorities”, leading to “the appearance of making more concrete progress than the UK towards the EU’s most pressing demands”.
Labor MP and committee chair Emily Thornberry said: “Sadly, despite progress in some areas, we have seen the government’s reset weaken, suffering from a lack of direction, definition and motivation. It feels as if we are on a journey with no clear destination.”
“The government has failed to deliver timelines, milestones or priorities in many areas and does not appear to have an ambitious, strategic vision for the UK’s new relationship with the EU.”
The report stated that if the government does not provide a structure with goals and a clear vision, it will repeat “these mistakes” when it enters the second round of negotiations after the second bilateral summit in early July.
Last May’s summit was hailed as a “historic” moment and resulted in a formal agreement to improve the Brexit deal signed by Boris Johnson’s government; The goals of this agreement included a youth mobility plan, re-entry into the Erasmus student program and an agricultural agreement to reduce barriers to food exporters.
All that has been announced so far is the Erasmus agreement, which covers several key areas including regulation of chemicals, compliance of standards, mutual recognition of professional qualifications and concessions for touring musicians who are not at the negotiating table.
“The EU’s recent shifting of target posts by demanding financial contributions to the economic development of low-income EU countries, a demand not voiced at last year’s summit, is not conducive to progress,” the report said.
He also criticized what he called the “exorbitant” €2bn (£1.7bn) price tag for Britain’s participation in the first round of the EU’s new €150bn European Security Action (Secure) defense procurement initiative.
The report welcomed the UK-EU security and defense partnership but called on both parties and individual member states to “go further and faster”.
Britain is understood to be close to agreeing a second potential fund to help Ukraine with budget issues such as military equipment and the salaries of teachers, doctors and other public servants.
The €90 billion fund is based on loans provided through the EU’s AAA credit rating, which will be repaid by Russia in the form of compensation or frozen assets.
Britain is reportedly prepared to contribute several hundred million pounds to help pay the interest on the loan in exchange for arms contracts with British firms.
The committee’s report also criticizes the deliberate “secrecy” surrounding the talks and calls on the government to publish its plans for the next phase in a white paper.
“Despite the setbacks, the government must continue to push. Luck favors the brave, and those who show ambition now will reap the rewards later,” he said in the statement.
The report, From Common Understanding to Common Ground: Building a UK-EU Strategic Partnership Fit for the Future, was published on Wednesday.
