Teresa Suarez / EPA
Macron is taking advantage of the British’s attempted rapprochement to the EU to make requirements in the fisheries and defense and resolve old conflicts inherited from Brexit.
With Trump’s trade war imposing a brake on British plans for an approach to the United States in post-Brexit, Keir Strmer was forced to turn to Europe again and look.
However, the British Prime Minister is giving guys with an assertive voice that is making negotiations difficult: Emmanuel Macron. With an important summit between the UK and the EU scheduled for May 19, in London, Paris is taking a hard posture, requiring concessions in the field of defense and fishing before committing to deeper cooperation.
Diplomatic sources heard by revealing that France, echoing its combative role during Brexit’s departure negotiations, now insists that the United Kingdom does not receive any post-Brexit advantages. This includes oppose British access to Safethe EU Defense Rearmament Fund in the amount of 150 billion euros. French authorities fear that allowing British defense companies to enter the program to damage their national industry and lead to the loss of jobs.
Although France has been open to a security alliance, it is using negotiations for revisit unresolved tensions from Brexit. In particular, he wants guarantees that the EU fishing fleets will maintain access to British waters after 2026, when they expire the current quotas of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
France, along with Denmark and the Netherlands, requires extension, considering it an essential condition for broader cooperation. A French diplomat summarized the dilemma directly: “Safety and defense cannot be negotiated in a year, and the following year is discussing mackerel quotas.”
However, the United Kingdom Looking for a tripartite agreement with the EU ─ A political statement, a defense pact and broader cooperation on several fronts. British Foreign Minister David Lammy recently attended a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Poland, where he took the opportunity to echo the partnership renewal stmercase. “We are working together with our European allies to build a safer and more prosperous Europe,” he said.
But Stmerer faces a increasing pressure in your countryespecially after Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, gaining earnings from local elections. Farage, one of the main voices in favor of Brexit, is making the alarms sound against the UK’s rapprochement to the EU – a message that can complicate Starm efforts and light internal contestation.
Despite the hard line of France, some EU countries are becoming frustrated with their inflexibility. Countries such as Germany and the states of eastern Europe, which they consider United Kingdom Cooperation In a context of growing Russian threats and in the midst of a trade war, they are pressuring Macron to have a pragmatic approach. A possible commitment may involve UK adhesion to Safe as a paying member.
The division reflects psychological divisions Deeper post-Brexit: The United Kingdom sees Europe as a partner, despite having left the EU, while France remains cautious and suspicious, questioning the long-term loyalty of the British.
However, analysts say cooperation is inevitable. “If France and the United Kingdom do not work together, nothing will happen”Said François-Joseph Schichan, former French Diplomat.
