Reseting the EU relationship, one very slow step at a time
My Union branch has passed a motion for GMB Congress calling for the Labour Government to rejoin the single market and customs union now, and for the Party to ask for a mandate to rejoin at the next election. Is this needed? I am of the view that the speed of the “Reset” is glacial and that without a change in attitude they will not achieve anything of significance or notice before the end of the parliament.
Of the five point plan, two are stuck, and the refusal to consider ‘freedom of movement’ while seeking a “swiss style” deal are massive inhibitors to concluding agreement in areas that should be simple.
Despite my pessimism, both sides claim some progress has been quietly made over the last month. This is reported optimistically by google gemini. However, the Commission statement does not itemise any progress outside the agenda set at the May 25 Summit.
There was also a meeting of the joint specialised committees, between the Government and the Commission, producing a statement. https://bit.ly/4rxLX4T which reviewed the recent past, noting the UK’s agreement to re-enter Erasmus+ and its [possible] resolution of the UK breach of the Withdrawal Agreement terms on citizens’ rights, together with the 9 month old agreement to regularise the fishing arrangements. They have already claimed credit for all this. Its all old news.
On trade, they again note progress and anticipate more, yet much of the focus is GB/NI trade and the EU’s right of inspection. This is another point of diplomatic friction and a source, together with the issue of citizens’ rights, of the infringement proceedings.
When considering the Trade & Co-operation Agreement, the meeting anticipated further work on energy co-operation and finalising the agreements on Youth exchange, SPS and a common emissions trading scheme. They talked about global steel overcapacity, economic and supply chain security, and parties’ respective industrial policy measures. They also discussed the development and implementation of their respective Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms. These are reporting of agenda items, not completed actions.
They reference a third UK-EU dialogue on Cyber issues in December 2025 and discussed the next steps towards progressing cooperation on cyber security although the meeting of which they write, seems equally inconclusive. Also, they looked at the potential implications of the (EU’s) Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Resilience Acts and agreed to continue to talk.
They also anticipated the Treaty reviews, which one might hope will be conducted more quickly than progress on the reset.
In fact, the slow pace of agreement, does not auger well for the treaty review process.
Some say this is the fault of the EU, but mood and good relations are not enough and the UK’s red lines and sector-by-sector approach are provocations for any bad behaviour by the EU.
Originally published at https://davelevy.info on February 7, 2026.