British Treasury Secretary Rachel Reeves speaks to the media at the European Union Council headquarters on December 9, 2024 in Brussels, Belgium.
Thierry Monaci | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Brussels, Belgium: President-elect Donald Trump He has not yet entered the White House again, but the UK and neighboring European Union are already working more closely together to protect themselves from potential trade and defense showdowns with the next US leader.
British Chancellor Rachel Reeves traveled to Brussels on Monday to meet with her EU counterparts in the first such meeting since Britain left the European Union in 2020. Her host, Eurogroup head Paschal Donohoe, said he hoped this would be the first of many meetings. “Many.”
“There was a widely shared feeling that in a turbulent world, we still have common interests and values,” one EU official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the talks, told CNBC about the meeting. With the UK Chancellor.
The same official added that these common values are of interest to Ukraine, China and the United States
Reeves and her counterparts She did not share precise details about the Brussels talks, but said before her meetings that there were three areas where Britain and the EU could do more together: supporting Ukraine, supporting free trade and strengthening bilateral economic partnerships.
The explicit progress of these talks remains to be seen, but some meetings have already been added to the diary to address these topics.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is holding his own contacts with the EU in the short term, and is scheduled to host European Council President Antonio Costa on Thursday and is expected to attend a meeting of EU heads of state in early 2025.
I did not come here today to start negotiations.
Rachel Reeves
UK Consultant
A senior EU diplomat, who also did not want to be named due to the sensitivity of the talks, told CNBC that the bloc could benefit from being closer to the UK because of Britain's historic “special relationship” with the United States. This thinking comes against the backdrop of statements by the US President-elect regarding the possibility of imposing customs duties on European countries and reducing Washington’s support for Ukraine. Trump previously told NCB's Meet the Press that he would “likely” reduce that aid.
Ignacio García Persero, a non-resident fellow at the Bruegel Research Center and the EU's former chief negotiator in trade talks with the US, said the EU needs to consider its relationship with the UK when dealing with potential more protectionism from the US.
“It will also be important, strategically, for the UK and the EU to have a discussion on these issues. We will be sure that when we engage with the US, we do so in a way that is coherent and in fact inconsistent.” “Creating problems (in resetting relations with the UK).”
The UK and the EU have faced turbulent years in the wake of the Brexit vote, with complex negotiations damaging their relations. The new Labor government, which took power in July after 14 years of rival Conservative rule, wants to rebuild confidence and put an end to the latest standoff.
He added: “I did not come here today to start negotiations or lay out a set of demands. Those talks about reset and those negotiations will start in the new year, but what I aimed to do today is to start rebuilding those bonds of peace.” “The trust that has been shattered in the last few years,” Chancellor Reeves said in Brussels after her meeting.
At the same time, she made clear that she was not targeting negotiations to return to the European Union or change the Brexit agreements.
