British Prime MinisterKeir Starmer has pushed for the creation of a special unit, composed of a hundred officials and reporting to the Cabinet Office, to "revitalize" relations with the European Union and renegotiate the Brexit agreement sealed in 2020 by Boris Johnson.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch reacted strongly to the news and warned that Starmer "wants to take the country back to his comfort zone with the EU". "In all negotiations he has carried out to date, including the cession of the Chagos Islands, the Prime Minister has given everything away without getting anything in return," Badenoch added.
Former Brexit Minister David Frost has been even more forceful, equating the new unit with "a surrender squad" to Brussels. "This huge unit for renegotiation is larger than the one I had to negotiate the original agreement," Frost told The Mail on Sunday. "Unless we manage to stop it, this country will return to the EU's orbit."
"They are secretly pushing their plans to realign us with community rules, comply with the EU Court of Justice, and allow them to continue fishing indefinitely in our waters," Frost added. "All members of this Government want to return to the EU someday; the only thing preventing it is public opinion."
A recent YouGov survey, sponsored by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) think tank, has revealed, however, that a large majority of Britons support a closer relationship with the EU in the current geopolitical context, after two years of the Ukraine war and with Donald Trump's return to the White House.
68% of Britons are even in favor of "freedom of movement" in exchange for access to the single market, including 54% of those who voted for Brexit in 2016. According to Bloomberg estimates, the UK's exit from the EU has an estimated annual cost of 120 billion euros to the British economy.
An analysis by Statistic Research estimates that the Brexit impact reached 2.5% of GDP in 2023 and could reach 3.2% in 2025. Several analysts have warned that the economic growth the Labour government aspires to will not gain traction without a closer relationship with the EU. The British economy contracted for the second consecutive month in October by 0.1%, amid growing criticism from the business community over increased fiscal pressure and lack of stimuli.
The recent meeting in Brussels between Treasury Secretary Rachel Reeves and EU Economy Ministers has revived hopes in recent weeks for a definitive turnaround, with the focus on the meeting between Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in February and the summit for the renegotiation of Brexit, which should take place on British soil in the first half of 2025.
Despite Keir Starmer's promise to "reset" relations with the EU, the Prime Minister has acted with extreme caution to date and has not even wanted to touch the youth mobility agreement, which would facilitate university studies and work visas for Europeans aged 18 to 30.
"There will be no return to the customs union, the single market, or freedom of movement", was the response to The Mail on Sunday from a Downing Street spokesperson, who anticipated that the British Government "will protect the interests of our fishing sector." The spokesperson, however, acknowledged the Government's intention to "reset relations with the EU to strengthen cooperation, make people feel secure, and remove trade barriers to stimulate economic growth."
The new unit for EU relations would be embedded in the Cabinet Office and would be led by a second permanent secretary, with a direct line to Keir Starmer and under the supervision of Secretary for EU Relations, Nick Thomas Symonds.