Andy Burnham is set to sign a landmark Brexit reset deal with the EU next month which he said could provide a £10bn-a-year boost to the British economy.
Announcing that a long-awaited UK-EU summit will take place in Brussels on 20 November, the Prime Minister said that an agreement is “on the table” covering food and drink, carbon emissions trading and under-30s migration.
He also said the summit with EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen, could set up a “dialogue” on the UK’s future relationship with Europe which the Prime Minister has previously suggested could see Britain eventually rejoining the bloc.
Appearing in the Commons on Monday on the first day after the conference recess, Burnham said: “On the table is a trade deal on food and drink products, a deal on emissions trading, progress towards linking our energy systems, a new youth experience scheme and deeper co-operation on immigration.”
The food-and-drink agreement would cut bureaucracy relating to Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) regulation – the safety rules around importing and exporting food and drink – while the carbon deal would link the UK and EU’s respective emissions-trading systems, shielding Britain from EU carbon taxes.
The youth mobility scheme on the table is expected to enable under 30s to live, work, study and travel for a time-limited period on both sides of the Channel.
Most contentious of outstanding issues
This is understood to be the most contentious of the three deals, with outstanding issues over how many should be allowed into the UK each year, and whether EU students pay full international university fees, the same as UK students, or a fee in between.
The i Paper reported on Sunday that conceding to the EU compromise offer of fees between the international fees of £38,000 a year, but higher than the £10,000 fees UK students pay, could still cost cash-strapped universities around £280m a year.
It has also been reported that the UK wants to limit the number of under-30s who would come to the UK at 45,000 a year.
It is understood that the details are yet to be finalised, and negotiations are still taking place, with discussions on youth mobility likely to continue until shortly before the summit.
The Prime Minister said the deals would “add the equivalent of over £10bn per year to the UK economy by 2040, with the potential to add significantly more”.
It follows months of negotiations after Burnham’s predecessor Sir Keir Starmer began the Brexit-reset negotiations. An EU summit with Starmer in attendance had been pencilled in for July but was postponed after Andy Burnham took over as PM.
Burnham also said he would use the summit to “raise our concerns” about the ‘Made in Europe’ scheme – an EU initiative aimed at protecting the bloc from cheap Chinese exports which has led to fears that British manufacturers could be locked out too.
The i Paper understands the summit will come too soon for Burnham to confirm UK inclusion in Made in Europe. The programme is still being debated among EU members so its scope will only be known next year.
The Prime Minister said that November’s summit would provide an opportunity to kickstart a process to look at Britain’s longer-term relationship with Europe.
‘Public will be the boss’
In his speech to Labour’s annual conference last month, Burnham said he would use the summit to lay out to the country “different options”. In subsequent interviews he said this could include rejoining the customs unions, an associate membership status similar to the one Canada is discussing with Brussels, or even a referendum to fully rejoin the EU.
It is understood that this speech may have helped get the Brexit-reset deal over the line as it indicated to the EU that the UK could be prepared for a deeper relationship in the future.
On Monday, Burnham said: “Sticking with the status quo is not good enough for Britain. Worse, it would be a major dereliction of duty to turn away. We need to take a calm, clear-eyed, rational look at the world as it is today to consider what is best for our country.
“Our immediate priority is securing a successful outcome at the summit, and I believe we should then set up a serious dialogue about the different options for our relationship in the long-term.
“At every stage, the British public will be the boss, and I am clear that public opinion currently supports a pragmatic approach like the one I am suggesting.”
However, Burnham said that for now Labour is “not prepared to revisit the red lines in our manifesto” – which explicitly ruled out rejoining the single market or customs union. The Prime Minister also said he is not currently advocating for a referendum.
In Brussels, diplomats are watching to see where Burnham’s Brexit review process ends. The European Commission has broadly welcomed his call for improved ties, and his comment that Brexit has “done more harm than good,” but officials have also been scrupulous in not commenting on the possible options, insisting this is first and foremost an internal UK debate.
Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, meanwhile accused Burnham in the Commons of having “blurted out everything he wants” from the talks with Europe. “This is not how you conduct negotiations,” she added.