Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Brexit Britain wants to come back

Brexit Britain wants to come back

Six years after the Brexit vote, Euroskeptic PM Liz Truss wants to lead the UK back into Europe’s political arena.
Times must be hard in London: Brexit Britain wants to rejoin Europe’s political community.

According to three officials present at a meeting on Thursday, the United Kingdom told its European partners that Prime Minister Liz Truss is not only willing to attend the first gathering of the European Political Community in Prague next week, but that she is also willing to host the next summit in London.

The European Political Community is a nascent configuration of European countries whose leaders aim to meet regularly. The club, which will meet for the first time on October 6, includes the leaders of the EU, candidate countries such as Ukraine, the Western Balkans and Turkey, as well as neighbors that do not want to join the Union, such as Norway, Switzerland and the U.K.

It was first proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron, who touted the new club as a way for European leaders to discuss questions that affect their continent.

The U.K. made the announcement that it is willing to host the next meeting, which has not been reported before, at a closed-doors meeting of sherpas on Thursday, the two officials told POLITICO.

According to the officials, the U.K.’s sherpa proposed to change the name of the club to “European Political Forum.” Moldova — another non-EU country — has also offered to host the next summit, according to one of the officials.

A U.K. government source confirmed the country is potentially interested in hosting further meetings but noted others are also keen.

The first meeting next week will focus on Russia’s war in Ukraine and energy security. Truss is keen to take part in discussions on migration and energy security, according to U.K. officials, but remains skeptical of the need for another multilateral forum.

For Truss, the move to rejoin a European political project is a high-risk option at a sensitive time. Her euroskeptic Conservative Party chose her as its new leader less than a month ago, and she is already battling to save her skin after a disastrous first few weeks.

With the U.K. facing a full-on financial crisis thanks to Truss’s announcement of sweeping tax cuts, she cannot afford to anger her colleagues. It remains to be seen how far Conservative members, voters and colleagues in parliament support her plan to get close to Europe once again. Former Cabinet minister David Lidington – who backed Remain in Britain’s referendum — said Thursday night that such a move would be a “very welcome development.”

For the past six years since the U.K. voted to leave the EU in 2016, successive governments — in which Truss has served — have sought to distance themselves from Brussels. As foreign secretary before she became prime minister, Truss took a hard line with Brussels over Brexit disputes, including the ongoing disagreement over trade rules for Northern Ireland.

Truss and Macron discussed his idea for a political community that included the U.K. when they met earlier this month in New York. Yet there were reasons why the U.K. side seemed reluctant to sign up, not least the desire to avoid looking like Truss was re-joining something that looked like the EU. That is likely to be why the U.K. representatives proposed changing the name from a “community” to a “forum” during the talks on Thursday.

On Monday, the U.K. opposition Labour party weighed in to the debate, urging Truss to go to the meeting next week. “These are our allies, our partners, there’s war in Europe. I certainly would go,” said Labour’s foreign affairs spokesman David Lammy.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
×