The European Union and the United Kingdom have announced that their next summit to discuss the 'reset' in relations between London and Brussels will take place on 22 July. The summit, to be held in Brussels, has been delayed multiple times due to deadlocked talks over a youth mobility scheme allowing under-30s to work, travel, or study in each other's territory, fueling speculation it would be postponed until autumn.
Summit Date Confirmed at G7
António Costa, the president of the European Council, confirmed the date at the G7 meeting in Evian on Tuesday. 'Close EU-UK cooperation is essential for our shared European security, resilience and prosperity,' he said. 'We are working closely together to make our upcoming second summit on 22 July a success.'
The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, who could be facing a leadership challenge after Thursday's Makerfield byelection, stated: 'My Labour government is delivering on our promise to reset our relationship and put Britain at the heart of Europe. Together we will tackle the cost of living, boost jobs and create opportunities for young people.'
Youth Mobility Scheme Stalls Summit
The summit was originally scheduled for May but delays over the youth mobility programme pushed it back to late June and then early July. EU diplomats expressed disappointment that the 'momentum is being lost' in the reset that Starmer has promised since taking office in 2024. The UK's resistance to some EU demands in the youth experience programme, including restoring pre-Brexit home tuition fees for EU students, is thought to have held up the summit. EU diplomats warned there would be no summit without a youth experience programme, one of the few EU red lines in the reset negotiations.
Other Key Topics on Agenda
Other key topics include a food and farm produce trade agreement that will remove red tape and physical checks on exports into the EU, with the UK agreeing to align with the bloc's standards. The sanitary and phytosanitary agreement is already partly agreed, with the UK recently unveiling checks to be removed, allowing food producers time to prepare for implementation, likely next summer. Talks are also progressing on an emissions trading system, allowing the UK to align with the EU's trading rules involving penalties for products with high carbon emissions.
The head of pro-EU campaign group Best for Britain, Naomi Smith, said 'whoever is in No 10 in July must recognise the increasing importance' of the bloc, and that even 'signalling an intention to pursue membership' would help generate political will to underpin rejoining.
