Now we are in a new political era, with some grown-ups in the room, the Hope for Europe team are working on our future strategy. We can’t count on the new Labour government to take us into the EU in the foreseeable future (ever?) but they are trying to be friends again. Here’s our summary of where we are now.
European Union
27 EU member states
- have moved on from Brexit, have other major concerns e.g Ukraine, haven’t got the bandwidth to negotiate, don’t trust the UK
- would not consider the UK joining unless it’s the settled will of the people across the political spectrum ( excluding the far-right)
- in a time of geo-political uncertainties see the benefits of building bridges with UK where mutually beneficial
- informally some discussion of a new model for the EU ( inner & outer circles, where eg Ukraine and UK would be in the outer circle)
- are prioritising:
- a mobility deal to allow young people to work and study in the UK
- getting the UK to rejoin the Erasmus student exchange scheme
- continued access to its fishing waters after 2026
- require the full implementation of a UK High Court ruling, which said that EU citizens living in Britain should not have to make a separate application to win “settled status” after completing the required five years of residence in the UK
- are concerned that their citizens living in the UK are being turned down for jobs or rental properties as a result of uncertainties over their immigration status
- are worried about UK authorities failing to accurately certify animal and plant products and to check pets
- want a new system to provide data on the content of parcels to be implemented as soon as possible.
Some member states ( France, Germany) are talking independently to the UK.
UK government
- have moved on from Brexit, stated, and repeated, no intention of joining customs union & single market, reject freedom of movement and rejoining EU
- take a pragmatic rather than ideological position on Europe
- see the benefits of building bridges with EU where mutually beneficial e.g security
- are adopting a charm offensive towards Europe and Brussels
- responsibility for the UK’s relationship with the European Union” has moved from the Foreign Office to the Cabinet Office (Thomas-Symonds, who is the Paymaster General, will serve as Minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations) indicating the importance attached to it.
is open to a deal on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications - The King’s speech quietly gave the green light to aligning with EU product safety standards (dynamic alignment) and aligning standards between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, potentially veterinary and food standards agreement, common energy trading and carbon tariffs and a merging of emissions trading schemes
- but all this is ad-hoc, not systematic.
UK citizens
- are very wary of re-opening a divisive question: the wounds from 2016-2019 are deep
- but latest polls show an ever increasing number of people who think Brexit was a mistake, and a significant number who want to Rejoin.
Pro- European Organisations
- many organisations largely acting independently
- many local groups defunct
- range of positions from outright call to rejoin to step by step approach, campaigning for incremental improvements
- European Movement (EM) takes the latter approach but also supports the March for Rejoin
- EM currently rethinking its strategy.
So what do you think we should do next? What’s the most effective way of increasing the number of people who want to get back to the heart of Europe? Do let us know your thoughts.
We want to grow our Hope for Europe group again, so please contact us with comments on our assessment and ideas for growing our influence. In particular we want to engage a larger cross-section and especially young people; any ideas for where we could campaign, for example, a festival?
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