Committee publication · Report · 4 March 2026 · HC 857
3rd Report – From a Common Understanding to Common Ground: Building a UK-EU Strategic Partnership fit for the future
From: Foreign Affairs Committee
Inquiry: The UK-EU reset: rebuilding a strategic partnership in uncertain times
Government response deadline: 4 May 2026
Summary
The Foreign Affairs Committee examines the UK Government's progress in 'resetting' its relationship with the EU following the 2024 election. The report assesses the May 2025 Lancaster House summit and subsequent negotiations, finding modest progress on a new Strategic Partnership but criticizing lack of transparency, unclear timelines, and absence of a coherent long-term vision. The committee recommends greater clarity on objectives, an EU White Paper, dedicated parliamentary scrutiny, and improved consultation on major agreements.
Key findings
- The Government achieved some progress including the first bilateral UK-EU summit (May 2025), a new Strategic Partnership, and agreements on fisheries, energy, and steel tariffs, plus re-entry to Erasmus+ from 2027.
- Ongoing negotiations on agri-food, carbon pricing, electricity trading, and youth mobility lack confirmed timelines and milestones; the Prime Minister recently hinted at further 'alignment' without detail.
- Defence industrial cooperation via the EU's 'SAFE' programme has stalled over EU demands for UK financial contribution, undermining shared security interests.
- The Government failed to consult stakeholders adequately before the summit (notably on fisheries), has not published a White Paper setting out coherent EU strategy, and conducted negotiations largely in secret.
- The Office for Budget Responsibility estimates Brexit has reduced long-term UK GDP by 4% and UK-EU trade by 15%; the EU remains the UK's largest trading partner (41% of exports).
Recommendations
- Publish an EU White Paper with a coherent vision for the future Strategic Partnership to frame negotiations on potential closer alignment in sectors beyond current red lines.
- Improve transparency on UK negotiating objectives and priorities by matching transparency standards applied to Free Trade Agreements with other partners; conduct formal Calls for Evidence on key trade issues.
- Establish high-level UK-EU political dialogue with specified frequency and ministerial attendance; clarify scope and milestones for ongoing negotiations on SPS, youth mobility, carbon pricing, and electricity trading.
- Provide regular updates to Parliament on the operation of major agreements (e.g. the 12-year fisheries deal) through the relevant parliamentary committees.
- Establish a dedicated Committee for scrutiny of EU affairs in the House of Commons to match the Government's pursuit of much closer UK-EU ties.
- Encourage the Government to hold a vote in Parliament on any future significant UK-EU agreements, consistent with scrutiny standards for other treaties.
- Secure country-specific steel tariff quotas reflecting historic UK-EU trade volumes to protect against the proposed EU post-2026 50% tariff on British steel exports.
- Provide an update on the timetable for publication and ratification of the Gibraltar agreement and allow a House of Commons debate prior to ratification under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.
- Consult and manage stakeholder expectations in advance of major negotiations affecting specific sectors (e.g. fishing, agriculture) to avoid surprise announcements.
Tone
CriticalTopics
uk-eu-relationstrade-and-commercesecurity-and-defenceparliamentary-scrutiny
Key actors
Emily Thornberry, Keir Starmer (Prime Minister), Ursula Von Der Leyen, António Costa, Minister for EU Relations, National Federation of Fisherman's Organisations, UK Steel, Naomi Smith (Best for Britain)
Notable line
“… this new Partnership is a work in progress. Negotiations are on-going on new treaties with the EU on agri-food, carbon pricing, electricity trading, all based on alignment with EU rules …”
Key Quotes
“… the Government lacked a real sense of what the end point of the "reset" might be and which challenges the Partnership needs to be able to meet.”
“There is growth on offer for the UK— let's not forget that the Government's stated No. 1 ambition is to get growth, and to have sustained growth and the fastest growth within the G7—and trade improvements could be negotiated during any kind of review of the trade and co-operation agreement.”
“… new trade deals with non-EU countries will not have a material impact”
“… outcome is regrettable and in neither side's interest, given that the UK and EU must both develop their defence industries to face common threats, in particular Russia's menacing of the security of the entire European continent.”
“The Government has not chosen to set out its vision and ambitions for the EU "reset" comprehensively in a formal publication. There has been no White Paper or similar policy document that brings together the various elements of its EU policy in one place.”
“Ministers chose to conduct the process of setting the UK's negotiating position ahead of the summit mostly in secret. 29 Unlike its approach to Free Trade Agreement negotiations with other partners, 30 the Government did not issue any formal Calls for Evidence on key aspects of its EU trade agenda such as the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement.”
“The substance of the fisheries deal had not been subject to prior consultation and appears to have taken the UK fishing industry by surprise.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗