Why Starmer is Cosying Up to Germany and France
Summary
TLDRThe video discusses Keir Starmer's approach to UK-EU relations, focusing on his attempts to reset ties after Brexit. Starmer aims for agreements in security, professional qualifications, and trade facilitation. However, the EU's response includes eight demands, with contentious points on mobility and fisheries access. Starmer's strategy involves bilateral talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron to gain leverage in negotiations. Despite challenges, including domestic unpopularity for Scholz and Macron, Starmer seeks to move beyond Brexit and rebuild a cooperative relationship with the EU.
Takeaways
- ๐ฌ๐ง The UK's relationship with the EU has been strained under previous Conservative governments led by Theresa May and Boris Johnson.
- ๐ Keir Starmer aims to reset the UK's relationship with the EU, promising a different approach compared to his predecessors.
- ๐ค Starmer seeks agreements in three key areas: security, recognition of professional qualifications, and agreements on veterinary and chemical matters to facilitate trade.
- ๐ช๐บ The EU's response to Starmer's advances was not positive, presenting eight demands that the UK must meet before negotiations can begin.
- ๐ค The last two EU demands could be problematic for Starmer, especially concerning a mobility deal and fisheries access, which might reignite Brexit debates.
- ๐ฅ Starmer is using bilateral talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron to gain leverage in broader EU negotiations.
- ๐ฉ๐ช Starmer's discussions with Scholz hint at a desire for a security and defense agreement, possibly similar to the Lancaster House Treaties.
- ๐ซ๐ท His meeting with Macron is seen as an opportunity to reset relations, though concrete plans for future cooperation with France are less clear.
- ๐คทโโ๏ธ There is skepticism about whether Starmer's strategy of aligning with Scholz and Macron will be effective, given their current domestic political challenges.
- ๐ค Historical precedent suggests that trying to secure EU concessions via Germany or France has not always been successful for the UK.
Q & A
What was the relationship between the UK and the EU like before Starmer's election?
-Prior to Starmer's election, the UK Conservative government under Theresa May did not pursue a conciliatory relationship with the EU. The UK made it clear it would not remain inside the single market or the customs union. Under Boris Johnson, the UK pursued a harder Brexit arrangement and tried to renege on the included commitment, which increased frustrations within the EU.
What approach is Starmer taking to reset the UK's relationship with the EU?
-Starmer is attempting to reset the relationship by pursuing a harder Brexit arrangement and trying to mend ties via a series of bilaterals with German Chancellor Olaf Schulz and French President Emanuel Macron.
What are the three key areas Starmer wants an agreement with the EU?
-Starmer wants an agreement in three key areas: an expansive security agreement, recognition of professional qualifications to facilitate better trade in services, and agreements on veterinary matters and chemicals to smooth out cross-border goods trade.
What were the EU's initial demands before they would begin negotiations with the UK?
-The EU responded to Starmer's advances with eight demands, with the first six being relatively easy for the UK to agree to. The final two demands, regarding a mobility deal and fisheries, are likely causing headaches for Starmer.
Why might a mobility deal be problematic for Starmer?
-A mobility deal would play badly for the pro-Brexit contingent in the UK and could reignite questions about the single market and customs union.
What is the current agreement regarding EU access to UK waters?
-The current agreement allows the EU conditional access to UK waters, which is set to end in 2026. The EU wants this access extended.
What is Starmer's strategy for negotiating with the wider EU?
-Starmer is using bilaterals with Schulz and Macron to get the Germans and the French on side, hoping that having the leaders of two powerful EU countries on his side might push the EU leaders into toning down their demands.
What are Starmer's aspirations regarding security and defense with Germany?
-Starmer seems to want an agreement similar to the Lancaster House treaties, which would improve the ability of French and British forces to work together and potentially establish shared stewardship of nuclear stockpiles.
Why is Starmer interested in a similar arrangement with Germany despite their military's current state?
-Germany has one of the largest defense budgets in Europe and is a key ally of Ukraine, providing material support during Russia's invasion. Starmer's interest aligns with the need for more cooperation between NATO members to counter Russia's influence in Europe.
What is the current political situation for Schulz and Macron that might affect their influence in the EU?
-Schulz's power in the EU is waning with declining support for his coalition, and Macron is far from popular at home with a net approval rating around minus 40%. This could limit their influence in EU negotiations.
What are the historical precedents for the UK trying to negotiate better concessions with the EU via Germany or France?
-The UK has tried this approach before without success, most notably when David Cameron tried to convince Angela Merkel for more concessions on freedom of movement before the Brexit referendum but was turned down.
What does the script suggest about the future of UK-EU negotiations?
-The script suggests that UK-EU negotiations will likely be a long-winded process unfolding over the next few years, with no quick fix to the complex issues at hand.
Outlines
๐ฌ๐ง UK's Evolving Relationship with the EU
The video discusses the UK's changing approach to its relationship with the EU under different leadership. Initially, the Conservative government led by Theresa May did not pursue a conciliatory relationship, opting out of the single market and customs union. Boris Johnson's tenure saw a harder Brexit approach with attempts to renegotiate existing commitments, leading to EU frustrations. Keir Starmer, coming to power, promised a reset but faced resistance from the EU. He is now focusing on bilateral agreements with Germany and France, aiming for better cooperation in security, trade, and other areas. Starmer's strategy includes seeking agreements on professional qualifications, veterinary matters, and chemicals to facilitate smoother cross-border trade. However, the EU has responded with demands, particularly on mobility and fisheries access, which could be challenging for Starmer to meet without reigniting Brexit debates.
๐ค Starmer's Bilateral Diplomacy: A New EU Strategy?
Starmer's approach to EU relations involves bilateral meetings with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron. The goal is to gain support from these influential leaders to ease broader EU negotiations. The video suggests that Starmer is looking to establish security and defense agreements, possibly similar to the Lancaster House Treaties, to enhance cooperation and counterbalance Russian influence. While the meetings with Scholz and Macron are seen as positive steps, there are doubts about the effectiveness of this strategy. Scholz's political power is declining, and Macron's popularity is low, which may limit their influence over EU decisions. Historical precedents, such as David Cameron's unsuccessful attempt to negotiate better terms with Angela Merkel, also cast doubt on the likelihood of success. The video concludes that resolving complex UK-EU issues will likely be a lengthy process rather than a quick fix.
Mindmap
Keywords
๐กStarmer
๐กBrexit
๐กEU
๐กBilaterals
๐กGermany
๐กFrance
๐กSingle Market
๐กCustoms Union
๐กVeterinary Agreement
๐กChemicals Agreement
๐กBrexiteer
Highlights
UK's Conservative government under Theresa May didn't pursue a conciliatory relationship with the EU.
Boris Johnson pursued a harder Brexit arrangement, increasing EU frustrations.
Starmer came to power promising to reset the UK's relationship with the EU.
Starmer faced rebuffs from the EU and is now trying to mend ties through bilateral agreements.
Starmer aims for agreements in security, professional qualifications recognition, and trade facilitation.
The EU responded with eight demands before negotiations could begin.
The final two EU demands are causing headaches for Starmer, including a Mobility deal and Fisheries agreement.
Starmer is using bilaterals with German Chancellor Olaf Schultz and French President Emanuel Macron to negotiate with the EU.
The hope is that support from Germany and France will ease wider EU negotiations.
Starmer's meeting with Schultz focused on moving beyond Brexit to rebuild EU relationships.
Macron sees Starmer's victory as an opportunity for a reset in UK-EU relations.
Starmer seeks security and defense agreements with Germany, similar to the Lancaster House Treaties.
Germany's defense budget and support for Ukraine make it a key ally for the UK.
Starmer's relationship with Macron is less clear, with no substantive plan for future cooperation.
Schulz's power in the EU is declining, which may affect his influence in negotiations.
Macron's popularity is low, which could limit his ability to sway EU decisions.
Previous attempts by the UK to use Germany or France for better EU concessions have not been successful.
UK-EU negotiations are likely to be a long process unfolding over several years.
Brilliant.org is sponsoring the video and offers interactive lessons in various fields.
Transcripts
this video is brought to you by
brilliant prior to starma being elected
to number 10 the conservative government
didn't exactly pursue a conciliatory
relationship with the EU under Theresa
May the UK made clear that it would not
pursue a relationship that saw the UK
remain inside the single Market or the
Customs Union under Boris Johnson the UK
pursued a harder brexit Arrangement and
then constantly tried to Ren on the
included commitment this only increased
frustrations with the wider EU which had
to contend with multiple prime ministers
from the same political party going back
and forward on the details of brexit
unsurprisingly starma came to power
promising to reset this relationship
however after being somewhat rebuffed by
the EU starma is now trying to mend ties
via a series of bilaterals with the
German Chancellor Olaf Schultz and the
French President Emanuel macron so in
this video we'll take a look at why
starma is taking a different approach
and whether it will help him secure
better deal with the
[Music]
EU before we start if you haven't
already please consider subscribing and
ringing the bell to stay in the loop and
be notified when we release new videos
now before we get into the video I just
wanted to point out that this is the
1,000th video on the tldr news UK
Channel having done this for over 6
years now it's been amazing to watch the
growth of the channel and the growth of
the community so thank you all so much
for that so so let's start with a bit of
context we've done a handful of videos
on starmer's plans for UK EU relations
in the past but the tldr is that starma
effectively wants an agreement in three
key areas an expansive security
agreement recognition of professional
qualifications to facilitate better
trade in services and a Veterinary
agreement and an agreement on chemicals
to smooth out crossborder Goods trade
unfortunately for starma the EU didn't
respond all that positively to his
advances responding with eight demands
for the UK to meet before negotiations
could even begin now the first six of
these should be relatively easy for the
UK to agree to It's the final two that
are probably causing headaches for
starma a Mobility deal would play
particularly badly for the pro brexit
contingent in the UK and would reignite
questions about the single market and
Customs Union in terms of Fisheries the
current agreement allows the EU
conditional access to UK Waters although
this is set to come to an end in 2026
the EU wants this extended doing so
though would be a real concession from
starma and risk restarting brexiteer
arguments about the UK fishing industry
having been rebuffed by the EU starm is
now apparently trying a new tactic using
bilaterals with Schulz and macron to get
the Germans and the French on side and
make negotiating with the wider EU
easier The Hope seems to be that by
having the leaders of two powerful
countries in the EU on your side they
might push the EU leaders ERS into
toning down the demands made of the UK
starma has been relatively explicit
about the fact that he sees these
bilaterals as at least EU adjacent in
his meeting with Schultz starma
explained that he hoped to move Beyond
brexit to rebuild relationships with the
EU similarly when starma met macron
recently for a bilateral meeting at
blenham Palace he argued that there was
a new impetus to work with the EU with
macron pointing out that starmer's
victory at the general election in July
was a great opportunity for a reset in
relations so with that in mind let's
have a quick look at how starma aims to
work more closely with Germany and
France in the case of the former starma
seems to want to come to some sort of
agreement on security and defense there
are some suggestions that the aspiration
here is something similar to the
Lancaster house treaties something that
David Cameron was able to agree to back
in 2010 with the French President
Nicholas sarosi essentially this was a
way for French and British forces to
improve Pro their ability to work
together from facilitating joint
disaster Hurricane Relief operations in
the West Indies to coordinating missile
strikes in Syria during the Syrian Civil
War the agreement also established
shared stewardship of each country's
nuclear stockpiles as both are the only
European powers with their own nuclear
weapons and whilst Germany doesn't have
its own nuclear capabilities it makes
sense why starma wants a similar
arrangement with Germany while Germany's
military isn't in great Nick at the
moment has made refurbishing it a
priority since Russia's invasion of
Ukraine as part of his so-called ziton
wender and Germany now has one of the
largest defense budgets in Europe
secondly Germany is a key Ally of
Ukraine and has provided material
support to them during Russia's Invasion
with the second Trump presidency on the
cards more cooperation between
like-minded NATO members that want to
counter Russia's influence in Europe
seems like a reasonable aspiration it's
less clear though how starma aims to
significantly improve his relationship
with macron and France obviously the
bilateral meeting was a good starting
point in and of itself but unlike with
Germany there doesn't seem to be any
substantive plan for the future and it's
at least possible that star's apparent
investment in the UK France relationship
is in part an attempt to get macron on
side for wider changes to UK EU
relations but if this is indeed starm
strategy will it work well there are at
least two reasons to be skeptical for
starters Schultz and 's power in the EU
is waning support for Schultz's
Coalition has declined significantly and
just last week his Social Democrat Party
got Hamed in Regional elections he's now
overwhelmingly likely to be replaced by
Fredrick May's Christian democrats at
the next election similarly macron is
far from popular at home with his net
approval rating currently hovering at
around minus 40% to be able to influence
the EU State leaders need to appear
powerful at home and to put it bluntly
neither Schultz or macron are and
moreover even if macron and Schultz were
powerful within the EU there's a
legitimate question about whether st's
strategy of buddying up to them would
even work when it comes to negotiating
with the EU itself many of the
difficulties and holdups in the types of
agreements that the starma government
wants with the EU such as the veteranary
agreement comes back to questions of the
single Market it's doubtful that the EU
will be convinced that it's in their
interest to agree to this simply because
starma has a closer relationship with
Schultz and macron the UK has also tried
going via Germany or France to get
better concessions out of the EU before
and it didn't go so well most notably
David Cameron tried to convince Merkel
to give him more concessions on freedom
of movement before the brexit referendum
but she turned him down now we're not
saying that this strategy doesn't work
necessarily but history here doesn't
bode well for starma and a quick fix to
the ever thorny issue of UK EU relations
looks unlikely ultimately as often is
the case with the EU negotiations over
the future relationship will probably be
a long-winded process that unfolds over
the next few years with issues like
these it's often hard to come to the
right conclusions so if you want to
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