Wary EU waits for actions, not words from UK
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EU → wait → AI
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham may have shifted the dial by floating a return for his country to the European Union.
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Burnham → shift → Union
But after a roller-coaster decade since the Brexit vote, the UK rejoining is only a distant prospect and Brussels is waiting first to see what London wants next.
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London → rejoin → what
“It’s positive.
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It → ’ → ?
It improves the tone,” one EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP.
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official → improve → AFP
“But we’re not going to change our approach because there’s nice music in the background.”
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we → go → background
Burnham – who took power in July – this week broke a taboo for a British prime minister by opening the door to the UK’s possible return to the fold.
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who → take → fold
Smashing through red lines set by his cautious predecessor Keir Starmer, the former mayor of Manchester said potential options might include staying as is, joining the EU’s customs union or single market, or eventually going “all the way”.
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options → smash → union
The positive vibes from the new UK leader drew a warm response from several of his European counterparts.
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vibes → draw → counterparts
“Welcome back,” quipped French President Emmanuel Macron in English.
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Macron → welcome → English
“If the British want to come back and if the prime minister is moving in that direction, I think that is very good news both for his country and for Europeans,” he said.
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he → want → Europeans
“It is for the UK government to set out how it wishes to develop its relationship with the EU going forward,” said European Commission spokesman Balazs Ujvari.
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Ujvari → set → EU
“We remain open to engaging on the options it may put forward.”
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it → remain → options
After dealing with six different prime ministers in a decade, diplomats in Brussels have grown wary of putting too much stock in their grand words.
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diplomats → deal → words
“Yes,” replied one succinctly, when asked if there was frustration at yet another fresh start from the UK.
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one → reply → UK
Summit’s gotta give?
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Summit → get → ?
The first test for Burnham will be locking in a summit with EU leaders Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa that can deliver an initial set of concrete results.
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that → lock → results
Officials on both sides say they are hoping to hold it in November – but the exact date is not fixed yet.
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date → say → November
The meeting was originally set for June to cement Starmer’s much-vaunted “reset” with Brussels, but was scrapped when he was dumped from office.
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he → set → office
On the table for Burnham are the same issues – a deal for young people to work and study on both sides, cutting checks on plant and animal products, and linking up carbon trading schemes.
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people → work → schemes
EU countries want the UK to allow European students to study there more cheaply, while London is worried about a “Made in Europe” plan from Brussels to prioritise its own industries.
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London → want → industries
The EU official warned that Brussels still was not willing to make any concessions to London without “significant advances”, most notably on the youth scheme.
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Brussels → warn → scheme
With the new mood music after Burnham’s arrival, a successful summit could lay the grounds for more ambitious efforts.
“It can serve to restore trust and start afresh on a better footing,” said Sebastien Maillard, an expert at the British think tank Chatham House.
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Maillard → lay → tank
Nevertheless, he said that the idea of Britain rejoining the bloc still seemed completely “unrealistic”.
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Britain → say → bloc
“It’s too big, too soon,” he told AFP.
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he → ’ → AFP
In Brussels there are major doubts over whether Britain could ever accept new terms from the bloc for rejoining.
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Britain → be → bloc
During its decades-long membership, London negotiated “carve outs” from some rules and refused to join the Euro single currency or Schengen travel zone.
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London → negotiate → currency
Burnham himself has never hid his desire for Britain to return – having previously said he hopes to see it back in the EU “in my lifetime”.
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it → hide → lifetime
“But it’s not necessarily the case that that is now,” he told the BBC this week.
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he → ’ → ?
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