LONDON — The Labour government has promised to “reset relations” with the European Union, eight tumultuous years after the U.K. voted to leave the bloc.
But speaking on Thursday morning, just hours before he was preparing to welcome dozens of European leaders on British soil, Foreign Secretary David Lammy admitted the U.K. was “nowhere near” renegotiating a trade deal with the EU.
More than 40 leaders from European Union countries and other nations on the fringes of the bloc are set to descend on Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire for a summit of the European Political Community (EPC), where discussions will be dominated by illegal migration and security.
In an article published just days before the gathering, Lammy said the government would “reset relations with Europe as a reliable partner, a dependable ally and a good neighbour,” with many viewing the EPC as a perfect opportunity to do this.
But speaking on BBC Breakfast, Lammy said: “Of course, we’re entering into discussions but we’re nowhere near a negotiation on the trade agreement — the paper thin trade agreement that Boris Johnson struck — the veterinary deal that we’ve said that we want to get, the mutual qualifications that we want to work on, and the U.K.-EU security pact that we’re proposing to Europe that will enable us to discuss a whole range of issues across the European family. We aren’t at that stage two weeks into office.”
He would not be drawn on any future negotiations with the bloc, telling the program: “I’m certainly not going to show my hand before negotiations have even begun with the European Union.”
However, he reiterated that the U.K. would not be re-entering the single market or customs union.
The interview came the day after the Labour government hinted at closer alignment with the EU, through a bill that would give the British government powers to mirror or diverge from new EU rules and regulations.
Lammy dismissed suggestions he was “undoing Brexit through the back door” through regulatory alignment, telling BBC Breakfast: “If they’re saying that they will struggle to point to ways in which after two weeks in office we have done that.”
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