BRUSSELS, June 20 \u2014 Is it Brejoin, Breturn \u2014 or perhaps Bre-entry?<\/p>\n
A decade after the Brexit referendum, the UK is experiencing a form of \u201cdivorce regret\u201d with surveys showing most Britons now believe leaving the European Union was a mistake.<\/p>\n
Cue a raft of colourful terms to describe a possible fairytale reunion \u2014 and a more serious political debate on whether that\u2019s something London should pursue.<\/p>\n
The jostling ahead of an expected Labour bid to unseat Prime Minister Keir Starmer has further spotlighted the issue \u2014 after likely challenger Andy Burnham spoke of wanting to one day see the UK back in the EU.<\/p>\n
But what of the scorned partner: would the EU take Britain back?<\/p>\n
AFP spoke with half a dozen European diplomats, granted anonymity to discuss the matter. All said their countries would be ready \u2014 in principle \u2014 to re-tie the knot.<\/p>\n
In a polarised world, argued one, Europe had much to gain by re-admitting a nuclear power with one of the world\u2019s largest economies and a seat at the United Nations Security Council.<\/p>\n
But they all also warned London would need to show it was committed to the marriage and its attending duties.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are not yet conceptually willing to accept the burdens that come with membership,\u201d said a second diplomat.<\/p>\n
Some went further, suggesting the 27-nation bloc had managed to get more done without a difficult ex with a penchant for special requests.<\/p>\n
\u201cThings are easier now,\u201d said another diplomat. \u201cWe are no longer having to constantly work around opt-outs on every file. There\u2019s more cohesion\u201d.<\/p>\n
New EU, old UK\u00a0<\/p>\n
Britain never joined the euro or the free movement Schengen area, and had notoriously negotiated a rebate on its common budget contributions \u2014 all taken now as signs of half-hearted Europeanism.<\/p>\n
One of the diplomats mused half-jokingly that Britons were perhaps most missed for their fine command of English, leaving EU documents riddled with stilted euro-speak.<\/p>\n
Others have fonder memories: Sebastien Maillard, of British think tank Chatham House, said countries leaning towards liberalism in economics or Atlanticism in geopolitics miss Britain as a counterweight to France\u2019s sovereigntist instincts.<\/p>\n
But from \u201cstrategic autonomy\u201d to \u201cEuropean preference\u201d and joint borrowing, the bloc has of late embraced policies championed by Paris that might have been a hard sell in London.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe UK doesn\u2019t really get the full measure of how much the EU has changed over the last 10 years,\u201d Maillard said.<\/p>\n
The new course was largely brought about by external factors \u2014 a pandemic, Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, the rise of China and US President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
But Brexit also sharpened the bloc\u2019s focus \u2014 proving to the doubters in its ranks that leaving was a bad idea, said one diplomat.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has led to a more mature debate about the EU,\u201d he said, noting right-wing populists across Europe no longer advocated for their countries to quit the bloc.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s no longer about, \u2018do we want to be in or outside of the EU?\u2019, but about \u2018what kind of EU do we want to be in?\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smaller fish to fry<\/p>\n
Would Britain really want back into the club as it is now?<\/p>\n
The political situation in the island nation, with the hard-right, anti-EU Reform UK party running high in the polls, calls for caution.<\/p>\n
European nations are wary of weaving closer ties now \u2014 only to possibly have to unravel them later.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s more, some noted it would be almost unthinkable to allow Britain to re-enter on its previous special terms.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, drawn-out negotiations to ease the pain of divorce are proving difficult \u2014 raising questions about further rapprochement and renewed EU complaints of British \u201ccherry-picking\u201d, a leitmotif of the Brexit era.<\/p>\n
Talks for London to access an EU defence scheme collapsed over the price tag for Britain.<\/p>\n
And a reported UK proposal to join the single market for goods but not the free movement of capital, services, and people, was given short shrift in Brussels, where most insist on a package deal or nothing.<\/p>\n
Progress has been made in other areas.<\/p>\n
London and Brussels are hoping to present several deals at a July 22 summit, namely on food and animal safety standards, a youth mobility scheme, and the linking of their emissions trading systems.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s hardly the stuff of dreams \u2014 those longing for a romantic Bre-union might say \u2014 but for now, small steps may have to do. \u2014 Reuters<\/p>\n
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