UK must drop ‘red lines’ for real EU reset, Brussels warns

BRUSSELS — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s plans for a major reset with the EU risk falling flat if he doesn’t relax his negotiating “red lines.”

The embattled U.K. Labour leader vowed to put his country “at the heart of Europe,” as part of efforts to shore up support and shrug off calls for his resignation, following dismal local election results.

But London’s refusal to negotiate a broader reopening on trade and economic integration will jeopardize those efforts, EU politicians and officials told POLITICO.

Centrist French MEP Sandro Gozi, who chairs the European Parliament’s U.K. delegation, said Britain should go further by joining the single market and help establish the proposed European Security Council to “safeguard peace and prosperity across our continent.”

The proposed defense body would include the U.K. alongside some EU members and is being touted as a way for Europe to lessen its reliance on the U.S. and NATO.

Gozi also criticized Starmer for ruling out the UK’s membership of an EU common market or customs union. “The world has changed since those red lines were drawn,” he said.

When Starmer was asked earlier this week if he would reconsider those constraints, the prime minister left the door open to softening his position — but only subtly and by omission.

“What I want to do is take a big leap forward with the EU-U.K. summit this year and take us closer, both on trade, the economy, defence and security, and that will then be a platform on which we can build as we go forward,” he told reporters.

“As we do that, I strongly believe, we’ve got to turn our back on the arguments of the past, not open old grievances, but look forward together to how we make this country stronger, how we make this country fair — and so that’s the approach that I will take,” he said.

Moving target

The latest round of negotiations, which come almost a decade after the U.K. voted to leave the EU, center around a landmark summit between the two sides set to be held this summer. While July is considered the most likely month, two officials expressed frustration that the date is still unconfirmed and plans have fallen through several times.

The European Commission has indicated it is open to making progress on a number of technical issues. “We have a shared interest in a stronger cooperation that delivers for our security, our economies and our citizens,” said a spokesperson.

“In view of the next Summit, we are working to conclude the key files of last year’s Common Understanding: an SPS [agricultural standards] agreement, [Emissions Trading System] linkage, and a Youth Experience Scheme, and to advance work on electricity trading,” the Commission spokesperson said.

Despite the skepticism, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola told POLITICO that the momentum is genuinely in favor of closer ties. | Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images

A British government spokesperson said future deals with the bloc “will tear down unnecessary barriers to trade, which will drive economic prosperity on both sides of the channel and ease cost pressures for U.K. families.”

But others point out that those things predate Starmer’s announcement of a new push, and that a more meaningful rapprochement is unlikely without a fundamental change in the post-Brexit relationship.

“How revolutionary can it be without revisiting their red lines?” asked one senior EU official. “The Labour government isn’t doing this and if they hype up the message of revolutionary change with the EU then everyone will be disappointed and they’ll say ‘Brussels is punishing us.’”

New dynamic

Despite the skepticism, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola told POLITICO that the momentum is genuinely in favor of closer ties.

“There is clearly a new dynamic in EU–U.K. relations that cannot be ignored. You can feel it in the political mood, hear it in conversations across Europe and the United Kingdom, and increasingly see it reflected in public opinion too,” Metsola said.

“The upcoming summit with the U.K. offers a real window of opportunity to move from post-Brexit management to a genuine strategic partnership — starting with the areas where citizens and businesses can feel the difference most: trade, energy, security, mobility and investment,” she said.

Those who’ve worked with the Brussels bubble, though, say getting EU leaders to agree on deeper relations will be difficult. Ivan Rogers, the former British ambassador who oversaw preparations for Brexit, warned last month that “in Brussels, it’s not in the top 20 issues — probably not in the top 50. It’s not on leaders’ agendas at all.”