Dear Subscribers,
President Macron blamed Brexit for the escalating illegal migration crisis on both sides of the English Channel. His claim has little basis in reality, while membership of another pan-European institution—the ECHR—certainly plays a role in exacerbating the problem. The French President also refused to commit to a detailed ‘one in, one out’ plan devised by Keir Starmer, agreeing only to a principle and a pilot scheme. All this while on a state visit to the UK.
Starmer desperate to please
The EU has made two major concessions to the US as part of ongoing negotiations and tit-for-tat over trade and tariffs. Retaliatory measures originally intended to be implemented next week will now be implemented at a later date, and only if the US imposes additional tariffs as Trump has threatened. Meanwhile, the EU Commission has shelved plans for a Digital Services Tax which Trump has criticised for targeting US tech companies. Remainers frequently claim that it is harder to push countries around when they are all clubbed together in a trade bloc. Not hard enough for Trump, apparently.
The EU Commission is reportedly delaying the ratification process for a free trade deal with the Mercosur trading bloc of South American countries. The deal faces opposition from France and Poland, with Italy also wavering. The Commission is apparently worried that this opposition will be enough to prevent ratification. The delay shows how difficult it is to design an international trading policy which will satisfy 27 separate Member States.
The Attorney-General has been accused of a ‘power-grab’ after guidance issued in his name to government lawyers was leaked. The document encourages civil servants to challenge the legality of ministerial decisions, even suggesting that introducing legislation to Parliament which could contradict international law would be a breach of the Ministerial Code. Increasingly, the government seems to be dominated by lawyers.
Who really runs the country?
A coalition of politicians, scholars, and public figures have signed an open letter to the Trustees of the British Museum expressing concern about a ‘covert’ attempt to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece and have threatened legal action. Signatories accused the trustees of scheming to get around a 1963 Act which prevents the British Museum from giving away items in its collection.
Media
Briefings co-editor Robert Tombs on the State Visit
John Penrose on the benefits system
Key Points
The State Visit by President Macron can only be interpreted as a failure for the embattled Labour government. On almost every issue, Britain seems to have made significant concessions to France for no obvious reciprocal benefit. Keir Starmer could not even extract some favourable headlines on his latest plan—doomed to failure—to stop the boats. This government seems to have no interest in pursuing Britain’s national interest, instead they will do anything to ingratiate themselves with fading continental elites.
The Prime Minister agreed to invest more than £140 million in a Paris-based, French-state-owned satellite business. It is not at all clear what the UK gets out of helping to fund a French initiative to create a rival to Starlink, a subsidiary of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, especially since industry experts are unconvinced of the viability of the scheme.
Starmer also agreed that Britain would coordinate its use of its nuclear deterrent with France, a long-term ambition of President Macron’s, The agreement is one piece of a wider pattern of Starmer tying up British military assets with European security infrastructure. Once again, it is hard to see what Britain gains from this, while Macron can return to France having secured a promise of cooperation from Britain in deterring security threats to the EU.
Perhaps the most embarrassing failure for Starmer was the lack of any clear deal on stopping small boats crossing the Channel. The Prime Minister was reportedly hoping to conclude negotiations for a ‘one in, one out’ deal, by which migrants arrested in Britain would be returned to France in return for Britain allowing a similar number to cross legally. Negotiators clashed on the scale of the plan, and all Starmer could extract was a vague agreement to give it a go.
There is no reason why the State Visit should have required so many concessions to the French. Macron is weak domestically and must rely on foreign policy for visible successes as his final term as President comes to an end. If only Starmer was not so obsessed with ‘resetting’ relations with the EU, he might see an opportunity to rebalance our relationship with France so that it better serves Britain’s interests.
