We must intensify key relationships with our European neighbours
3 min read
Britain’s links to Europe must be reforged. It is the duty of our Government to be the furnace of the smithy, writes Christopher Pincher MP
We are leaving the EU but we are not leaving Europe. Our links to the continent – historical, cultural, political, economic and linguistic – are as deep as Greater Adria buried beneath it. They can never be fractured, but they must be reforged. It is the duty and opportunity of the Johnson Government to be the furnace of the smithy.
First and foremost, we must identify and intensify key bilateral relationships with our neighbours.
Next year will be the 500th anniversary of the meeting of Henry VIII and Francis I on the Field of the Cloth of Gold. They used this dazzling spectacle, on the same ground where Richard II and Charles VI treated to end the hundred years war, to ally their two kingdoms against war.
The quin-centenary may not be marked by a replay of the royal wrestling match (which saw Henry rapidly bested by Francis) but it might be the backcloth for a post-Brexit reaffirmation of our relationship, perhaps an opportunity to launch joint projects outside the ambit of the EU.
It might appeal to the historian in both Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron, and capture the imagination of both governments.
But we must look further than France – and our other great partner, Germany – to other allies and friends in Europe.
In 2020 the UK and Italy will co-host COP26, probably the largest international conference we will ever arrange on a topic which is now near the top of public concerns.
In 2021, we will chair the G7 while Italy takes on the G20. These close partnerships make the coming months replete with opportunity for Italy and the UK to work together on defence, migration and education.
In Ukraine, beyond the EU, the Zelensky government has committed itself to rapid and radical public reform. I visited Kyiv, met his ministers and heard for myself their determination clean up corrupt practices and open up the economy.
Our backing for Ukraine, in the face of the illegal Russian annexation of Crimea, and the Kremlin fanning the flames of strife in the Donbass, can be mirrored by greater economic cooperation and further support for civic institutions.
Beyond bilateralism, we will still participate in the great multilateral institutions in Europe. The Council of Europe, the brainchild of Winston Churchill, launched in London 70 years ago. It is Europe’s premier institution for the promotion of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. We will continue to play a leadership role as it enters its eighth decade.
We remain a vital partner in the OSCE, the world’s largest inter-governmental security organisation. The UK contributes the second largest number of personnel to the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine and is one of the largest contributors to the mission’s budget.
And, of course, we are and will always be a pillar of Nato. Indeed, the foreign secretary recently signed North Macedonia’s accession protocol, ahead of the Nato leaders’ meeting in London in December.
We must see 2020 as the anvil upon which we will fashion anew our bilateral and multilateral commitments in Europe. We must approach it as an opportunity. An opportunity to recalibrate our priorities to face fresh challenges and our unique interests. An opportunity to reaffirm friendships which may have been buffeted by recent turbulence. And an opportunity to reinforce our international image as a moral anchor, committed to right and the rule of law. We must hammer it into shape.
Christopher Pincher is Conservative MP for Tamworth and minister for Europe and the Americas
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