From youth mobility to food exports: the outstanding EU dilemmas facing Burnham

European leaders have made positive noises about the new UK PM, but he is likely to face the same restrictions as Starmer

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Andy Burnham is unknown in Brussels, but that will soon change. In his schedule for the autumn is an EU-UK summit that may underscore the same dilemmas that have confronted previous British prime ministers in the relationship with Europe.

EU leaders were quick to offer congratulations to Britain’s prime minister, the seventh since the 2016 Brexit referendum. The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said she looked forward to strengthening the EU-UK partnership “for the security of our shared continent” and “the prosperity of people on both sides of the Channel”. The German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, invited Burnham to visit Berlin “very soon”, noting that the UK and Germany’s “deep connection is particularly evident in these times”.
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