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UK's Starmer wants to ‘Turn a corner on Brexit.’ What does that mean?
So the first phase of Mr Starmer’s re-engagement with European leaders is simply to be pleasant to them, said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, a research institute. “This is all about mood music, rebuilding trust, restoring confidence, being nice to people, being polite and showing that we have changed — which sounds obvious but is really important,” he said.
While the charm offensive was going “very well indeed,” Mr Grant said that agreeing to specific changes would be much harder for Mr Starmer.
...Mr Grant said that to win trade concessions, Britain would have to engage with key European demands, including a comprehensive agreement on fishing rights, a deal to help young people move more freely across the continent, and Erasmus, a student exchange program that Britain quit as part of Brexit.
A youth mobility scheme could be politically sensitive in Britain, where legal immigration increased rapidly after Brexit. But the government’s objections to rejoining Erasmus relates to financial pressures, Mr. Grant said. Estimates suggest it could cost the country 2 billion pounds, or $2.6 billion, over seven years.
“Changing the nitty-gritty will be much more difficult because Britain is going to have to bite the bullet and do some of the things the E.U. wants it to do,” Mr. Grant said.