Brussels and London look to Brexit ‘reset’
As significant as the Brexit reset on Monday may prove to be, it may well only be the first of multiple renegotiations in the decade or two to come
EU-UK ties are currently at their warmest since before the 2016 Brexit referendum. While this partly reflects the change of UK government last July, a key external factor is the tumult of the Trump administration which has brought London and Brussels closer together.
So much so that, ahead of the big UK-EU summit on Monday (May 19), a leaked agenda indicates that the two sides may frame their renewed partnership as a counter to the chaos of the Trump team. The leak points to the importance of “free and open trade”, rather than tariffs, and highlights the “vital” nature of multilateralism, and “international development”.
While final details are reportedly still being hammered out, including fishing quotas and a possible youth mobility deal, it looks likely that the two sides will announce a deeper strategic partnership. This builds from the 2020 EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) agreed between then-UK prime minister Boris Johnson and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
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