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On 27 February, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen announced the Windsor Framework at a congenial joint press conference. Days later, the Prime Minster travelled to Paris for the first France-UK bilateral summit since 2018. There are hopes on both sides that we are headed for a ‘reset’ of relations between the UK and its European partners.
What better moment to launch the new UK in a Changing Europe tracker on the UK-EU relationship. Released quarterly, it is intended to provide an overview of the state of political relations between the UK and the EU. We define this broadly as not just formal interactions with the EU itself (including within the committees established by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and Withdrawal Agreement), but, more broadly, the UK’s bilateral relations with member states.
The first iteration is a snapshot of developments between the two sides over the past few months. It covers evidence of the warming of relations, which has included several bilateral agreements with EU countries, positive reactions to the announcement of the Windsor Framework from member states, and developments in British politics that may affect the relationship in coming months.
In terms of the latter, the Sunak government’s change in approach to the EU has built on the more conciliatory tone adopted by Liz Truss during her short tenure as Prime Minister. This government’s attitude to the negotiations that led to the Windsor Framework was arguably more pragmatic than that of either Boris Johnson or Theresa May, with Sunak willing to compromise on the continued application of EU law within Northern Ireland. Brussels was compelled to reciprocate and made concessions to the UK government on rules for checks on goods set to stay in Northern Ireland.
We have also seen overtures from both sides on closer cooperation in numerous policy areas, from sanctions against Russia, energy security and trade, to the UK’s participation in Horizon, the EU’s programme for funding research.
More widely, an ongoing dispute on the rights of EU citizens in the UK has been quashed, with the UK agreeing to implement the High Court’s judgement on Settled Status. This suggests we will continue to see more cordial cooperation on areas that are governed by the existing formal agreements between the UK and the EU.
The appetite for closer cooperation with European partners is also reflected in the Integrated Review Refresh 2023, published mid-March. We see a marked shift in tone from the original document published in 2021, with the government warmly welcoming the European Political Community, and being much more explicit about the UK’s desire for cooperation with the EU and bilateral relationships with member states.
Said member states have become more receptive to working with the UK on areas of significance to the relationship. In recent years, given issues surrounding the implementation of the Protocol, some governments have been prepared to only sign limited bilateral declarations with the UK. The resolution of the Windsor Framework means that we may see more detailed agreements; initial signs suggest member states are now less hesitant about cooperation with the UK....
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