The UK and EU are due to hold a summit in Brussels on November 20. Food trade, energy and emissions-trading links and a youth experience scheme are on the agenda, but a dispute over ‘made in Europe’ rules and political burdens in Britain remain obstacles.
The Global Times ran a column on October 20 on the difficulty of repairing UK-EU ties, but this article could not confirm the column's specific arguments. We instead set out the situation from verifiable reporting by Euronews and AP-based coverage, as a reference for gauging the gap between interpretations.
광고 문의 · 300×250According to Euronews, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who succeeded the resigned Keir Starmer, told the House of Commons on October 12 that the status quo is ‘not good enough’ for Britain. He called failing to explore a closer relationship a ‘major dereliction of duty’ and named a successful November summit his immediate priority. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was ‘really looking forward’ to it.
Delay and agenda
AP reporting, carried by WSOC TV, said the summit was originally planned for July and postponed over disagreement about the EU's ‘made in Europe’ rules, which Britain says will hurt its producers. Burnham listed a food and drink trade deal, energy and emissions-trading agreements, a new youth experience scheme and deeper immigration cooperation.
Defence cooperation was not listed as an agenda item in the reports we reviewed, and they did not specify whether the food deal covers alignment of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) rules. We therefore do not state details on those two points.
Political burdens in Britain
The obstacles are not only on the EU side. AP said EU leaders are wary of UK attempts to obtain benefits reserved for members. Burnham remains bound by Starmer's pledge not to rejoin the single market or customs union, a stance the report said could change before the next election, due by 2029.
Euronews reported that Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused Burnham of ‘unpicking’ the withdrawal agreement and said he would not get a better deal. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called Burnham's claim of Russian election interference ‘outrageous’. The government has said it accepts the legitimacy of the 2016 referendum result, and Russia denies meddling in other countries' votes.