UK-EU relations
Britain left the EU on January 31st 2020, with its economic links to the EU governed by the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) – which has not been a great deal for the UK economy. Keir Starmer’s Labour government, elected in July 2024, has sought a rapprochement with the EU. This culminated in the two sides agreeing – at a UK-EU summit in May 2025 – on a Security and Defence Partnership, and on a Common Understanding on the economic relationship. The former will allow the UK to work more closely with the EU on defence, for example by joining the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) programme. The latter has set out an agenda for closer co-operation in areas such as plant and animal health, emissions trading, electricity trading and youth mobility. In the long run, the needs of the British economy will push the government to seek closer ties; but the political context, notably the strength of the eurosceptic right, may make that difficult.
Daily Politics: Cameron's Brussels renegotiations
29 January 2016
John Springford joins the Daily Politics show to discuss David Cameron's renegotiation efforts in Brussels (from 7.43 mins).
Seven shades of strife if Brexit goes ahead
14 January 2016
The Irish Times
The CER has published a 13-page paper by Jean-Claude Piris in which he examines "the seven alternatives to EU membership" if Britain votes to leave. Put gently, this is code for seven shades of strife. Piris presents Brexit on a panorama beset with practical, political, economic and legal difficulty.
Brexit is the easy bit
12 January 2016
Financial Times
Voters should consider whether the cost in terms of prosperity and security is one they are prepared to pay, writes Jean-Claude Piris.
UK and the EU: How to make a Brexit
05 January 2016
BBC Radio 4
"We don't have any trade negotiators in Whitehall - we haven't had any since 1973," said Charles Grant of the CER on a BBC Radio 4 programme 'How to make a Brexit'.
Twelve things you need to know about Brexit
10 December 2015
Prospect
What would really happen if Britain left the European Union?
Letters: Britain’s future depends on relations with countries outside the eurozone
18 October 2015
The Telegraph
Jaw-jaw, not war-warSIR – Britain is lucky to have the thoroughly professional Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to analyse threats to security and work with partners in tackling them.Thus the FCO recently played an exemplary role in the successful diplomacy that has curbed Iran’s nuclear programme.
EU referendum: What should the In campaign be saying? - Is it time for hope or fear?
13 October 2015
Prospect
Yesterday, the campaign to keep Britain in the EU, called Britain Stronger in Europe, launched with a central London event, where spokespeople ranging from Stuart Rose, the former Marks and Spencer CEO, to June Sarpong, the TV presenter, extolled the benefits of maintaining our current relationship with the continent....
BBC World at One: Cameron's EU referendum negotiations
12 October 2015
Charles Grant discusses David Cameron's EU referendum negotiations with Martha Kearney (at 18:08) on BBC Radio 4, the World at One.
Q: With Europe at the top of the Tory party conference agenda, is Cameron's EU renegotiation doomed to fail?
05 October 2015
City A.M
Simon Tilford is deputy director of the Centre for European Reform, says No.
Britain can't be Norway, and Eurosceptics know this
29 September 2015
The Telegraph
Norway's relationship with the EU is being pushed as an alternative for Britain, but outers know it wouldn't work
Vijf mythes over het Britse referendum
07 September 2015
Internationale Spectator
De Britse premier David Cameron onderhandelt de komende maanden over het Britse EU-lidmaatschap. Medio volgend jaar volgt het EU-referendum. Nederland heeft belang bij het VK in de EU, maar Den Haag kan het proces maar beperkt beïnvloeden. Wat valt er te verwachten?
David Cameron should stand up to the eurozone
31 July 2015
Financial Times
Can Britain, a country that plans to keep its own currency, feel comfortable in an EU that is increasingly focused on the euro and its troubles? As David Cameron’s government starts negotiations with its partners on the terms...
Britain’s Eurosceptic ground zero
21 July 2015
Politico
The House of Commons doesn't even take full advantage of the powers it already has.
Wake up, Westminster! Why MPs should pay more attention to the EU
17 July 2015
British Influence
In his famous Bloomberg speech of January 2013, offering British voters a referendum on EU membership, David Cameron promised to strengthen the role of national parliaments in the EU. But are British parliamentarians up to the task? The Commons’ limited interest in European business suggest not.
The British parliament has been...
The British parliament has been...
Groundhog day for Europe: Why David Cameron needs to learn from his mistakes
15 July 2015
EPIN
Ahead of the UK general election, opinion polls predicted that Britons would wake up on May 7th to a hung parliament. But for the first time since John Major’s defeat in 1997, Britain again finds itself governed by a Conservative majority government.
Will the ongoing Greek crisis have a positive impact on Britain's renegotiation with the EU?
08 July 2015
City A.M
John Springford, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, says No
Those who believe that an embattled EU, weakened by an ongoing Greek crisis – or worse, Grexit – would give big concessions to David Cameron are misguided.
Those who believe that an embattled EU, weakened by an ongoing Greek crisis – or worse, Grexit – would give big concessions to David Cameron are misguided.
Will Europe ever stop being a headache for David Cameron?
26 June 2015
The Telegraph
The PM is trying to please too many people who want very different outcomes.
If David Cameron makes a passionate case for the EU, its leaders will help him
21 June 2015
The Observer
The prime minister must not dance to the tune of his backbenchers at the Brussels summit.
Germany seeks to give Britain EU leeway — but not at any price
10 June 2015
Financial Times
David Cameron, the British prime minister, left a good impression after his recent visit to Berlin. He talked politely about his hope ffor EU reform, ahead of a referendum on membership before the end of 2017. Yet senior German figures worry about the imminent British "renegotiation". They fret that Britain’s...
How Cameron can win an EU referendum
13 May 2015
Eutopia
Now that Cameron has won Britain’s general election, he must fulfil his promise of negotiating reforms to the EU and then holding an in-or-out referendum before the end of 2017.