On the margins of a European gathering in Dublin, a British prime minister looked toward a bilateral summit with a hope that Britain might yet draw nearer to the continent it left a decade ago. Andy Burnham speaks of a win-win arrangement closer to what many voters imagined in 2016, though he is careful not to promise it before the hard bargaining is done. The sticking point is modest in name but large in meaning: whether European students will pay domestic fees, and whether one country's gains must be tied to another's concessions. Beneath the trade and mobility agreements lies an older quest
Burnham says a 'win-win' EU deal is achievable, with long negotiating nights ahead before next week's summit
"The deal is not done" — and seven days remain
Mark
Burnham says a win-win deal is possible. What is actually on the table next week?
Mimi
Food and drink, emissions trading and a youth mobility scheme. The food and drink deal would ease Brexit red tape, and he has said it adds 0.4% to GDP.
Mark
And the obstacle?
Mimi
Tuition fees. The EU says the food and drink and emissions deals may not take effect unless European students pay domestic rates.
Luke
Worth noting Burnham called it a package but wouldn't say he accepts the link. So we don't know his position. And the 0.4% is his own previous claim, not an independent figure here.
Mark
Why does Made in Europe matter?
Mimi
It could shut British firms out of continental supply chains and public contracts without a deal. The UK might trade a tuition fee concession for inclusion.
Luke
But the EU says there can be no Made in Europe deal at this summit because it hasn't settled its own position. The concession may buy nothing next week.
Mark
What about Cameron and Kallas?
Mimi
Cameron says the problems have nothing to do with Brexit. Kallas says she'd like Britain back but warns of lingering trauma in the EU.
Luke
Kallas expressing a wish isn't an offer. And Burnham says rejoining is a question for later, decided by cabinet after negotiations. Nothing is committed.
Mark
And the deportation ultimatum?
Mimi
A Whitehall source called it a last-minute EU wheeze, but that's one anonymous view, and the EU's side isn't given.
The Pulse
- Food, drink and emissions-trading deals are on the table, but the EU has tied them to tuition fees for European students, putting the whole package in doubt.
- Burnham insists the deal is not done and promises long nights ahead, while refusing to say whether he accepts the linkage.
- Made in Europe access hangs over the week, threatening to lock British firms out of supply chains and public contracts if talks stall.
- Cameron's public challenge and a Whitehall fight over deportation ultimatums show the reset is contested at home as well as in Brussels.
- The likeliest landing is a partial settlement, with harder questions on migration and access pushed toward the 2027 round.
On the margins of a European gathering in Dublin, a British prime minister looked toward a bilateral summit with a hope that Britain might yet draw nearer to the continent it left a decade ago. Andy Burnham speaks of a win-win arrangement closer to what many voters imagined in 2016, though he is careful not to promise it before the hard bargaining is done. The sticking point is modest in name but large in meaning: whether European students will pay domestic fees, and whether one country's gains must be tied to another's concessions. Beneath the trade and mobility agreements lies an older question about what Brexit was meant to be, and whether its costs can be softened by returning, step by step, to shared rules.
At the European Political Community summit in Dublin, Prime Minister Andy Burnham told reporters that a "win-win" deal with the EU is within reach, one that could look more like the Brexit people thought they were voting for in 2016. He was careful, though, saying the deal is not done and that the coming seven days would bring long nights.
The bilateral summit next week aims to sign agreements on food and drink, emissions trading and a youth mobility scheme. The obstacle is tuition fees for European students. The EU has said the food and drink and emissions deals may not take effect unless European students pay domestic rates. Burnham calls it a package but will not say whether he accepts that link, and he insists he will fight for the benefits, citing the cost of living.
He also pushed back against David Cameron, who had told Bloomberg that the UK's problems had nothing to do with leaving the EU. Burnham argued that a decade of low growth says otherwise, and suggested Cameron was more concerned with Conservative unity than with British interests.
The week is expected to be difficult. Access to Made in Europe could shut British firms out of continental supply chains, yet the EU says it cannot agree that at the summit while its own position is unfinished. Meanwhile, officials are working to soften an EU demand on deporting foreign offenders. Burnham will set out the reset in his lord mayor's speech on Monday, with the real next stage expected in 2027, centred on a joint migration pact.
At the European Political Community summit in Dublin on Thursday, Prime Minister Andy Burnham told reporters he believes a "win-win" deal with the EU is within reach, one that could look "more like the Brexit that people thought they were voting for in 2016." He was meeting fellow leaders ahead of a bilateral UK-EU summit next week, where he hopes to bring Britain closer to Europe.
He was careful not to oversell it. "The deal is not done," Burnham said, "and there'll be some long nights ahead in the next seven days." The reset, he argued, is about whether Britain can take a step back toward closer working relationships with Europe. In his view, the country ended up with a far harder Brexit than voters expected when they went to the polls.
At the bilateral summit, the two sides hope to sign agreements on food and drink, emissions trading and a youth mobility scheme. The sticking point is tuition fees for European students. The EU has said the food and drink deal and the emissions-trading agreement may not enter into force without a settlement under which European students pay domestic rates. Burnham called it a package deal but would not say whether he accepts the link. He said he would fight hard for the benefits in the coming seven days, adding that if he can do anything to address the cost of living crisis, he should be doing it. He has previously said the food and drink deal, which eases Brexit red tape, will add 0.4% to British GDP.
Burnham also took aim at David Cameron, the prime minister who lost the 2016 referendum. Cameron told Bloomberg News that Burnham should not seek to take Britain back into the EU, and that the UK's problems had nothing to do with leaving. Burnham said the evidence says otherwise on a decade of low growth, and suggested Cameron's intervention was more about unity in the Conservative party than about fighting for British interests.
Burnham has recently said he is open to rejoining the single market, the customs union, or going all the way back into the EU. He said any deeper relationship would come out of future negotiations, and that the cabinet would decide what, if anything, comes next once that outcome is known.
Earlier on Thursday, the EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said she would very much like to see Britain back in Europe. She warned, though, that the bloc still carries a lot of "trauma" from Britain's departure, so the negotiations would not be easy.
The week ahead is expected to be fraught. A key issue is access to Made in Europe, legislation that could lock British firms out of continental supply chains and public contracts if no deal is reached. The UK could concede on tuition fees in exchange for inclusion, but the EU has long said there can be no Made in Europe deal at the summit, because it has not finalised its own position. Separately, Ministry of Justice officials are trying to water down an EU ultimatum on halting deportations of foreign national offenders. One Whitehall source called it the classic wheeze the EU always pulls at the last minute of negotiations.
Burnham is expected to make the reset the centrepiece of his white-tie speech at the lord mayor's banquet on Monday night, though it will range across foreign policy. No 10 sources said it will focus on the Brussels summit and look ahead to the next stage in 2027, rather than sketch a permanent close relationship. That next round is expected to centre on a joint migration pact, and could also cover law enforcement and borders, visas for touring artists and mutual recognition of qualifications.
The 2027 communique is expected to call for stronger efforts with the member states most exposed to Channel small boats crossings, building on the EU's Channel action plan, in place since June. The UK is believed to be pushing for access to Eurodac, the asylum seekers' fingerprint database, and the Schengen Information System, which records fugitives, missing people and stolen goods. Britain was the third biggest user of SIS before Brexit cost it access. What to watch is whether Made in Europe and the tuition fee link are settled next week or pushed into that next round.
Notable Quotes
The deal is not done, and there'll be some long nights ahead in the next seven days.— Andy Burnham
I would very much like to see Britain back in Europe, but... we also have... a lot of trauma from Britain leaving, so the negotiations will not be that easy.— Kaja Kallas, EU foreign policy chief
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