Britain and Europe need to keep cooperating

UK's relations with the Europe Union are more amicable than at any time since the 2016 Brexit vote.

Amid sluggish growth and political uncertainty, Britons can point to at least one modest success: Relations with the Europe Union are more amicable than at any time since the 2016 Brexit vote. The country’s leaders need to build on this progress and work toward something better.

Could this include reversing the decision to quit the EU? If only. Opinion has shifted as the costs of Brexit have become more obvious. Most voters now think leaving the bloc was a mistake — but it will be many years, at best, before the UK can plan to rejoin. Even if UK politics permitted the prerequisite internal debate and a new referendum, re-entry would be on terms less favorable than before. It would very likely mean adopting the euro, for instance, which would be politically challenging. And every EU government would have to go along, which many won’t, given the UK’s perpetual reluctance to commit to the project.

For now, incremental improvements are the most that can be achieved. These can still be valuable, as recent months prove. And there’s scope for much more.

The February signing of the so-called Windsor Framework helped resolve the dispute over trade with Northern Ireland (which stayed in the EU’s single market post-Brexit). The government wisely decided not to scrap thousands of EU legacy regulations, which would’ve been a nightmare for many businesses and stoked tensions with Brussels. It also struck a deal on regulatory cooperation in financial services and rejoined the EU’s Horizon

science-funding program. An agreement to extend the phase-in of tariffs on electric vehicles traded between the two now looks likely.

In taking such collaboration further, defense and security is a good place to start. The war in Ukraine has underlined the benefits of an effective European alliance, and the UK has much to contribute in this area. Regular UK-EU summits would be helpful. So would a plan for British participation in the European Peace Facility, which is helping Ukraine’s defense, and in EU efforts aimed at ramping up defense capabilities.

Merging the UK’s Emissions Trading System with the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism could help reduce bureaucracy and costs for UK exporters and advance the prospects for carbon pricing internationally. A mutual-recognition agreement on plant and animal health could eventually eliminate costly border checks. Both sides could make it easier for European students to attend British universities and vice versa. A review of the Brexit trade deal is planned for 2026 — another opportunity for closer economic relations. Expanding mutual recognition of professional qualifications and mobility for touring artists, for example, would remove costly barriers to the exchange of people and services.

Wherever it can, the UK should seek closer alignment with the EU’s single market — and shouldn’t rule out, in due course, the possibility of renewed membership. This needn’t mean rejoining the EU. The goal should be closer economic integration combined with more limited political integration. Proposals of this kind — for hybrid or associate membership of the bloc — are newly relevant as the EU prepares for another phase of eastward expansion, to accommodate Ukraine and other aspirants.

Daunted by the complications and aware of the political risks, Britain’s main parties both shrink from an openly ambitious approach to Europe. The EU, for its part, is sick of the subject and far from eager to return to it. Yet the UK’s people seem ready for a reset. There’s much to be gained all around.

The Editorial Board publishes the views of the editors across a range of national and global affairs. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.

Credit: Bloomberg