The Prime Minister will meet the European Commission president for talks over revamping post-Brexit relations between the UK and EU
EU officials have told Ursula von der Leyen to reject British efforts to get a better deal for UK bands touring in Europe.
Brussels wants a new youth mobility deal with the UK, but officials have warned the European Commission president to resist any attempt by Sir Keir Starmer to tie that to cutting Brexit red tape for British artists.
Sir Elton John said the EU measures had made touring for young bands impossible.
The Prime Minister will meet Mrs von der Leyen in the Belgian capital on Wednesday for talks over revamping post-Brexit relations between the UK and EU.
Sir Keir also wants improved recognition of professional qualifications for City and other workers, better trade ties, a security pact and an agreement to fight illegal immigration, as part of his “reset” with the EU.
Out of the question
Labour rejected the Commission’s April offer to negotiate an agreement allowing EU and UK citizens aged 18 to 30 to stay in a country for up to four years to study.
The EU is still willing to compromise on how exactly the scheme would work and has consulted with member states on possible changes to the proposal.
But European Commission officials believe that a quid pro quo on touring artists or professional qualifications is out of the question.
EU documents reveal officials have ruled out linking a youth mobility deal to other post-Brexit travel rules, for example, the 90 day in 180 day visa-free travel limit for UK citizens.
The provision of services is governed by the UK-EU trade deal, which Brussels has said it is not prepared to overhaul and which it sees as weighted in its interests.
The Commission has already rebuffed Labour’s call for a revamp of the agreement, insisting it sees a 2026 review as a chance for tweaks and nothing more ambitious.
“The provision of services is exhaustively addressed in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement and not within the scope of the envisaged agreement. It would not deal with the entry and temporary stay of natural persons to provide services,” one commission document states.
The Telegraph understands there some officials, veterans of the first painful years of talks, are still sticking to the inflexible approach of the Brexit negotiations from 2017 to 2021.
But other European sources said that Mrs von der Leyen could ignore her officials’ advice and make a political decision to get a deal done.
That is unlikely to happen in this first formal meeting but would not be unprecedented. In February, Mrs von der Leyen ignored her officials’ advice to facilitate the signing of a cooperation agreement between EU border agency Frontex and the UK to fight illegal immigration.
Diplomatic sources were divided over whether EU capitals would agree to link the two issues if Mrs von der Leyen was to overrule her officials.
Some suggested a deal could work but others suggested there was zero interest in changing the terms of a free trade agreement that was weighted in the EU’s interest.
‘Labour is serious about a reset’
All put pressure on the Prime Minister to bring details on exactly what he wanted from the next generation of Brexit negotiations in his talks with Mrs von der Leyen.
“We keep hearing all the chatter about a reset. But if the Labour government really is serious about a reset, they need to put their money where their mouths are,” one EU diplomat told the Telegraph.
“A reset isn’t some fairy tale thing where you say it seven times and click your heels three times and you get a deal. You need to do the work.
“There need to be proposals and frankly, on the EU side, the sense is that the UK needs to make the first move on this.”
Sources said they thought Mrs von der Leyen would bring up British failures to implement provisions in the Windsor Framework treaty covering post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland.
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