Living with the Neighbours

Official Twitter for @ESRC Project looking at EU-UK relationship and UK bilateral relations with countries in EU and wider Europe
@PAISWawrick @UKandEU

[Living with the Neighbours @UKNeighbours]

🎥 Missed it? Catch up on key takeaways from The Starmer Government and Europe: Resetting Relations in Turbulent Times conference. The highlights here ⤵️
🔗 https://t.co/hqPJny4GUf

[Living with the Neighbours @UKNeighbours]

📢 Last panel of the day coming up!
Join us live: The Starmer Government and Europe: Resetting relations in turbulent times

🎥 Watch here: https://t.co/omnPHPEbE6

#UKEUStarmerEra #UKPolitics #EUrelations

[Living with the Neighbours @UKNeighbours]

In just a few years, public opinion on Brexit has shifted: half now say it was the wrong decision.

Brexit isn’t a top issue anymore, but cooperation with the EU gains cautious support except on migration & fishing rights, which remain divisive. #Brexit #UKEUStarmerEra

[Living with the Neighbours @UKNeighbours]

Panel 4: Labour’s Strategy
Tim Bale, John Curtice, Sophie Stowers, Simon Usherwood
Chair: Sara Hobolt
Labour faces polling & policy constraints
Clarity needed on youth mobility, energy, alignment
#UKEUStarmerEra #LabourAndEurope

[Living with the Neighbours @UKNeighbours]

Panel 3: Dublin & The Hague 🇮🇪🇳🇱

Exploring how Ireland prioritizes trust and Northern Ireland’s stability, while the Netherlands focuses on regulatory coordination and energy cooperation with the UK post-Brexit. #UKEUStarmerEra #BilateralRelations

[Living with the Neighbours @UKNeighbours]

🇨🇭 From Panel 2: Switzerland walks a fine line with the EU

UK seen as pragmatic partner post-Brexit.
"Snowplough theory"? Dead.
Starmer = continuity, not rupture.
🇬🇧🇨🇭 financial services deal as a future model.

#UKEUStarmerEra #NeighbourStates #BlueSkyEurope

[Living with the Neighbours @UKNeighbours]

SAFE requires partnerships with at least one EU state

•65% of funds must stay within EU/Norway/Ukraine
•Raises real questions for the UK—does it know what it's signed up for?
•Poland’s strategic voice matters

#DefenceCooperation #UKandEU #Poland

[Living with the Neighbours @UKNeighbours]

🗣️ Audience contributions in the discussion:

•EU defence increasingly regionalized (Med ≠ Arctic ≠ Baltics)
•Growing use of bilateral & trilateral formats
•SAFE is a major step: EU enabling defence cooperation with third countries

#EUdefence #SAFEinitiative

[Living with the Neighbours @UKNeighbours]

📢 Join us live at the conference "The Starmer Government and Europe: Resetting relations in turbulent times."

Watch the livestream here:
🔗 https://t.co/MfP39LSC3v

#UKEUStarmerera #UKPolitics #EUrelations

[Living with the Neighbours @UKNeighbours]

The threat environment is serious — but not “urgent enough” yet to force deep reform.

If Trump returns, UK-EU defence cooperation could move from cautious coordination to urgent necessity. #Trump2Era #UKDefence

[Living with the Neighbours @UKNeighbours]

🔵 Roundtable: Defence in the Trump 2.0 Era

Speakers: Ed Arnold, Nicolai von Ondarza, Monika Sus, Leslie Vinjamuri
Chair: @anandmenon1

UK must navigate NATO uncertainty, EU defence tools like SAFE, and a volatile US role.

#UKEUStarmerEra #DefencePolicy

[Living with the Neighbours @UKNeighbours]

🇵🇱 Monika Sus: Trump’s return has pushed Eastern Europe toward EU strategic autonomy.

Poland now sees the UK as a core ally.

Defence ties are growing — bilaterally and at EU level.

#Geopolitics #StrategicAutonomy

[Living with the Neighbours @UKNeighbours]

People-to-people ties matter. 🇪🇺🇬🇧

🧑‍🎓 Rejoining Erasmus+?
🧳 Youth mobility
🚨 Enhanced policing & migration cooperation

When societies understand each other, diplomacy succeeds. #FutureOfEurope

[Living with the Neighbours @UKNeighbours]

A new era for UK-EU relations: “This is a turning point — not just in the relationship, but in how Europe builds prosperity and security.”

Keynote by @PedroSerranoEU, chaired by @jillongovt

Focus: Prosperity, defence, security & people ties. 🇬🇧🇪🇺 #EUSummit #UKEUStarmerEra

[Living with the Neighbours @UKNeighbours]

Implementation won’t be instant:

“There’s a sugar-craving for immediate results. But serious agreements take time.”

Some wins will come this summer, others will need deeper legal work. #EUDiplomacy #BrexitReset

[Living with the Neighbours @UKNeighbours]

Panel 1: Now Berlin 🇩🇪

Eva Heidbreder on Germany’s stance:

🔄 Not going back, moving forward
🇪🇺 EU-first approach still strong
🚗 Car industry still central
😮‍💨 Brexit fatigue was real
🤝 But engagement is back on the table - Friendship Agreement

#UKEUStarmerEra #EuropeViews

[Living with the Neighbours @UKNeighbours]

Panel 1: Paris up first

🇫🇷 Pauline Schnapper: Fisheries, of course. A coalition of the willing.

Is everything wonderful? Maybe not.

Highlights the challenge of UK cherry-picking

Chaired by: @jillongovt 
#EuropeViews #UKEUStarmerEra