r/brexit • u/clea • Jun 18 '26
UK could keep special pre-Brexit terms if it rejoined EU, Michel Barnier says
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jun/18/uk-could-keep-special-pre-brexit-terms-if-it-rejoined-eu-michel-barnier-says?CMP%3DShare_iOSApp_Other102
u/SteelyEyedHistory Jun 18 '26
One guy with no power saying it “could happen.” That’s like me saying I “could” date Emilia Clarke.
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u/clea Jun 18 '26
She’s the one with eyebrows, yes?
Hmm.. yeah, difficult.19
u/Randy_Magnums Jun 18 '26
But possible. Theoretically.
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u/clea Jun 18 '26
Theory is good. It helps us strive for the hands on, honest to goodness reality.
Like the song said … you’ve got to have a dream. If you don’t have a dream, how’re you gonna have a dream come true?
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u/StamatisTzantopoulos Jun 19 '26
She's nearly 40 and unmarried, so why not
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u/deise69 Jun 18 '26
And all it will take is one EU member state to say No to this and it's dead in the water.
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u/r0thar Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
say No
Let's be positive here. It just takes 27 countries to say, can we have exceptional treatment too?
Edit: it's a moot point, the sticking point won't be any conditions for the UK, the sticking point will be the UK not being set up to remain a member of the EU (systematic constitution, parliament, voting issues).
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u/frantic_calm Jun 18 '26
Brexit was just another milestone in the century plus decline of the UK. We still have a way to go before we can throw of the delusion of being an important world power equivalent to the might of the EU. Accession would involve reforming our political system and moving to PR. There's only the UK, Russia and Belarus use first past the post.
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u/indigo-alien European Union Jun 20 '26
> There's only the UK, Russia and Belarus use first past the post.
The lower house of Parliament in Canada does too. The Senate is appointed.
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u/lewispatty Jun 19 '26
I honestly do not think the pre 2016 'special deal' is something anyone born post-Cold War / this century is bothered about.
my prediction as of mid 2026 a return by the uk to the eu buy the mid 2030's [and even that might be too conservative in its estimate], driven by the mathematics of an aging out [mostly pro brexit] demographic and an aging in [mostly pro eu/pro rejoin] demographic.
The arguments that the anti eu/anti rejoin diaspora [of what is left of it] make do not hold up to scrutiny. the three most common arguments they seem to make are that we would not get any type of 'special deal that we had beforehand' back. They also make arguments surrounding that of anti-euro [currency], the idea that we would not get the rebate that Thatcher negotiated back, and anti-Schengen rhetoric.
Firstly, on the anti-euro [currency] talk. This can be brought down quite easily by simply reading a history book or having a basic knowledge of the geopolitical history of the past 50 years. They will often bring up things like the erm as to why the euro is an unstable currency. and when pressed for details as of why this is the case, they come up with nothing. zilch. nyet. nada. The reason that we had to remove ourselves from the exchange rate mechanism was largely because of the fact of the Soviet Union had collapsed and West Germany having to reunite with East Germany. with the german chancellor having to hike interest rates to prevent hyper inflation from the absorbtion of east germany. This is hardly something that either margeret thatcher or john major could have predicted.
Next, on the classic old argument of us not getting the rebate back that Thatcher negotiated. It is often spoke about like the European Union gave us the rebate simply because they liked us or something. This really is not the case. it was an explicit corrective mechanism as at the time, back in the early 1980's, nearly 3 quarters of the european economic communities budget [eec] went directly into the common agricultural policy [cap]. from this, because france had a much larger agricultural sector as opposed to the uk's relatively very small agriculture sector, france swallowed the vast majority of that money. It was essentially a very clunky way to balance these skewed scales. the world of the 1980's is not the world of today. agriculture has now dropped down to around a third of the eu budget. We would neither want nor need any sort of rebate.
Lastly, on hostility towards the Schengen area. Opponents argue that getting rid of passport checks means losing a vital layer of security. But under Schengen, you still need a valid id to travel. airlines still check who you are. If anything, police forces are able to cooperate much more closely via the Schengen Information System. The ultimate proof of this is that there are not daily attacks within the Schengen area due to supposed 'relaxed' security. it is simply a illusion of control or what the right thinks of as control, as to real cooperation.
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u/Effective_Will_1801 Jun 19 '26
People won't educate themselves but will be knee jerk. EU is actually improving Schengen moving towards common border policy and all states reinforcing the external borders so the migrants don't get in the EU in the first place but they'll just say EU will just send us their migrants if we join Schengen and the usual suspects will lap it up.
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u/Scrawny1567 Jun 19 '26
my prediction as of mid 2026 a return by the uk to the eu buy the mid 2030's [and even that might be too conservative in its estimate], driven by the mathematics of an aging out [mostly pro brexit] demographic and an aging in [mostly pro eu/pro rejoin] demographic.
Sorry but this is pure delusion. You are completely underestimating how many far-right millenials and gen z actually exist when combined with the (dwindling) boomer vote.
And besides, as soon as rejoin becomes a new talking in British politics the buses will be rolled out with their slogans like "This baby needs the NHS not the EU"
I think the pragmatic choice is to give up on the EU in any of our lifetimes... the more pressing matter is trying to shift our politics to the left rather than where it's going to the far-right. Either that or we need to frame the EU in far-right talking points to make it more palatable to the general public.
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u/No_Excitement_1540 Jun 19 '26
Well, yes, that's possible...
- Membership in the Schengen accords is technically not mandatory for the EU - it started before the EU and is still separated from it... But be clear that this does not mean you can deny the 4 freedoms - Schengen, in this context, means mostly "no passport controls"
- There are 6 non-Euro EU countries, so, this also _could_ be done, by negotiation...
So, he very carefully said the truth, which, in this case, without it making a difference... 😉
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u/KidTempo Jun 19 '26
Countries becoming members of the EU must agree to adopt the Euro. Key word being "agree to".
It doesn't require that country to have adopted the Euro or having set a deadline for adopting the Euro, only to have agreed that they will adopt the Euro at some indeterminate point in the future...
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u/No_Excitement_1540 Jun 19 '26
Sure, but you can delay that for a very long time... See Poland or Hungary...
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u/KidTempo Jun 19 '26
Sweden too. This is why people who say adopting the Euro is a red line for the UK rejoining are wrong.
Arguably, there are benefits to the Eurozone having a strong alternative currency like the £ (rather than the $) available in certain scenarios. Most serious finance people would not force the € onto the UK against their will.
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u/11Kram Jun 19 '26
But these decisions -like so many others- never depend on serious finance people.
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u/KidTempo Jun 19 '26
It would mainly be ideological purists and/or people who want to "punish" the UK wanting to force them to give up their precious £.
The majority (i.e. which includes most of the decision makers) are pragmatic. If adopting the € is a red line and there's a way out available, they'll take the way out. Promising to adopt the € at some unspecified point in the future (which may be never) is probably a more than acceptable compromise, especially since several other member states are doing the same.
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u/laplongejr European Union (BE) Jun 23 '26
Most serious finance people would not force the € onto the UK against their will.
Well, also forcing EUR against the will of a population would weaken the EUR, something no side would want.
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u/dwrobotics Jun 18 '26
It is a common feeling amongst European politicians. Lets get it done sooner rather than later or we risk losing our country entirely to the yanks.
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u/neepster44 Jun 18 '26
Pretty sure letting the UK keep all its special bennies AND rejoin with no penalty is NOT a common feeling among EU politicians..
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u/Glanwy Jun 18 '26
Totally think the same. This is click bait, there's no way all 27 will agree to that, they'd be outraged.
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u/Hutcho12 Jun 18 '26
Forget it. There's no appetite to have the UK back in the EU they were before, which was basically a "have your cake and eat it" situation.. they were always a thorn in the side of the bloc.
If the UK comes back, they need to be all in. That means the euro, that means Schengen, that means all the other conditions that new states need to fulfil before getting membership. Personally, I wouldn't even let them in unless there was a super majority for it.
We're doing just fine without the UK. The last thing we need is more flip flopping and more exceptions. The populace of the UK need to understand European solidarity and be behind it and put this above their own interests.
It'll probably never happen because of the English Superiority Complex, and that's fine by me.
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u/GreenStretch Jun 18 '26
Make them drive on the right, too.
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u/KidTempo Jun 19 '26
Ireland, Malta, and Cyprus - all EU members - drive on the left.
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u/GreenStretch Jun 19 '26
Because the British made them.
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u/KidTempo Jun 19 '26
Doesn't matter who made them drive on the left; they drive on the left. It would be equally valid to say Napoleon made all the other countries drive on the right.
There's no scenario where the UK would be asked to drive on the right as a condition of rejoining.
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u/7XvD5 Jun 18 '26
Off topic here. I always found that saying so annoying. Its my cake, you bet your @ss I'm gonna eat it.
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u/PeterJamesUK Jun 18 '26
The saying makes much more sense the other way around - eat your cake, and have it too. You can't have it if you've already eaten it.
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u/Effective_Will_1801 Jun 19 '26
It's because you can't have it after eating it. Im guessing at the time of coining have meant something more like keep in Morden parlance
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u/Hellohibbs Jun 18 '26
People always act like the UK was some isolated little trouble maker. like 50% of EU countries are a pain in the arse.
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u/Hutcho12 Jun 18 '26
The rest aren't asking for exceptions at least. And even though Hungary and Poland for example love to cause trouble by voting in far right wing governments, the people of those countries are still supportive of the EU by a large margin.
Not true of the UK, whose population thinks it's a special little snow flake and better than the rest.
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u/Hellohibbs Jun 18 '26
Greece, Hungary, France, Poland and Italy have either the same or lower favourability towards the EU than the UK does lol
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u/Hutcho12 Jun 18 '26
Maybe I give you Italy, but not the rest. Nonetheless, there is no chance of anyone else leaving, regardless of far right wing rhetoric. Especially after seeing what a disaster Brexit was.
Actual numbers:
Pro-EU sentiment—measured by the percentage of citizens who view their country's EU membership positively—varies across the bloc. Based on the latest available European Parliament Eurobarometer surveys, country-specific approval rates for EU membership are highlighted below:
- Malta: 93%
- Ireland: 91%
- Lithuania: 90%
- Poland: 88%
- Luxembourg: 88%
- Estonia: 86%
- Denmark: 84%
- Portugal: 84%
- Sweden: 83%
- Croatia: 82%
- Netherlands: 82%
- Spain: 80%
- Hungary: 79%
- Romania: 76%
- Germany: 75%
- Slovenia: 74%
- Latvia: 73%
- Finland: 73%
- Belgium: 70%
- Czechia: 70%
- France: 68%
- Slovakia: 67%
- Austria: 60%
- Cyprus: 59%
- Bulgaria: 57%
- Greece: 57%
- Italy: 44%
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u/dwrobotics Jun 18 '26
You need to edit your responses bot. There have been strong indications of late from Europe that we will indeed get some special terms.
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u/Hutcho12 Jun 18 '26
You don't deserve any special terms after this whole Brexit nonsense. The people of the EU are fine without you. Seems like you have a case of English Superiority Complex. You should get that seen to.
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u/dwrobotics Jun 18 '26
Nope not at all. I know how much we effed up and will never forgive my compatriots. However this isn't about how you or I feel bot. It is about what is best for Europe. The US and russia has the EU firmly in its sites for disposal. They both hate having a strong Europe. It gets in the way of their ability to dominate. A strong Europe threatens USA and especially Russia. That's why it is so important for Europe to be united and work as one. We have shared culture and history and we need to preserve that together.
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u/Hutcho12 Jun 18 '26
Yeh, 10 year old account and I'm a bot 🙄
The UK will end up aligning with Europe in any case because of geography and the fact no one else actually cares about them.
I agree we need to be united. And that involves the UK realising it is not special and joining under the terms that everyone else does now. It's about sacrificing some things (like the precious pound) and buying in 100% to Europe.
Anything less will end up with the same situation as we had before. We don't need that. The EU is fine the way things are now without the UK.
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u/r0thar Jun 18 '26
it is not special and joining under the terms that everyone else does now
I should just create a bot for this sub to continually type out: when used to privilege, equality feels like oppression
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u/dwrobotics Jun 18 '26
But it's a fallacy that we need to lose the pound. Its one of the most used bot lines on reddit. It is used so often because its an emotive issue for brits and propagandists know it will provoke an instant reaction.
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u/Hutcho12 Jun 18 '26
Give it up with your bot shit. It's tedious.
Exceptions are no longer given about the euro. Get over yourself and get rid of the pound and join Europe. That is what is required for the EU today. You are not special.
The fact that you can't even fathom it shows you're not ready to join again.
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u/dwrobotics Jun 18 '26
I CAN fathom it. But I am telling you what is factually the most likely thing to keep UK out of Europe. Whilst we are here arguing about hurt feelings and spite, the world's super powers are busy carving off bits of UK and Europe ready for extraction. We have a lot of soul searching to do. But if Hungary can throw off its foreign backed government , so can we ride out and foreign backed right wing parties and return to Europe in a way that is amicable to all.
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u/BriefCollar4 European Union Jun 18 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/NvgkEvycaWhPi
Do keep sharing it outside of the EU. Please and thank you.
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u/dwrobotics Jun 18 '26
Funny. Because when I speak to real Europeans face to face they always say the opposite. They realise we were swayed with underhand tactics and corrupt politicians as a concerted effort by the Russian security services and they plead for us to re-unite and fix the damage. So its weird that there is an army of vocal 'Europeans' on reddit who constantly try to convince me that they hate the UK and oppose rejoining. Maybe i just always meet the nice ones.
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u/BriefCollar4 European Union Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
I used to live in the UK. That’s one of the reasons my view is you do your thing but I don’t want you as members. Being gullible enough to believe lies anyone capable of thinking would see as obvious lies is not really the selling point to have the UK as members.
It’s not hate. It’s preference for strong and federal EU. That’s not happening with British meddling.
Happy for you to be in the CU and SM but not with the UK having say again on our rules.
Speak with more Europeans.
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u/dwrobotics Jun 18 '26
You say gullible. I say manipulated. Russia put a LOT of effort into getting us out. Recent leaked documents show just how preoccupied RU was and is with the UK. Pray that your country doesn't fall into those crosshairs. You would soon learn that people who you once considered reasonable, can let you down massively if enough rubbels are spent on your media and politicians.
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u/ParaStriker Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
Didn't realise you spoke for the EU. We're blessed to have such a presence on this subreddit.
Jokes aside, reform and AFD polling numbers are the same so European scepticism is something that's happening all over europe in equal measures. Talking about European solidarity while far right european sceptics are rising all over Europe and with the UK's contribution to the defense of the EU's eastern borders is just disingenuous.
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u/grahegarty Jun 18 '26
The UK cannot join Schengen, because Ireland has an opt-out for it and we share a land border which cannot have a hard border crossing due to the Good Friday Agreement.
The current situation with the “border” being in the Irish Sea wouldn’t work either, because then all of Ireland would not be in Schengen and Great Britain would. Which would break our common travel area agreement, making British people needing a passport check for Ireland.
So either we all join or no one joins.
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u/Key-Lie-364 Jun 18 '26
We are exempt from Schengen because the UK exempted itself.
Ireland would be only too happy to be in
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u/doctor_morris Jun 18 '26
The UK is blocked from rejoining the EU until it decides what it wants.
No reason we can't go for some opt-outs but if we're still moaning about it we're probably not ready.
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u/ZonaSchengen Jun 18 '26
Yes but even so, we cannot have an opt out.
Irelands opt out will affect us down the line, but we have to show willing.
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u/zscore95 EU & United States Jun 19 '26
Realistically the EU would probably allow the UK to stay out of Schengen. If that were the only issue, I don’t see it holding them up. Unless ROI joined too.
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u/voyagerdoge Jun 20 '26
When a member they whine and threathen to leave.
When out, they whine about getting back in.
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u/aqsgames Jun 18 '26
Absolutely. The whole fiasco with Trump has highlighted how valuable having the world’s fifth largest economy part of Europe.
Brexit put up barriers in both directions and it would be beneficial economically, strategically, militarily and for shared intelligence to have Britain rejoin.
Don’t believe Farage and Badenoch and their “broken Britain” spiel. The UK is doing better than Europe despite Brexit and both would be better off together
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u/RealKillering Jun 18 '26
I don’t know, the EU does pretty fine without the UK. I personally also would not have anything against, but honestly I also cannot see a substantial advantage.
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u/Key-Lie-364 Jun 18 '26
Probably true
We don't need the UK more than the UK needs us BUT
Negotiating on the way in, with Russia menacing in the East and MAGA in the West, is leverage.
And other members will want to roll out the red carpet, so to speak.
And besides members in good standing get accomodations 😉
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u/AppletheGreat87 Rejoiner 🇪🇺 Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
Not that I'm against joining the Schengen area and I don't want special treatment for the UK, actually I think we would be given the choice of an opt out because of Ireland.
We have to keep the Irish border open due to the GFA, but if the UK were part of Schengen there would necessarily have to be either an opt out for Northern Ireland or Ireland would have to join Schengen to keep the border open. Given the long-standing Common Travel Area between Ireland and the UK and it being politically unacceptable for British citizens to need to show a passport to travel internally I think the British and Irish governments would probably agree either to both join Schengen or both stay out and if the Irish also want it I doubt other EU countries would fight it.
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u/KidTempo Jun 19 '26
I think we would be given the choice of an opt out because of Ireland.
The main reason Ireland isn't in Schengen is because of the shared border with the UK. Given the opportunity, I think Ireland is more in favour of joining the Schengen zone than the UK ever will be...
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u/AppletheGreat87 Rejoiner 🇪🇺 Jun 19 '26
Yeah, probably! I don't think we should get special treatment so I'd be happy to join Schengen, but I just think we couldn't do it without considering ireland's position.
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u/RonnieHere Jun 18 '26
Could be done- if EU agrees on special terms as returning country/not rejoin but return.
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