Britain Is Already Bowing Down to the EU—But Brussels Wants More

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola is in London today, February 25th, to encourage Brexit betraying Prime Minister Keir Starmer to keep it up.

Writing in the Telegraph ahead of her visit, Metsola celebrated the “good news,” announced in December, that Britain is rejoining the EU’s ‘Erasmus Plus’ student exchange programme. Good for Brussels, perhaps, but certainly not for the UK taxpayer, which will have to fork out more than half a billion pounds in 2027 for this privilege—almost double the annual amount Britain previously contributed.

The EU official then urged Starmer’s administration to go “even further,” pointing in particular to the alleged benefits of closer alignment on energy and food.

Reports earlier this year suggested the UK is already preparing to enter “dynamic alignment” with the bloc in areas like these, which would allow Brussels rules to take effect automatically in Britain, without approval from MPs.

There has also long been talk about the likely introduction of a so-called “youth mobility scheme,” which, in effect, would amount to the return of free movement.

After meeting with House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Metsola stressed that “now is the time to reset the relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom, move past the ghosts of the past decade and find ways forward together.”

Irish MEP Barry Andrews, who is chair of the EU Parliament’s development committee, then said the quiet part out loud:

Ten years on from Brexit. We want the UK back and the vast majority of young British people want the UK to come back. Maybe some day? For now, closer relations are in both our interests.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in January, Starmer himself called for closer UK ties with the EU single market. Officials are hoping for a ‘reset’ deal to be reached by the summer.