LIVERPOOL, England — Andy Burnham’s government will go “further and faster” in rebuilding links with the European Union, his EU relations minister has said. Hamish Falconer told delegates at the party’s conference in Liverpool on Monday that they would “hear a bit from the prime minister tomorrow” on the issue of the EU. Falconer said he wanted to conclude the round of talks begun by Keir Starmer on an agri-food deal, emissions trading and youth visas at a summit this year — before agreeing a new “package” with the EU.
We are focused on the summit now. We are keen to go further and faster on our relationship with Europe, and I think we are clearly talking about pretty big numbers in terms of the overall addition to GDP,” he said. Chancellor John Healey met with EU finance ministers in Dublin earlier this month where he pushed for including U.K. firms in Brussels’ Made in Europe industrial agenda — and suggested a closer partnership in tech, defense, and manufacturing.
Speaking in the conference hall on Monday morning, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told delegates that the U.K’s future lay in a “deeper” partnership with the EU. It's how we pursue our interests from trade to defense. It's where we build and protect our alliances.
And on economics, on defense, on security, I say to this conference, our future lies in a stronger, deeper partnership with the European Union.” The planned U.K.-EU summit to conclude the current round of talks is yet to get a new date. It was originally scheduled for July but postponed after the collapse of Keir Starmer’s government. U.K. officials say they are keen for the EU to give guarantees that British businesses will not be hit by new Made in Europe measures that will shut some third countries out of EU contracts.
EU officials have said they can’t give those guarantees as the legislation is still at a formative stage and subject to negotiation between different member countries. Speaking in Liverpool, Falconer described the Made in Europe measures as “alarming,” adding that he was “obviously very focused on the interests of British industry.” Meanwhile a group of European chambers of commerce focused on trade with the U.K. has written to the European Commission, Council and senior MEPs urging them to include the U.K. in any Made in Europe plans. Signatories from groups including the British Chambers of Commerce in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium said “the United Kingdom should not be viewed as a typical third country within the Made in Europe debate,” citing “decades of industrial cooperation, deeply integrated supply chains, comparable regulatory standards and robust commitments under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.”
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