The French president agrees to an EU-UK deal on the return of migrants, but it is causing controversy in Brussels. Photo: Laurent BLEVENNEC
While Sir Keir Starmer will receive sympathetic attention from Emmanuel Macron when he sets out his plans for a closer relationship with the EU, he should not expect the same warmth from Brussels.
G- Mr Macron is simply one of 27 EU heads of state and government fighting among themselves over migration.
Such divisions, brutally exposed amid the horror that gripped Lampedusa, mean Sir Keir's plans for a return deal with the EU migrants will remain in force. is firmly in the background for Brussels.
The European Commission has no plans to reach a deal allowing migrants on small boats to be sent back to the bloc in the short to medium term.
That won't change until EU governments agree to asylum reform, which has eluded the bloc since 2015 .
Lampedusa is flooded with migrants Photo: ZAKARIA ABDELKAFI/AFP
Hungary and Poland have flatly refused to accept quotas of asylum seekers to reduce pressure on border countries such as Italy and Greece.
Rome and Athens are outraged that Western states such as France and the Netherlands are using «Dublin» EU rules for sending back migrants who land on their shores.
Meanwhile, Western countries suspect them of turning a blind eye to traveling economic migrants. to richer countries from their territory.
The French president has called for an agreement between the EU and the UK on the return of migrants, which would reduce the pull factor for those hoping to cross the Channel from France.
< p>But there are benefits for Italy and Greece from agreeing to take back migrants from Britain are far less certain, even if Sir Keir offers to take in EU asylum seekers in return.
There is little capacity in Brussels, which is pursuing its own return deals with African countries and trying to win support for a 10-point plan to overcome the crisis in Lampedusa.
Prime Minister Starmer will be able to secure a plant and animal protection deal to end trade disputes with the EU and Northern Ireland, but the price will be in line with Brussels standards.
The UK will have no say in future reviews of these rules, and it will have to sacrifice some of the regulatory freedom gained as a result of Brexit.
Trade deal negotiations
This freedom was hard-won at the price of mere bones. A Brexit trade deal that Sir Keir said he would like to renegotiate once he comes into government.
The deal is scheduled to be renegotiated in 2026, ten years after the Brexit vote, but sources The EU has made it clear that they see this. as a chance to change the agreement rather than renegotiate it.
Brussels has little incentive to renegotiate the agreement.
Currently, the government has still not introduced full border controls on imports from the EU, citing the need to protect supply chains during the cost of living crisis.
This suits the EU, which has introduced checks for Britons. imports when Brexit comes into force at the end of 2020 are normal.
Any EU deal with the UK will require unanimous support and concrete political will from Brexit-affected EU capitals.
The EU is moving slowly. It took British threats to tear up Northern Ireland's Brexit deal before Brussels renegotiated the Irish Sea border.
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People say it takes two to tango to get a deal, but in the EU it might take 27 plus one.
The Labor leader will need to do a lot more than just meeting Mr Macron to play enough positive music to convince the EU to dance.
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