Relations between Europe and the UK are already closer with President Trump’s return to the White House

BRUSSELS, Belgium – President-elect Donald Trump has not yet re-entered the White House, but the UK and neighboring European Union are already working closely to protect themselves from potential trade and defense conflicts with the incoming US leader. We are collaborating with

British Prime Minister Rachel Reeves traveled to Brussels on Monday to meet with EU countries in the first meeting since Britain left the European Union in 2020. Her host, Eurogroup President Pascal Donohoe, said he hoped this would be the first of “many” meetings.

“There was a common understanding that even in a world of turmoil, we still have common interests and values,” one EU official, who declined to be named due to the sensitive nature of the conversation, told CNBC. talked about. with the British Prime Minister.

The official added that these common values ​​concern Ukraine, China and the United States.

Reeves and his opponent Although he did not give exact details of the Brussels meeting, he said ahead of the meeting that there were three areas where the UK and EU could work together more: supporting Ukraine, defending free trade and improving the bilateral economic partnership. It’s reinforcement.

The full evolution of these conversations is not yet known, but several meetings have already been added to the diary to address these themes.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has personally liaised with the EU in the short term, and is expected to receive European Council President Antonio Costa this Thursday before attending an EU summit in early 2025.

A senior EU diplomat also told CNBC that the EU could benefit from moving closer to Britain because of the historic “special relationship” between Britain and the United States. The idea comes against the backdrop of the US president-elect’s comments about the possibility of imposing tariffs on European countries and reducing US government aid to Ukraine. President Trump previously told NCB’s Meet the Press that he would “probably” cut that aid.

Ignacio García Bercero, a part-time fellow at the Bruegel think tank and the EU’s former chief negotiator in trade negotiations with the US, said the EU should consider its relationship with the UK as it deals with the possibility of further US protectionism. He said it needs to be considered.

“It would also be strategically important for the UK and the European Union to talk about these issues,” he said. I’m sure it’ll cause problems [in resetting relations with the U.K.]” he said.

The UK and the EU faced years of turmoil following the Brexit vote, with complex negotiations that soured relations between the two countries. The New Labor government, which took office in July after 14 years of divided Conservative government, is hoping to restore trust and end recent conflicts.

“I came here today not to start negotiations, to start a conversation about a reset, to present a set of demands, which are scheduled to start in the new year, but what I aimed to do today is “It was about starting to rebuild the bond between our two countries, a trust that has been broken over the past few years,” Reeves said in Brussels after the meeting.

At the same time, he also made it clear that he was not targeting negotiations for rejoining the EU or changing the UK’s withdrawal agreement.