The government must set out clear goals for closer EU ties - or risk being outmanoeuvred, writes Emily Thornberry

But unfortunately, it has proven a bit trickier than we had hoped.

There is no need for an adversarial relationship between the UK and the EU. After all, European countries are some of our closest allies; they are liberal democracies with shared values, who are helping us to confront the threat posed by Russian aggression against Ukraine.

But the Foreign Affairs Committee’s report has found that the UK-EU reset is adrift. It lacks vision and ambition from Government. Timelines and milestones are often vague or non-existent. We are concerned that if the UK has only a vague idea of our destination, it is all too easy for us to get blown completely off course.

It is a relief to hear members of the government, including the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, acknowledge the damage that Brexit has caused. But there are times when it seems as though this is where Government’s analysis ends. If the Trade and Cooperation Agreement signed by Boris Johnson on Christmas Eve isn’t fit for purpose, then we need to be clearer about what we need instead.

Government, while talking vaguely about more alignment with the EU single market, has provided us with very little of substance on the direction it intends to take. This leaves huge questions. Has the Government redrawn its “red lines” regarding the single market and customs union? Will the Government renegotiate new deals for key sectors, and what are the timelines and milestones for these talks? Is Government weighing up the pros and cons of alignment, and how is that being done?

The public has a right to transparency, and Parliament has a right to scrutinise. In fact, it’s Parliament’s job. The Government should be willing to subject its reset to proper scrutiny, and we are calling on them to set up an EU scrutiny committee in Parliament.

And as Ministers’ policies towards the EU appear to be constantly in flux, we are also calling for a White Paper that lays out the Government’s plan. This plan can’t just be tinkering around the edges. For this to truly be a “reset”, we must see real, positive change taking us into a new era of relations with the EU. This should be genuine ambition, not just window dressing. Put simply, our report finds that we need to go much further, much faster.

If we don’t have a clear vision and plan, we risk becoming the losing party. The EU already appears to have made more concrete progress towards its pressing demands than the UK. The fisheries deal, for example, which extended EU vessels’ access to UK waters, seems to have taken the UK fishing industry by surprise. In exchange, Britain has “prospects and opportunities” yet to be finally agreed, but nothing tangible.

The Committee recognises that these negotiations are not easy. Firstly, we recognise that since the Brexit vote, Britain has been so preoccupied with negotiating with itself, and what our approach ought to be, that sometimes we’ve lost sight of the fact we are actually negotiating with the Europeans. And secondly because even when Britain negotiates with the Europeans in good faith, when we are clear about what it is that we want, even when it is in Britain’s and Europe’s interests, we can still be frustrated – as the negotiations on giving the UK access to SAFE (the European defence fund to help wean us all from our dependence on the US) have proved.

It is too important to get it wrong, and we will be more likely to get it right if there is more focus and clarity from Government, and a willingness and openness to scrutiny.

The stakes are about as high as they get. We find ourselves in the most dangerous security environment for decades, as Putin launches constant attacks against the UK and Europe. Ukrainians are fighting every day for their survival. Supporting their defence against Putin’s invasion is an absolute priority. This is the time to come together with the EU, not rehash old arguments.

If anything, Brexit showed us that the EU remains one of the UK’s most important partnerships. The UK-EU relationship will always be a work in progress. The reset is a welcome attempt to reestablish deeper, more constructive cooperation with the EU. But as well-intentioned as it is, there is a real risk the UK’s reset will fall flat. Without focus from Government, the reset may come to be defined by all that it lacks.

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Dame Emily Thornberry is Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and MP for Islington South and Finsbury.

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