As Brexit anniversary nears, EU, UK show closeness

As the 10-year anniversary of the referendum that took the United Kingdom out of the European Union nears, the two sides look set to closely cooperate once again and rebuild their shattered ties.

With the global geopolitical landscape suddenly far less predictable than it was, the time seems ripe for the two sides to collaborate in areas including defense and trade, in a way unseen since the June 23, 2016, Brexit referendum.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola summarized the mood of rapprochement this week, when she told members of Spain's Senate: "Ten years on from Brexit …and in a world that has changed so profoundly, Europe and the UK need a new way of working together, on trade, customs, research, mobility, and on security and defense. This is about looking forward, and doing what makes sense for Europe and for the UK today."

She said it is "time to exorcise the ghosts of the past, reset our partnership, and find solutions together".

And Metsola said this new cooperation should be rooted in "realistic pragmatism, anchored in values that will see us all move forward together".

It is a process that has already begun, with the two sides recently participating in talks on trade, customs, and defense that have been praised by politicians from both sides.

The renewed closeness is something UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for soon after he was elected in 2024, and something he talked about during his visit to China, when he said: "It makes good sense for Europe in the widest sense of the word — which is the EU plus other European countries — to work more closely together. That's what I've been advocating and I hope to make some progress on that."

Starmer has said the cooperation could include the UK aligning more closely with the EU's single market, which he believes would benefit the economies of both sides, especially at a time when London's old ally, the United States, is less reliable than it was.

The UK's Finance Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, met with the EU commissioners who lead on trade and the economy — Maros Sefcovic and Valdis Dombrovskis — in London on Monday, after which Dombrovskis told the BBC the bloc is "ready to engage" with the UK on reintegrating the nation into a customs union.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez seemed to go even further, telling the New Statesman political magazine this week he wants to see London fully rejoin the EU, because there is "a clear need to have the UK on board again".

That prospect could, however, fuel the rise of Reform UK, the anti-EU, anti-immigrant, far-right party the UK's ruling Labour Party is most afraid of.

earle@mail.chinadailyuk.com