LONDON — Keir Starmer ascended to power with a commitment to rejuvenate Britain’s relationship with the European Union. As we approach 2025, this endeavor appears more complex than initially anticipated.
Reports indicate that the new U.K. prime minister is fostering positive relations with EU leaders. However, tensions over youth visas, fishing disputes, and legal challenges from the European Commission have cast a shadow over these interactions.
To realign the agenda, Starmer has scheduled numerous visits to Brussels, including a significant EU-U.K. summit planned for “the first half of 2025.”
A separate conference in Brussels at the start of February will concentrate on security, while Brexit Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds aims to engage his EU counterpart, Maroš Šefčovič, approximately every two weeks as they enter a “new phase” of negotiations.
It seems the Brexit reset is experiencing its own recalibration.
Stalled Progress
While both London and Brussels express a desire to enhance U.K.-EU collaboration, they have yet to define what this improvement entails. The February meeting may serve as a crucial opportunity for this clarification.
Among the “several strands” for potential cross-channel cooperation, a defense agreement is emerging as a particularly promising avenue, according to a senior EU official.
“We see strong potential to advance on a defense agreement with the U.K.,” the official noted. “The meeting on Feb. 3 is a good chance to explore this, and we must evaluate if we can agree to move forward on both sides.”
Progress in areas where London and Brussels share common ground could help rejuvenate the reset initiative in other sectors.
Britain’s new government has spent much of the fall entangled in discussions regarding its stance on the EU’s proposal for a youth mobility scheme, which Brussels views as vital for the reset. The young Labour administration harbors concerns that the scheme may resemble EU migration, a politically sensitive topic in the U.K. While it hasn’t dismissed the proposal, it officially states it has “no plans” to implement it, despite ongoing inquiries.
“I’ve been clear from the beginning that freedom of movement is a red line for us, and we have no plans related to free movement at any level, but we are entering discussions,” Starmer remarked to the Brexit-supporting Sun newspaper when questioned about the scheme leading up to Christmas.
In contrast to freedom of movement, a youth mobility program would facilitate time-limited visas for British and European youth to traverse the Channel for a few years. The concept enjoys favorable polling, yet Labour strategists remain cautious.
Despite a cautious approach to negotiations and minimal concrete demands, Starmer has faced accusations of betraying Brexit from Euroskeptics at home. Tory opposition leader Kemi Badenoch criticized the prime minister for “planning to surrender our hard-won Brexit freedoms” during her final parliamentary question before the Christmas recess, while Euroskeptic media have labeled a team of civil servants designated for negotiations as a “surrender squad.”
At the same time, perceived indecision is causing frustration across the Channel. A recent delegation of European Parliament members to the U.K. concluded with the chair of Strasbourg’s Committee on Foreign Affairs invoking ’90s girl band the Spice Girls: “Tell us what you want, what you really, really want.” The Parliament’s standing delegation to the U.K. in December also warned that “concrete commitments” are necessary to prevent Starmer’s diplomatic efforts from becoming a “reset in name only.”
Europe’s political landscape has also played a role in Starmer’s challenges. The British prime minister dedicated much of his initial six months in office to cultivating a close relationship with social democratic German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is now departing, with expectations of a conservative successor.
Contentious Issues
Beyond youth mobility, Brussels has indicated that extended access for European fishing fleets is a prerequisite for negotiations—another politically sensitive topic that galvanizes Euroskeptics.
The U.K.’s demands are also complex. Brussels has signaled that a Labour manifesto commitment to establish a new agreement on agricultural products would necessitate further alignment with European Court of Justice oversight, another contentious issue for Brexiteers. Additionally, a separate election promise for a better deal for touring British artists appears challenging to realize while freedom of movement remains a firm stance in London.
During a parliamentary committee hearing in December, Brexit Minister Thomas-Symonds referred to his party’s manifesto commitments as “examples” of achievable goals, increasing uncertainty about London’s objectives.
As early 2025 approaches, the EU-U.K. summit will serve as a benchmark for Thomas-Symonds and his EU counterpart Šefčovič to target. Both have expressed a desire to see significant advancements by that meeting.
While time is of the essence, the deadline is not as pressing as one might think: both Brussels and London will ultimately determine the date of the summit, which is yet to be scheduled. Even the format of the gathering remains undetermined: one EU official suggested it will likely include at least Starmer alongside the heads of the EU Commission, Council, and Parliament. Another diplomat indicated that member states may also participate.
This reflects the current state of a summit concerning a relationship that remains undefined.
