Press

“The EU has always wanted close post-Brexit security co-operation with the British,” Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, told iNews. “In these uncertain times, the more that Britain can contribute to European security, the more goodwill that creates among former EU partners.”

Charles Grant, director of the respected Centre for European Reform, suggested that the Prime Minister may nevertheless have to negotiate on youth mobility to achieve his aim to make trade easier, including by signing a veterinary agreement on food imports and exports.Grant said some in the EU would respond to Starmer’s demands on trade by saying there can be “no cherry picking” of its single market.

Během vlády labouristů tak nejspíš nastane určité sblížení, například podpis veterinární dohody, která by usnadnila vývoz a dovoz potravin na britské ostrovy. „Dá se čekat určitý pokrok, ale nikoliv zásadní změna ve vzájemném vztahu,“ shrnul to Aslak Berg z think-tanku Centre for European Reform.

If Labour dropped the immigration health surcharge—a levy of around £1,000 ($1,276) annually for workers—it would make it much more attractive for skilled people to come to the UK, says Zach Meyers, assistant director for the Centre for European Reform. “The immigration surcharge is kind of insane, because it’s basically like a tax on their migrants. And that is a single step that would, I think, go a long way to addressing the skills problem.”

Un point de vue partagé par Zach Meyers, du Centre for European Reform : « Parvenir à une intégration économique bien plus poussée sera en tout cas difficile, compte tenu des lignes rouges du parti travailliste - pas de marché unique, pas d’union douanière et pas de liberté de circulation », estime ce chercheur britannique.

Concern is voiced by Zselyke Csaky, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, a leading think-tank. Csaky said, “The Hungarian presidency will have limited impact on EU policies – but the hit to the Union’s reputation could be significant. “The Council of the EU’s rotating presidency is often described as ‘responsibility without power’. Whichever member-state is at the helm drives the EU’s legislative agenda and represents the Council in negotiations with the EU’s other law-making institutions. 

"When you dig down into the details of what they (Labour) want to do, it's by and large relatively small things and even some of those would probably be quite difficult to negotiate with the EU," Ian Bond, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform (CER), said.