Press

„Ideea care a stat la baza politicii europene de vecinătate, aceea că UE dorea să fie înconjurată de un cerc de prieteni, s-a dovedit a fi exagerat de optimistă. Am ajuns să fim înconjurați mai degrabă de un cerc de foc. Avem conflicte peste tot în jur”, declară pentru Panorama, Ian Bond, directorul adjunct al Centrului pentru Reformă Europeană (CER).

John Springford van het Centre for European Reform heeft een ruwe berekening gemaakt van de voordelen van zo'n reset. Hij is daarbij uitgegaan van de doelen die zowel het VK als de EU heeft vooropgesteld. Voorbeelden zijn de wederzijdse erkenning van beroepskwalificaties, een ‘veterinaire overeenkomst’ om de handelsbarrières voor voedsel en landbouwproducten te verlagen, en de mogelijkheid voor 18- tot 30-jarigen om vier jaar lang te migreren voor werk of studie.

„Deutschland braucht ein neues Wachstumsmodell für 2030,um im weltweiten wirtschaftlichen Wettbewerb nicht noch weiter abzurutschen“, warnt etwa Sander Todoir von der Denkfabrik Centre for European Reform (CER).

Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform, said the EU demands would be difficult for Starmer but could lead to long-term economic benefits. “Starmer’s reset is going to require him to do some politically difficult things which will undoubtedly anger the Conservatives and Reform,” he said.

Ian Bond, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform: “The fact the US has elected Trump in two elections out of three and that even Democratic administrations were focussing more on Asia than Europe shows that Europeans in future will have to look after their own defence and security.
“In those circumstances it makes sense for the UK and the EU to work together in those areas. They both have much more at stake in the war in Ukraine than the Trump administration believes America does.”

John Springford, an associate fellow at the CER, estimates that a “reset of the relationship” of the sort Labour set out in its election manifesto, combined with the demands the EU is making in return, will raise economic activity in the UK by between 0.3% and 0.7% in the long run.