Macron extends warm welcome to UK rejoining EU after Burnham's openness

At a news conference in Madrid on Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron responded to British Prime Minister Andy Burnham's recent openness about the UK rejoining the European Union with a simple, deliberate phrase: "Welcome back." He said it in English, with a smile, before continuing in French to elaborate on what he saw as an opportunity. If the British wanted to return and if their prime minister was moving in that direction, Macron said, it would be good news for both Britain and Europe.

Burnham had made his position clear days earlier at the Labour party conference, arguing that Britain could not chart a clear course forward until it settled on a long-term relationship with its largest market. He had called Brexit a net harm to the country. In interviews on Wednesday, he laid out the spectrum of possibility: the government could maintain the current arrangement, pursue a customs union, return to the single market, or pursue full EU membership. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, standing alongside Macron, said his country would welcome any British bid to rejoin.

Macron's warmth toward the idea came with a historical observation. He noted that Britain had always been useful to the EU in helping to simplify complex matters, and that the British had been demanding partners—a quality he seemed to value. He called Burnham's willingness to consider these options "bold." But Macron also took the opportunity to revisit his long-standing criticism of the Brexit campaign itself, calling it "the biggest lie of the last 30 years" because of the gap between what had been promised and what had actually materialized in terms of economic growth and trade.

EU officials signaled openness but also clarity about what any closer relationship would require. The UK could join the customs union or access the single market through membership in the European Economic Area, they said. But these options came with conditions. A customs union would demand full alignment with EU trade policy and tariffs. Single market membership meant accepting free movement of people alongside the movement of goods, services, and capital. Macron put it bluntly: "You cannot choose between the freedoms of the union, nor can you decide to take what suits you and leave the rest." His message was direct—if Britain wanted back in, it would have to accept the whole package.

Sandro Gozi, an Italian Social Democrat MEP who co-chairs the EU-UK parliamentary partnership assembly, saw Burnham's shift as significant. He told the Guardian that the prime minister had "swept away the so-called red lines that have constrained the debate on Britain's relationship with Europe." Gozi called for Europe to respond with equal openness, removing unnecessary barriers and rebuilding closer economic and political cooperation. EU officials, in their public statements, echoed this measured welcome. A European Commission spokesperson said the UK remained a close and valued partner, and that the EU was open to engaging on whatever options the British government might propose.

But there were complications beneath the surface. The Burnham government had made resolving Britain's exclusion from the EU's Made in Europe policy a top priority—a subsidy and public contract program that currently favors EU members and could lock out British clean technology and electric vehicles from valuable opportunities. Several EU sources indicated, however, that this issue would not be settled at the upcoming summit scheduled for November, because the EU had not yet reached internal agreement on key legislative texts. France, in particular, remained the strongest opponent of opening the Made in Europe program to countries outside the EU, including Britain.

The EU-UK summit itself was still being scheduled, with a date in the second half of November expected to be announced soon. The annual gathering had been postponed after the resignation of Keir Starmer, Burnham's predecessor. What would emerge from these negotiations remained uncertain. The EU had its red lines, and they had not moved in more than a decade. A recent proposal from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to make Canada the EU's first-ever associate member was widely regarded by EU insiders as a symbolic gesture without legal substance—and was not being seriously considered as a model for the UK either. The path forward, if there was one, would require Britain to accept the full terms of membership or to negotiate something substantially new.