Reset

Exclusive: Ministers planning new legislation for alignment without full parliamentary scrutiny if in national interestMinisters are planning to fundamentally reshape Britain’s relationship with the European Union, with new legislation that could result in the UK signing up to EU single market rules without a normal parliamentary vote.In a major development in the prime minister’s push for closer ties with the continent after the Iran war, the Guardian understands ministers are bracing to face down opposition to “dynamic alignment” with the EU from those who “scream treason” over the powers in a new EU-UK reset bill. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Chris Bryant says policy agreements are being done in bits and pieces but a greater vision is needed by both sidesIt was all smiles and warm handshakes when the two men in charge of renegotiating the UK’s relationship with the EU met in Brussels this week.Maroš Šefčovič and the UK minister for EU relations, Nick Thomas-Symonds, sharing a stage on the third floor of the vast European parliament building, were at pains to show the cross-Channel relationship was in a good place after years of rancour. Continue reading...

Parties pledge to improve communication in England and Wales following fallout since Lancashire disappearancePolice and the media have backed a “reset” in relations between officers and journalists, after a prolonged period of distrust since the handling of the Nicola Bulley case in 2023.Bulley’s disappearance in Lancashire led to significant fallout between the police and the press, with media outlets saying a lack of access and information allowed incorrect assertions and conspiracy theories about the case to gain ground. Continue reading...

Time is running out to find agreement on areas such as tuition fees EU citizens would pay in Britain and rules for food safetyThe EU is hoping to urgently reboot talks on the “reset” of relations with the UK as negotiations are in danger of foundering before a planned July summit.At a public meeting of the EU-UK parliamentary partnership assembly in Brussels, the European Commission vice-president and trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, said both sides had to “change gears” now to ensure the deal got over the line. Continue reading...

Ministers go to Brussels for talks amid tuition fees standoff, 10 years after Britons voted to leave EUThis week is “Brexit reset” week for the British government, as ministers engage in a flurry of activity intended to highlight their determination to forge closer ties with Brussels 10 years after the country first voted to leave the EU.On Monday, Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Cabinet Office minister in charge of negotiating the government’s reset with the EU, will arrive in Brussels for a meeting of the joint EU-UK parliamentary partnership assembly. He travels mob-handed, to be joined by the Europe minister, Stephen Doughty, and the trade minister, Chris Bryant. Continue reading...

British negotiators ‘blindsided’ by Brussels’ demand for a reduction that could cost universities £140m a yearBritain is in a standoff with Brussels over a demand to cut university tuition fees for European students, in a row that threatens to scupper Keir Starmer’s planned EU reset.EU officials say European students should pay “home” fees of about £9,500 a year as part of the negotiations over a youth mobility scheme, rather than the higher international rate, which can rise above £60,000. Continue reading...