The Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons (Chair: Emily Thornberry MP) published its latest report a couple of weeks ago. This one focuses on the developing relationship between the UK and the EU since July 2024. Title:
The report provides a useful overview of UK re-engagement with Europe. It gives a clear account of the UK-EU summit last May and of the ‘Common Understanding’ document that came out of it. It summarizes what has been done so far in terms of defence, Erasmus, agri-food, carbon pricing, electricity trading and youth mobility. It points out the present stalled state of the SAFE negotiations (which were attempting to include the UK in EU arms procurement), and it recommends that these be resumed and pursued with vigour.
The committee also identifies the weaknesses in the government’s approach. Specifically it charges the government with a lack of transparency, consistency and overall vision with regard to convergence. The picture it presents is of an unco-ordinated series of pushes which, while all pointing toward closer engagement with Europe, nonetheless don’t amount to a coherent joined-up strategy. The tone of the report is a good deal more sober than that of government pronouncements, and it’s a useful antidote to government hype.
However, the Committee doesn’t just criticize. It goes on to make recommendations. In particular it advocates a more strategic joined-up approach to the re-engagement process by the UK government, with more political dialogue on strategic matters, and a ‘coherent, ambitious’ economic agenda. It also wants the Government to produce an EU White Paper with ‘coherent vision for future’. Finally it recommends the creation of a Commons Committee dedicated to the relationship with the EU.
The tone of the report suggests that the committee’s centre of gravity is pro-Europe, though not specifically pro-rejoin. That distinction probably partly reflects the fact that the committee includes two Conservative MPs (as well as two Liberal Democrats) alongside seven Labour MPs. The two Tories are John Whittingdale, who is a long-time Brexit hardliner, and Aphra Brandreth, who is a member of the 2024 intake and was presumably selected as a candidate in accordance with Boris Johnson’s purge of remainers. So I guess neither of them would have agreed to anything explicit with regard to rejoin, and actually I’m surprised they agreed to the pro-convergence tone of the report at all. The bipartisan feel of it may be a façade, or it may represent something deeper. Who knows?
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