The EU has warned Sir Keir Starmer that his plans for a post-Brexit reset on trade and migration are “tricky” and will involve significant trade-offs.
The Prime Minister was praised for his “clever” handling of his first summit with EU and other leaders on the continent, at the European Political Community (EPC) gathering at Blenheim Palace on Thursday.
But he was warned that his aim to strike deals with the EU on data and intelligence-sharing to tackle the Channel crisis, as well as a veterinary agreement to ease the trade in food, would be difficult. The UK is also seeking an agreement on mutual recognition of professional qualifications to boost the economy.
After a gathering where irregular migration was a major focus, Sir Keir used his closing press conference to say he wanted to use his new Border Security Command to “work with our European partners to share intelligence, data, expertise and put the gangs out of business”.
But one EU diplomat told i that access to data was a “tricky” demand, while pointing out French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments that there would be “no cherry-picking” of Brussels institutions and rules for the UK Government, despite Labour taking power.
“This is not low-hanging fruit, it is complex, and it will depend very much on how the UK decides to store this data, where, and so on. The EU is very wary of data stored outside our continent, such as in the US.
“The current Commission was quite negative about the prospect of a data sharing agreement, but now the UK has changed government, the Commission has changed, so we’ll have to see.But what is relevant is that the Prime Minister stated it so clearly as a priority.”
However, the diplomat also said Sir Keir’s “strong commitment” that the UK would never leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) “really surprised us” and went down well with EU leaders, who regarded the Conservatives’ now-ditched Rwanda policy and threats to quit the convention as an “irritant”.
“The fact that as Prime Minister, in his opening remarks he chose to target the ECHR, he brought in the Treaty of London [in 1949, which paved the way for the Council of Europe and ECHR] all of that was a very clever move in terms of the diplomatic symbology.”
The commitment on the ECHR could also help get a deal on data-sharing over the line, while Downing Street refused to commit to keeping the UK out of the separate European Court of Justice, which could be key to unlocking co-operation in a number of areas, including this.
“The fact that the UK politically has invested so much capital in staying within the ECHR definitely helps,” the diplomat said.
Sir Keir was also warned by France that his calls for a veterinary agreement and mutual recognition of qualifications to ease trade could be difficult, after Mr Macron said the UK “obviously has to respect what was decided and signed” in the original Brexit agreements negotiated by the Tories.
The Elysee said: “We shouldn’t turn things around. It’s up to the British to clarify their expectations.”
Ursula von der Leyen’s re-election as European Commission President on Thursday was, however, viewed as a boost for the UK, while a more right-leaning European Parliament could also help Sir Keir on security and migration.
But Ms von der Leyen’s re-election could also mean the youth mobility scheme proposal that the UK Government is thought to oppose is more likely to go forward, as it was drawn up by her Commission.
The UK Prime Minister hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Downing Street after he attended the EPC summit.
Mr Zelensky asked Sir Keir to “show your leadership”, as he appealed for permission to strike targets in Russia with Western weapons in a historic address to the UK Cabinet.
Becoming the first foreign leader to address the Cabinet in person since 1997, he urged the British Government to help with Kyiv’s “long-range capability”, telling ministers: “We are still missing the main answer to this question. I ask you to show your leadership in this and please convince other partners to remove the limits.”
Ukraine has said that lifting restrictions on Western weapons – including British Storm Shadow missiles – to strike deep into Russian territory is key to strengthening its defence, and securing its frontline position in the war.
The UK Government has avoided explicitly backing such a move, saying only that it is a matter for Kyiv how it chooses to deploy its resources, as long as international law is upheld.
Speaking after the visit, Downing Street said there was “no change to our position” on weapons.