The Labour government in the UK is keen to draw a line under the “fractious and antagonistic” relationship its Conservative predecessor had with the European Union (EU), chancellor Rachel Reeves has said.
The UK chancellor of the exchequer was speaking after coming from a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels, the first a UK minister has attended since Britain left the EU.
Ms Reeves said the meeting on Monday was not the start of any new negotiation but instead part of ongoing work to mend relations. Her decision to join a Eurogroup meeting of EU ministers was an effort to “rebuild those bonds of trust that have been fractured in the last few years under the previous government,” she said.
The last UK chancellor to attend a meeting of EU finance ministers was Sajid Javid in January 2020, several days before Britain’s formal exit from the EU. UK prime minister Keir Starmer has promised to reset relations with the EU, which hit an all-time low during the turbulent years of Brexit talks that set out the terms of the UK’s exit from the bloc.
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“Today was not about starting a negotiation. Today was the preliminary work that is needed to rebuild trust and build relations after a very fractious and antagonistic few years [of relations] between the UK and the European Union,” Ms Reeves said. “We want to draw a line under those relations and turn a page to one of co-operation,” she said.
It was in the UK’s national interest to have “more normal” trading relations with its nearest neighbours, Ms Reeves said.
Outgoing minister for public expenditure Paschal Donohoe, who chaired the meeting as president of the Eurogroup, said there was a “warm response” to the UK chancellor.
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Detailed talks around a future deal on fishing quotas or youth mobility, which would allow young people to move between the EU and UK to study and work for a number of years, were for another day, he said.
“Before we get into that phase it was important for each side to come together, to set the tone and to lay out what our views are in areas where we can continue to co-operate today on,” he said.
The attendance of the UK chancellor at the meeting was an “important symbol” of a warmer relationship, he said. “Whether you’re the finance minister of the UK, or the finance minister in a euro area country, the challenges are the same,” Mr Donohoe said.
Speaking on his way into the meeting, outgoing minister for finance Jack Chambers said his UK counterpart’s attendance represented the turning of a “new leaf” between the UK and the EU.
The thawing came at a time of global uncertainty, where Ireland and Britain were both on the same page in wanting to maintain an open approach to international trade, he said.
United States president-elect Donald Trump’s campaign trail promises to slap high tariffs on all goods imported into the US has raised fears of a possible looming trade war with Europe.
Mr Chambers said the government had to wait and see what approach Mr Trump would take after he took office in January. “We know his approach to tariffs and international trade is different from the administration that is leaving the White House,” he said.
The minister said Ireland wanted to have a “constructive relationship” with Mr Trump during his second term. “The European Union will be preparing for good relations with president Trump. Tariffs and tit-for-trade trade disputes and protectionism is not good for citizens in the European Union and won’t be good for citizens in the US either,” he said.
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