{"id":118361,"date":"2025-05-21T00:01:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T00:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/118361\/"},"modified":"2025-05-21T00:01:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T00:01:09","slug":"what-the-eu-really-wants-from-starmer-for-an-even-softer-brexit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/118361\/","title":{"rendered":"What the EU really wants from Starmer for an even softer Brexit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\t\t\t\tThe ‘Ice Age’ of relations is thawing, but there is still more to do, according to the EU Parliament’s Brexit point man, Sandro Gozi\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

Keir Starmer<\/a> is going down well in Europe<\/a>. Compared to what one leading EU politician has described as \u201cthe Ice Age\u201d of relations under Boris Johnson<\/a>, Starmer\u2019s language of rapprochement and detente is warmly welcomed across the Channel.<\/p>\n

That detente was on display in London on Monday when Starmer told EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen<\/a> their summit \u201cmarks a new era in our relationship\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are turning a page. We are opening a new chapter in our unique relationship,\u201d Von der Leyen replied.<\/p>\n

But beneath the bonhomie many in Europe believe the relationship has not gone far enough, and they now want to move things to the next level \u2013 and quickly.<\/p>\n

Not only that, they believe the new post-Brexit deal with it\u2019s 12-year fishing rights, plans for youth travel <\/a>and joint defence, can only work if existing agreements are fully implemented \u2013 which they are not. Crucially, it is the thorny issue of European nationals living in the UK <\/a>that is subject to a dispute between the EU and Britain.<\/p>\n

And in a move that may send shudders down some Brexiters\u2019 spines, one of the EU\u2019s most influential MEPs says it is time to let the EU Parliament in on the action.<\/p>\n

Sandro Gozi<\/a> is, in the way of convoluted European titles, chair of the European Parliament\u2019s Delegation to the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly. In other words, he\u2019s the chief go-between for MEPs and Britain\u2019s MPs.<\/p>\n

While he broadly welcomes the softer Brexit deal<\/a> \u2013 describing it as \u201ca very good starting basis\u201d \u2013 he warned that nothing will work unless previous agreements, such as the initial 2020 Brexit treaty \u2013 the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) \u2013 are fully implemented.<\/p>\n

\"SandroSandro Gozi in Brussels in March (Photo: Martin Bertrand\/Hans Lucas\/AFP)Many issues in original divorce deal still outstanding<\/p>\n

\u201cThe credibility of the whole process relies on a proper and full implementation on citizens rights, on the functioning of the deal in Northern Ireland, on also a good implementation of the new commitment on food checks,\u201d he told The i Paper. \u201cThere are many issues which are linked to TCA that either haven\u2019t been implemented or just they\u2019ve just been recently agreed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

While the two-sides have agreed the principal of a youth mobility scheme <\/a>\u2013 or \u201cyouth experience\u201d as it has been rebranded \u2013 the numbers, visa costs and length of stay are yet to be decided.<\/p>\n

When he talks about citizen\u2019s rights, Gozi is referring to the agreements that allow EU nationals to remain in the UK with \u201cpre-settled status\u201d, \u201csettled status\u201d and subsequently to apply for citizenship.<\/p>\n

The EU has already taken the UK to court <\/a>over alleged breaches of this agreement, specifically unfair deportations and treatment of family members. The court has yet to rule.<\/p>\n

And while the Government clarified to The i Paper that EU citizens already in the UK with settled status would not have to reapply to meet new tougher rules<\/a> stating a migrant has to be in the UK for ten years rather than five in order to apply.<\/p>\n

But whether they have to wait the full decade to apply for citizenship is still up in the air. <\/p>\n

But on another contentious issu \u2013 the joint pledge to \u201cwork towards\u201d a scheme for 18- to 30-year-olds to travel and work more easily in each other\u2019s countries \u2013 Gozi said \u201cmuch more work needs still to be done on youth mobility. We need to put some more flesh on the bones\u201d.<\/p>\n

He also criticised both Starmer and EU Council president Antonio Costa, who was also at the summit, for turning down his request for MPs and MEPs to be engaged in the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope that this mistake will be corrected, because that is in the interest of both sides \u2013 of the EU institutions and the British government \u2013 that parliamentarians are fully involved in this summit. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope that they can do better in the next summit, and we will insist on this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A \u2018great starting point\u2019 nonetheless<\/p>\n

But overall Gozi was confident that Starmer\u2019s \u201cwin-win\u201d deal is a \u201cgreat starting point\u201d for restoring relations between the two sides.<\/p>\n

He was positive about the moves towards regular dialogue in security and defence, the deal on fisheries and the plans to remove checks on food exports.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a very good starting basis,\u201d said the former Italian minister, \u201cbecause the co-operation can become a structure and the dialogue can become regular in areas of obvious and strong common interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TIRANA,Ursula von der Leyen and Keir Starmer also met in the week before the summit at a wider meeting of European leaders in Tirana, Albania (Photo: Leon Neal\/Getty)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe part on security and defence is absolutely necessary, and it makes sense to have the joint declaration looking at the geopolitical challenge we have. It is also very important to have the commitment to fully implement the existing agreement \u2013 as this really needs to be improved,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

He also welcomed the commitments to structure the EU-UK partnership through meetings at the bilateral level and within multilateral forums like the United Nations, the G7 and Nato. \u201cBut we are just at the beginning of this \u2013 we should see much more closer consultation,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

He said the eventual deal on one of the sticking points \u2013 to guarantee access for EU boats to UK waters for 12 years from mid-2026 \u2013 \u201cmakes sense and reflects reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most of all, Gozi praised Starmer for transforming the relations between Brussels and London. <\/p>\n

\u2018Shifting from the Ice Age\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are shifting from the Ice Age, the freezing of the relationship under Boris Johnson to a new a new era,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe attitude, the language used, the will to listen to each other \u2013 this has all been a major shift. They really wanted to turn the page and today we turned the page. The page is not totally written, but it\u2019s certainly a very good new beginning. Because the attitude of the Tories before then was very, very unhelpful, not only for us, but also for Britain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gozi was echoed by analysts, who said Starmer was right to describe the summit as moving both sides on from the \u201cstale old debates and political fights\u201d of the Brexit <\/a>era.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s certainly a step forward,\u201d said Fabian Zuleeg, chief executive at the European Policy Centre, a Brussels-based think-tank. \u201cWe have seen that both sides are not only talking positively about it, but there seems to be a lot more co-ordination between them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe now have the right music. The question which will follow now is, what does that mean in practice? How do we translate that into concrete steps forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zuleeg said the key issue was whether the security and defence partnership that sets up closer relations in military training would lead to \u201ca real coming together on Ukraine and on the European defence market\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said this was the biggest test, given the situation in Ukraine and Donald Trump\u2019s threats to pull back from the US\u2019s Nato commitments.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs this actually going to happen? I think the signs are very good, because up to now, the UK and the EU have actually co-ordinated rather well. It\u2019s been one area where there has been a meeting of the minds between where the EU wanted to go and where the UK wanted to go.<\/p>\n

Clearly, there\u2019s no pressure now because of the stance the Trump administration is taking, but overall, I would expect that the co-ordination in this area is going to be very good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another warning signal was run up the flag pole by Berlin-based analyst Nicolai von Ondarza, who pointed out the increase in co-operation was based on voluntary goodwill, not binding commitments.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a substantial step forward, but only if followed through well,\u201d said the analyst at Berlin-based think-tank Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The ‘Ice Age’ of relations is thawing, but there is still more to do, according to the EU…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":118362,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5226],"tags":[802,748,2000,299,5187,1699,4884,807,7570,16,15,1220],"class_list":{"0":"post-118361","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brexit","8":"tag-brexit","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-eu","11":"tag-europe","12":"tag-european","13":"tag-european-union","14":"tag-great-britain","15":"tag-keir-starmer","16":"tag-politics-long-read","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom","19":"tag-ursula-von-der-leyen"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114542889793548627","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118361\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}