Relations between the UK and the European Union are in dire need of a fresh start. At the moment only flashes of mutual annoyance are breaking through the dense fog of the English Channel. However, the war in Ukraine has created a geopolitical context where restoring ties is more necessary than ever for Europe, and on the other hand, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s defenestration presents a political opportunity for Britain.
Ever since the Johnson government attempted to break international law through the Northern Ireland Protocol, it has been almost impossible to imagine trust being restored between the EU and the last resident of 10 Downing Street. Almost all Europeans, like most Britons, had long had an opinion of him.
Unfortunately, Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer’s speech at the Center for European Reform in London earlier this week failed to deliver any bold ideas for the cooperation we need between the two banks of the Channel. With a clear priority to win back Labour, which voted to leave the EU and ousted the Tories in the 2019 election, his message was: ‘Make Brexit work’.
In other words, the only bad thing about Brexit – it almost seems to be implicitly saying – is that the Johnson administration has failed to make it work. After Starmer said that the Labor Party did not want the UK to rejoin the EU, the Single Market or the Customs Union, Starmer made a number of reasonable but modest proposals, beginning with the need to address the issues surrounding the Northern Ireland Protocol to resolve constructive negotiation. His speech was aimed exclusively at the British. There was almost nothing that could interest continental Europeans.
On the other side of the English Channel nobody is talking about Brexit anymore. As I found during my recent visit to Germany, Belgium and France, indifference only changes from indifference to irritation. The only major new proposal is that of French President Emmanuel Macron, a broader “European Political Community” that would include candidate countries and future EU candidates such as Ukraine, Moldova, North Macedonia, Albania and countries that are not members of the Union, such as Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
An invitation from France to what many will see as a cousins tea party is not going to do much to bolster Britain’s fragile post-Brexit self-esteem. If this new community comes about, the British government should be part of it, but that will not be the basic strategic factor improving the relationship between the two banks of the English Channel.
what will it be A crucial first step for the Conservative Party was getting rid of the disgraced Johnson. If the Northern Ireland Protocol issue remains unresolved by the time Johnson leaves, the Prime Minister who succeeds him needs to remember some wise advice from Jean Monnet: if you have a problem you can’t solve, expand the context. Advancing a broader agenda to revitalize UK-EU relations will ease the possibility of agreements on specific aspects of the Brexit legacy.
Starmer’s speech highlighted an important area of collaboration: bringing UK academic and scientific research back into the EU’s Horizon programme; join the Erasmus student exchange program again; offer artists, athletes and other professionals the opportunity to work on both sides; in short, an attempt to counter the worrying deterioration in personal relations between the UK and the EU. But there are other big areas Johnson’s successor needs to focus on: systematic cooperation with the EU on foreign and security policy, defence, intelligence, environment, energy, digital policy, AI, fintech and biotechnology. Britain has much to add to Europe’s strength in these areas. The threats from Vladimir Putin’s Russia, climate change and perhaps another virus hopping from continent to continent are forcing Europe to exercise this power to the full.
Since these are only incremental steps, they need to be integrated into a larger story. The politics of the past decade, including that leading up to the Brexit referendum, reminds us that a compelling narrative is just as important as what technocrats call reality. In addition, a good story helps create a political reality. Johnson’s departure provides an opportunity to craft a new narrative.
It’s no longer about Brexit. For the time being, not even to enter the EU again. It’s possible that Britain will end up in favor of a return to the customs union or the single market later this decade, but the two major political parties are nowhere near that position.
Therefore, there is talk of a new relationship between Great Britain and the EU. A relationship cannot be sustained if the partner is not respected, much less if their existence is barely acknowledged. Psychologically, it’s clear that those who voted for Brexit find it difficult to acknowledge that, in the words of the classic humor book 1066 and All That, the EU is a good thing (if it’s good, why do we have it just done getting out of her?).
Logically, however, it is entirely possible to express respect for an EU without Britain. Mainly because the UK has not abandoned the general project undertaken after 1945 to achieve a united and free Europe; Just look at the unconditional support he has offered to Ukraine.
In short, there is a good story about the possible new relationship between the two banks of the canal. It just needs someone to tell it.
Timothy Garton Ash is Professor of European Studies at the University of Oxford and Senior Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University and author of The Magic Lantern.
translation of Maria Luisa Rodríguez Tapia.
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