Imagine checking your watch every hour to find the country a million pounds poorer.
This isn’t some distant economics lesson; it’s real families stretched by higher bills, businesses crippled by red tape, and young people denied the chance to study and work across Europe.
With the upcoming UK-EU summit on May 19, the government has an unprecedented opportunity to halt this decline. It’s not enough to tweak the edges of our broken arrangements—we need a bold reset that rebuilds the partnership we lost. Britain needs real action, not another round of half-measures masquerading as breakthroughs.
First, the summit must set in motion negotiations for the closest possible trading relationship with the EU, with re-entry to the Customs Union as a vital first step. Frictionless trade would rescue our factories, farms, and workers from the suffocating barriers that have driven up costs, delayed deliveries, and pushed investment overseas. It would restore the supply chains that once kept our industries competitive, and give businesses the certainty they need to innovate and export goods.
“We were sold a pup with Brexit, and we can’t pretend otherwise”
Equally vital is restoring freedom of movement, starting with youth mobility. Re-joining the Erasmus programme and establishing a youth visa system similar to that already in place for Aussies will allow students and young people to live, learn, and launch their careers across Europe. These are not luxuries; they are lifelines for ambition, cultural exchange, and shared prosperity that will shape Britain’s future and strengthen ties between neighbours.
The government must also push for realignment of our defence and security cooperation. From cyber-attacks to pandemics to regional flashpoints such as recent tensions between India and Pakistan, we know that conflicts hundreds or thousands of miles away can have immediate repercussions here at home. Our safety depends on shared intelligence, coordinated diplomacy, and joint development efforts.
Defence is not just about bombs and guns; it’s about human security, conflict prevention and the reconstruction that follows. Strengthening security cooperation with Europe means standing shoulder to shoulder to face current and future challenges; not only Putin’s war on Europe’s border, but also biosecurity threats, cyber-warfare, and climate change.
Talking of climate change, there’s an obvious quick win we need to see from the summit. The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism began combatting carbon leakage in 2023, with full implementation planned for 2026, while our own scheme doesn’t come into effect until 2027, and with far greater exemptions than the EU’s scheme to boot. If we continue to lag behind, British businesses will face unfair competition, and our world-leading climate commitments will unravel. Aligning with Europe on these carbon tariffs is essential for protecting jobs, fostering clean-tech innovation and safeguarding the planet for future generations.
These goals are practical and achievable right now if the government chooses to make them key priorities. But even if all are agreed, we will still be worse off than we were before Brexit.
The Green Party’s policy is that the UK should re-join the EU as soon as the domestic political situation is favourable. And it’s clear that a majority of Brits feel the same. For two years, every poll has shown that more than half of Britons believe leaving the EU was a mistake. We were sold a pup with Brexit, and we can’t pretend otherwise.
“We can choose cooperation over isolation, ambition over decline, and hope over fear”
As a former Member of the European Parliament, I’ve seen Europe’s collaborative institutions deliver stability, opportunity and shared progress. At this summit, we should have the guts to admit that leaving was a mistake, and our best future lies together with Europe.
It’s clear that others – Trump, anyone? – are no substitute for the closest possible relationship with our next-door neighbours and biggest trading partners. So let’s shout it from the rooftops: the question is not whether we should rejoin, it’s when. I call on the Prime Minister to seize this moment to kick-start discussions on what rejoining the EU would involve – recognising that the world has changed significantly since Brexit, and that there is a consistent public majority in the UK in support of EU membership. Britain’s future belongs in Europe, and our ambition should be as boundless as the opportunities we once embraced together.
Rejoining the EU will demand political courage and a clear roadmap: forging new alliances, meeting accession criteria, and rallying member-state support. But leadership has never been about playing it safe. It’s about confronting harsh truths, delivering for ordinary people, and envisioning a future that reflects our highest ideals.
This summit can be the pivot from regret to renewal. We can choose cooperation over isolation, ambition over decline, and hope over fear. We can harness the power of collective progress to tackle climate breakdown, defend democracy, and build economies that work for all.
Britain deserves better than economic contraction, trade barriers, and broken promises. Our best days lie not in standing apart, but in standing shoulder to shoulder with our European neighbours. This is the moment to renew, rebuild, and set out a path to rejoining—the public is ready, and the time is now.
