European leaders are “open-minded” about how to reset relations with Britain and are not ruling rule out a UK-EU summit in the future, a senior EU official has said before a meeting of European leaders in Oxfordshire on Thursday.
But they have indicated the ball is firmly in the UK’s court and they expect an offer from London on issues such as youth mobility and citizens rights to get things rolling.
The Labour government’s intention to reshape the relationship will not be on the formal agenda of the European Political Community at Blenheim Palace but Keir Starmer is expected to discuss it at two bilaterals – one with the Irish prime minister, Simon Harris, at Chequers on Wednesday night and a second one with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Oxfordshire on Thursday.
“We are open-minded to see what can be achieved. We have clear demands when it comes to youth mobility, when it comes to citizens and I think would appreciate more coordination, more cooperation [with the UK],” the senior EU official said.
EU sources said while there was a “clear” appetite for coordination on foreign policy and it was happy to look at the trading relationship, which has become more challenging with Brexit requirements for customs and standards documentation.
They stressed the original Brexit deal was not open for renegotiation, something that chimes with the prime minister’s pledge before the election that the UK would not re-enter the EU single market or customs union.
The new EU relations minister, Nick Thomas-Symonds, visited Brussels on Monday for an introductory meeting with Maroš Šefčovič, the vice-president of the European Commission who leads on relations with the UK.
EU sources said meetings with Starmer on the sidelines of last week’s Nato summit went well; they were aware of the UK’s desire to “reset” the relationship and if there was a desire to go forward with a new strategic relationship they would entertain that.
Asked whether this would include a UK-EU summit, mirroring those that happen with many other non-EU countries such as Egypt, senior officials said they were “not excluding anything”.
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Around 45 EU and non-EU leaders will descend on Blenheim, the birthplace of Winston Churchill, on Thursday. EU diplomats say they expect Volodymyr Zelenskiy will be among them.
The brainchild of Macron, the short, informal summit is designed to facilitate ad hoc meetings between prime ministers to forge and strengthen bonds in a way that is not possible at other meetings.
EU sources say Macron will co-chair a working group on defence and democracy along with Maia Sandu, the president of Moldova, while a second group with the same theme will be chaired by the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, and Montenegro’s representative.
Italy’s Giorgia Meloni will for a second time chair a working group on migration along with Edi Rama, the prime minister of Albania. At the last EPC in Spain in October the two leaders, along with Rishi Sunak, Macron and the then Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, agreed a five-point plan to tackle people smuggling gangs.
One EU diplomat said Thursday’s EPC summit was an “opportunity for the Starmer to set a different tone on migration” after killing off Sunak’s Rwanda deportation plan.
A third group of leaders will discuss energy.
At least one country will be looking to move forward on other ad hoc projects including protection of monuments and cultural heritage in conflict zones and rail interconnectivity.
Many EU countries are expected to press Starmer regarding their desire for youth mobility and Erasmus university exchange programmes, something they see as an important way of helping the next generation forge cross-border bonds of understanding. “Otherwise they will grow up without knowing each other, which will be bad for Europe,” said one diplomat.