Burnham Floats Rejoining EU; Macron Says 'Welcome Back'

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has opened the door to Britain rejoining the European Union, saying the UK could stay as it is, seek a customs union, return to the single market or “go all the way.” The leaders of France and Spain welcomed the idea. Emmanuel Macron responded in English with “Welcome back,” and Pedro Sánchez said Spain would welcome Britain’s return “with open arms.”

Burnham set out those options in broadcast interviews on Wednesday, including on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, a day after he told Labour’s conference in Liverpool that Brexit had done “more harm than good.” Asked on Today whether he wanted the UK to rejoin the EU, he said he wanted to “look at the options,” the Guardian and the BBC reported.

“We could stay as we are. That’s definitely an option, if people think this is the right place to stay,” he said. “We could look at what George Osborne has said about a customs union, we could look at what the Liberal Democrats said at their conference about the single market or we could go all the way.”

“There are clearly options that need to be considered, and we have to look at what is doable and what would be the pros and cons of each,” Burnham told the BBC. He has said he will set out the choices around the time of a postponed UK-EU summit expected in November.

A break from Labour’s red lines

The remarks mark a significant shift from the position Labour took into the 2024 election, the Guardian reported. The party’s 2024 manifesto ruled out returning to the EU single market or customs union, as well as restoring freedom of movement. For now, Burnham is committed to that manifesto, but he could push Labour towards a closer relationship with the EU at the next general election, which must be held no later than August 2029, DW reported.

He has signalled how that might happen. Burnham told the BBC it was “possible” that a future Labour manifesto could include a new in-out referendum on EU membership, while saying a referendum “wouldn’t be the right thing to do right now.”

Former Conservative chancellor George Osborne recently told The Independent that Brexit “has been a mess” and that rejoining the customs union would help ease pressure on the UK economy. Under a customs union, the UK and the EU would apply the same tariffs to imports from elsewhere, bringing Britain much closer to the EU on trade in goods, though it would not on its own put Britain back in the single market, the Guardian reported.

Paris and Madrid welcome the idea, with a caveat

Macron and Sánchez spoke at a joint press conference in Madrid on Wednesday. “This is very good news, both for his country and for Europeans,” Macron said, as POLITICO reported. He said rejoining would be “a wise decision” and that Burnham was “right to show such boldness,” according to POLITICO.

“Spain would welcome Britain’s return with open arms,” Sánchez said, POLITICO reported.

Macron also said there would be conditions. Speaking in French, he said Britain could not take an à la carte approach. In The Independent’s English rendering: “you cannot pick and choose among the union’s freedoms, nor can you decide to take only what suits you while rejecting the rest.” Full single-market membership has long been tied to the EU’s four freedoms, including free movement of people, an issue that has long been politically sensitive in Britain.

Brussels keeps its distance

The European Commission was more reserved. “The U.K. is a close and valued partner of the European Union. It is for the U.K. Government to set out how it wishes to develop its relationship with the EU going forward. We remain open to engaging on the options it may put forward,” Commission spokesperson Balazs Ujvari said, as quoted by POLITICO and DW.

What it means beyond Britain

Any customs union would affect Britain’s trading partners outside Europe, because the UK and the EU would apply the same tariffs to imports from elsewhere, according to the Guardian. That would have implications for trade with the US, the Gulf and other partners, and for any future UK trade deals.

What comes next

The next major marker is the UK-EU summit expected in November, around which Burnham says he will lay out “different options” and “find consensus” on one of them, the BBC reported. He has not said how that consensus would be measured. Under EU treaty rules, any application to rejoin would need the unanimous approval of all 27 member states.