The Irish Times view on the proposed UK/EU deal: a welcome first step

Andy Burnham replaced Keir Starmer as British prime minister with a commitment to forge greater ties with the EU. So far, he has been true to his word. A new EU-UK agreement, which both sides aim to ratify at a special summit on November 20th, would be an important sign of progress, albeit that much bigger decisions still lie ahead. The new deal between Brussels and London includes a sanitary and phytosanitary agreement which would remove the need for most routine border checks on food and agricultural products entering or leaving the UK.

As part of this, the UK would have to agree to align with EU standards. This is good news for Northern Ireland and potentially removes – or greatly eases – what had been a source of tension between unionist and nationalist politicians. Work will be needed to ensure it works as intended. The Windsor Framework, the post-Brexit settlement, gives Northern Ireland unique access to the UK internal market and the EU single market but tensions remained over checks on some products entering Northern Ireland.

The UK-EU agreement also includes a youth mobility scheme and an agreement on carbon trading rules. The text will also describe the UK as a “trusted partner” for the EU, which could enable Britain to develop much closer economic ties across a range of sectors in the years ahead. Burnham, as well as some of his cabinet colleagues, has raised the possibility of the UK rejoining the EU, or having a much closer relationship, but the prime minister will be aware of the political risks.

According to opinion polls, there is a majority in favour of rejoining, but only on the same terms as previous membership and there is no guarantee that would be on the table. Burnham is right to cite much needed growth as the rationale for the new EU-UK agreement. Positive signs from the deal could pave the way for further progress in rebuilding relations, but reversing the damage of Brexit is a long process. s.