Burnham to raise 'Made in Europe' concerns in first meeting with von der Leyen

At UN, Burnham to mark Brexit decade with democracy warning

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham will press European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to address EU “Made in Europe” legislation that he says could lock British business out of parts of EU industry when the two leaders meet for the first time on Tuesday, on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York. Burnham raised the concerns with reporters travelling with him to the UN, where he is due to address the assembly on Tuesday evening.

Burnham said he would share those concerns “in a constructive spirit” with von der Leyen, describing any future move toward the UK rejoining the bloc as a question “for another day.”

Asked on his flight whether he could rule out including a reversal of Brexit in Labour’s next general-election manifesto, Burnham said: “Our focus at the moment is on a UK/EU summit which we hope will take place later this year. My immediate priority is to build on the good work that Keir did in rebuilding bridges. Because those bridges were broken in the early part of this decade. And Keir did a good job in re-establishing that relationship.”

“What we have got to do now is go to the next level in terms of reaching practical agreement that will further boost the British economy. And those issues are the substance of the summit alongside EU requests around youth mobility,” Burnham said.

The prime minister said he would stick to the red lines set by his predecessor Keir Starmer before any election, but he is under pressure from Labour MPs who opposed Brexit to change tack — in part because of the potential boost to growth, even though his own seat of Makerfield voted to leave the EU.

Ministers have privately warned that the EU reset has lost significant momentum since Burnham became prime minister. A summit on the issue — expected to cover closer trading ties and EU requests around youth mobility — is likely to be delayed again unless the bloc agrees to discuss legislation that could lock British business out of parts of EU industry.

Burnham admitted he had concerns about the bloc’s “made in Europe” legislation, which is designed to curb China’s increasing presence but could also affect British industry and supply chains.

Burnham said the UK had considerable support among EU member states for its position on the “made in Europe” legislation, which he said threatens to scupper ongoing negotiations about the reset.

“Europe’s argument is not with us. We both suffer the same effects as other countries, particularly steel,” Burnham said, arguing that the UK was not the target of the legislation. “We are making the argument we are not your enemies here … we are not the problem. ‘Made in Europe’ is dealing with a different problem.”

He warned that delicate UK/Ireland supply chains could end up as “collateral damage” of any disagreement with the EU. “Let’s work towards a trusted partner approach that doesn’t cause a problem where there wasn’t a problem and where we have common cause,” Burnham said.

In his speech to the UN on Tuesday evening, Burnham plans to reflect on the 10 years since Brexit and say the UK needs to be “more clear-eyed” about the risks to its democratic system. “I’m reflecting on that last decade,” he told reporters on his plane. “What we’ve experienced is when that turbulence comes, when outside actors seek to manipulate, to distort facts, influence the British democratic process.”

“Going into the next decade we need to be clear-eyed about that and become stronger and more on the front foot about challenging that,” Burnham said. “Perhaps Britain can say we have experienced some of the turbulence before others in terms of the politics of recent times. We need to be clearer where outside forces, our enemies, are trying to manipulate that opinion and feeling to serve their interests, not ours.”