Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel has accused Sir Keir Starmer of 'unpicking Brexit' by agreeing to annual payments of around £1bn to the European Union as part of a reset in relations, according to multiple reports. The UK is expected to make its first post-Brexit payments into European budgets, totalling roughly £1bn a year, to secure a reset with the EU, multiple sources reported. Patel said the prime minister was 'planning another undemocratic hit job on British taxpayers by signing us up to a £1billion annual payment to the EU'.
EU negotiators insist that the payment is a prerequisite for greater access to the EU single market, according to reports. UK ministers disagree with the demand and view it as a starting position for talks, sources said. According to The Independent, one European diplomat described that if the UK wants further integration it must 'pay to play'.
If the UK wants further integration they must 'pay to play'. That is not unusual.
Starmer has called for 'deeper economic integration' with the EU and alignment with the single market in areas that work for both sides, according to reports. However, he has ruled out rejoining a customs union, saying there was too much water 'under the bridge' after the UK signed trade deals with the US and India, The Independent reported. Health Secretary Wes Streeting had earlier described customs union membership as having 'enormous economic benefits', according to The Independent.
In March, European leaders reportedly agreed that the UK would have to pay into European funds for the first time since Brexit to participate in the EU's single market for electricity. The European Council called for a 'permanent mechanism' for an 'appropriate financial contribution' for further single market access, reflecting the UK's economy size and market proportion, according to reports. Switzerland currently pays €375m a year to the EU's social cohesion fund for privileged single market access, sources noted.
It [Brexit] has damaged our economy and there's no doubt in my mind where the national interest lies. Britain must be at the heart of a stronger Europe on defence, on security, on energy, and on our economy.
The prime minister is due to attend a summit with European leaders this summer before detailed negotiations, according to reports. Starmer attended the European Political Community summit in Armenia, where he launched a bid to join the EU's 90bn euro (£78bn) loan scheme for Ukraine, according to reports. He said the scheme would be 'very good' for UK-EU ties and creating jobs.
According to The Independent, Starmer wrote that Brexit has damaged the economy and Britain must be at the heart of a stronger Europe.
unpicking Brexit and planning another undemocratic hit job on British taxpayers by signing us up to a £1billion annual payment to the EU
enormous economic benefits
under the bridge
very good