Sir Keir Starmer’s ambition to reset UK-EU relations after Brexit is “suffering from a lack of direction, definition and drive”, MPs have warned in a new report.
The government has been urged to end its “secrecy” over what it is seeking in order to save its “languishing” efforts to grow closer to the bloc.
The prime minister pledged to reset Britain’s relationship with Brussels when he took office, promising to rebuild ties with the EU that had been damaged by the previous Conservative government.
But MPs on the Commons foreign affairs select committee said the government failed to present a coherent roadmap at last year’s Lancaster House summit with the EU, and is at risk of making the same mistake ahead of this year’s follow-up event.
It said a lack of clear, strategic priorities from the UK side has given the impression that the EU has achieved more progress in the negotiations.
Committee chair Dame Emily Thornberry said that although the reset marked a “major step change” in government policy, the efforts have lacked “direction”.
“Sadly, we found that despite progress in some areas, the government’s reset is languishing, suffering from a lack of direction, definition and drive,” she said.
“It feels as though we are on a journey with no clear destination.
“In many areas, the government has failed to provide timelines, milestones, or priorities and it does not appear to have an ambitious, strategic vision for the UK’s new relationship with the EU.”
The new report released on Wednesday urged the government to set out its vision for the UK’s relationship with the EU in a white paper and set up a new Commons EU scrutiny committee.
Sir Keir clinched an initial landmark deal last year, which included agreements such as allowing British tourists to use fast-track e-gates at European airports, a 12-year extension of an agreement for EU trawlers to access UK waters, and an open-ended agreement to slash red tape on food and drink exports and imports.
In February, Britain and the EU announced they were aiming to finalise negotiations on a youth mobility scheme in time for another joint summit later this year. They also want to secure a common sanitary and phytosanitary area – which would apply to the movement of plants and food – and agree on a way to link their emissions trading systems by that time.
However, talks aimed at the UK potentially joining the European Union’s new €150bn (£130bn) Security Action for Europe (Safe) rearmament fund broke down at the end of last year.
“The exorbitant price tag for the UK’s participation in the first round of the Safe programme is short-sighted, particularly given the threat from Putin’s Russia,” Dame Emily said.
But she also said the UK government must go beyond work to “identify the problem and vaguely call for more ‘alignment’”, and urged both sides to focus on the “bigger picture”, while criticising the EU for “changing the goalposts” when it comes to asking for the UK to make financial contributions to the bloc.
She said: “We need to work towards concrete, practical and deliverable solutions in tandem with our EU partners.
“Today’s report calls on government to end its secrecy over EU matters, and set out exactly what it plans to do in the next phase of negotiations in a white paper.
“Government should also be willing to subject its plans to proper parliamentary scrutiny and facilitate the establishment of a new EU scrutiny committee in the Commons.”
