Macron welcomes possibility of UK rejoining EU after Burnham opens debate

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the possibility of the UK rejoining the European Union at a news conference in Madrid on Wednesday, 30 September, after British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said membership was among several options his government would examine. Macron said ‘Welcome back’; Burnham has set out no decision or timetable for a return.

Speaking alongside Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Macron said a British return would be good news for the UK and Europeans if the British wanted it and their prime minister moved in that direction. Sánchez said Spain would open its arms to a UK bid to rejoin the bloc.

Macron’s response followed Burnham’s Labour conference speech in Liverpool on Tuesday and interviews on Wednesday in which the prime minister widened the debate over Britain’s long-term relationship with the EU. His list ranged from keeping current arrangements to considering full membership.

What Macron and Sánchez said in Madrid

Macron said the British had been demanding partners during their years in the EU but had also helped simplify matters. He described Burnham as right to be bold. His welcome was conditional: he referred to what British people wanted and whether their prime minister moved towards a return.

What Burnham has proposed for UK-EU relations

Burnham told Labour delegates on Tuesday that Brexit had done ‘more harm than good’ and that Britain needed to decide on a long-term relationship with what remains its largest market. The Irish Times reported that he framed reconsideration as a way to restore growth and prosperity and called for a debate about the available choices.

In Wednesday interviews, Burnham listed four broad possibilities: stay with current arrangements, seek a customs union, return to the single market or ‘go all the way’ to EU membership. Asked directly whether he wanted Britain to rejoin, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that he wanted to look at the options. He said ministers would examine what was doable and weigh the pros and cons.

Those remarks go beyond the position on which Labour fought the 2024 election. Its manifesto ruled out a return to the EU single market or customs union and the restoration of free movement, according to The Guardian. Burnham has promised to set out the choices around the expected UK-EU summit in November, but has not specified a preferred outcome or a timetable for rejoining.

How the UK’s options differ

Britain formally left the EU in January 2020. Its transition arrangements ended that December, when it ceased to be part of the single market and customs union, The Irish Times reported. Burnham’s options therefore describe different degrees of change to an existing relationship, rather than different names for the same proposal.

A customs union would align tariffs applied by the UK and EU to imports from other countries, but would not by itself restore participation in the wider single market or remove every border check, The Guardian reported. EU officials quoted by the newspaper said joining would require alignment with the bloc’s trade policy and tariffs.

Single-market membership would require closer alignment with EU rules. The Guardian’s account of Macron’s remarks said it entails free movement of people as well as goods, services and capital. Full EU membership is the furthest-reaching possibility Burnham raised. His government has yet to say which, if any, of these changes it will pursue.

What happens before the November UK-EU summit

A European Commission spokesperson called the UK a close and valued partner and said it was for the British government to set out how it wanted the relationship to develop. The Commission remained open to engaging on options the government might put forward. EU officials also welcomed the shift in tone while stressing that Britain must define what it wants.

The UK-EU summit was expected in the second half of November, although its precise date had not been announced when The Guardian reported Macron’s comments. Burnham has said he will use the period around the summit to present the choices to Britain. For now, the open question is which option his government will favour after that examination.