𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Sir Keir Starmer’s EU dream appears to have been broken after a damning verdict was delivered from the man who oversaw Britain’s exit from the bloc. The Labour Government is seeking to reset relations with the European Union a decade on from the Brexit vote, with an announcement on Tuesday (June 16) that the second UK-EU summit will take place in Brussels on July 22.

The Prime Minister said Britain would be at the “heart of Europe” as the date was announced at the margins of the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France. While London and Brussels appear to align over closer cooperation on issues including security and defence, former European Commission president, Jean Claude Juncker, dismissed the idea of the UK rejoining the bloc.

Mr Juncker was at the helm of the EU’s executive arm from 2014 to 2019, during which time Britons voted 52% to 48% to leave the European Union.

On the UK’s prospects of rejoining, he told the Financial Times: “I don’t think it is possible. Because all of us, we are wounded to some extent by this . . . historic step the British have taken.”

He suggested most governments in Europe would “cold-shoulder” the idea because of Britain’s closeness to the US, which Mr Juncker said was “not very popular” inside the bloc.

The former prime minister of Luxembourg said the favourable terms the UK saw while it was a member of the bloc would not be available if it were to rejoin.

These included opting out of the euro and EU’s borderless Schengen travel zone.

Mr Juncker’s comments came on the day of Sir Keir’s big announcement and after a study showed the British public backs a closer relationship with the EU, but is not fully behind rejoining the bloc.

A study by Ipsos, King’s College London and UK in a Changing Europe found much of the public was open to rapprochement with the EU.

Almost half back a closer relationship and 60% want more co-operation on defence. But attitudes towards the EU remain “complex”, according to Ipsos research director, Keiran Pedley.

He said at face value there is openness to greater alignment and rule-taking to create a stronger trading relationship, but arguments about sovereignty, especially on immigration, “remain persuasive”.

Mr Juncker was much maligned by Brexiteers and asked by former prime minister David Cameron not to join the 2016 referendum campaign.

But he suggested to the FT that he should have spoken in support of remain to counter the “fake news” spread by Nigel Farage and others during the campaign.

He also admitted believing those campaigning to leave the EU would win, adding that his main aim during the Brexit negotiations that followed the 2016 vote was keeping the rest of the EU united.