Sir Keir Starmer took his mission to “reset” Britain’s relations with the E.U. to Brussels on Wednesday as European capitals warned he should not expect an easy ride in anticipating a revision of the terms and conditions of Brexit.
The Financial Times reports the supplicant UK prime minister, who vehemently opposed Brexit, has insisted Britain will not rejoin the E.U. single market or customs union but is keen for a number of unspecified adjustments, prompting some member states to question whether Starmer’s plans amount to a full reset of relations. The report notes:
Downing Street said Starmer would discuss his ambitions for the next few months with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, European Council president Charles Michel and president of the European parliament Roberta Metsola.
He is focused on the idea of a wide-ranging EU/UK security pact, covering issues such as defence, migration and security, with a view to a summit between the two sides next spring, according to UK officials.
The report further notes Chancellor Rachel Reeves has also suggested Britain could become a rule taker for E.U. regulations covering established industries, such as chemicals, although both sides are sceptical about whether such a regime could work.
E.U. ambassadors, meeting ahead of the Brussels talks, said the commission should block what they said was a British tendency for “cherry picking” access to the E.U. single market, said people briefed on the discussions.
Britain’s new top diplomat, David Lammy, has already been dispatched to Europe on a mission to “reset ties” as Starmer’s left-wing Labour Party government seeks to forge closer alignment with Brussels.
For their part, European leaders are reportedly keen to not make it easy for Sir Keir and will issue demands for any specific renegotiations; including long-term fishing access to British waters and a new migrant deal requiring Britain to accept an agreed number of asylum seekers from the continent.
As Breitbart News reported, the move to leave the E.U. via Brexit got a referendum mandate of 17.410 million votes in 2016 — the biggest democratic mandate the UK has ever seen.