LONDON — The U.K. risks blowing up its Brexit reset if it ties it to guarantees on Made in Europe. That’s the message EU capitals want London to hear. Europe’s protectionist push has the British government worried — and it wants assurances that U.K. businesses won’t be hit.
The EU’s Made in Europe legislation isn’t finished and is currently passing through the bloc’s cumbersome legislative process. The bloc’s Industrial Accelerator Act and its wider Made in Europe push are about shielding and rebuilding European industry from heavy foreign competition, not all of it perceived as fair. European leaders agree on the principle, but there are unresolved questions about what that means in practice, and who is inside the tent.
The EU says it can’t negotiate on legislation that isn’t finished — and that how Made in Europe rules end up treating the U.K. is one small part of a big and ongoing debate among EU countries. In the meantime, the planned summit between the U.K. and EU to wrap up the rest of the Brexit “reset” is still hanging without a date. The meeting, originally conceived by Keir Starmer, was meant to be held in July and conclude negotiations on an agri-food deal, a visas scheme for young people, and emissions trading linkage — and set the stage for more.
But it was postponed after Starmer’s government collapsed, and a new date has yet to be named. The latest chance to pick a date — at a meeting between new U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the U.N.
General Assembly on Tuesday — came and went without an announcement, despite widespread expectations that a day in November has been penciled in. The delays are starting to raise eyebrows among diplomats who fear the two sides may be playing hardball over the issue and putting the whole “reset” at risk. An EU diplomat from a member state which supports the U.K’s inclusion in Made in Europe warned: “My advice to the U.K. is don’t put yourself in a corner and tie progress on a closer relationship to the IAA.” “This is not settled and there is a live debate internally between countries and institutions.
This is much bigger than the U.K. There are a group of countries trying to keep the possibility of including the U.K. open, but they may not succeed,” they said. A second EU official said the U.K. would be playing a high-risk game if it delayed the summit over the subject, stating bluntly: “The U.K. needs Made in Europe more than Made in Europe needs the U.K.“ The final form of the legislation is far from certain.
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