No tailor-made' deal for UK if it wants to rejoin bloc, say former EU Brexit officials

"Britain would not be able to rejoin the EU on the special terms it enjoyed in the past, veterans of the Brexit negotiations have said. According to former officials from around Europe, the UK should not expect to achieve as beneficial a deal as it once had if it decided to begin negotiations on re-entry. The warnings came as senior Labour politicians jostling for the leadership of their party and country talk openly about wanting to return to the union at some point in the future."

"Georg Riekeles, a former adviser on the EU's Brexit taskforce, said he expected member states would take a very warm, welcoming stance but also a hard-headed one to a British membership application. There is a strategic need for the EU and the UK to work together, but I don't think there would be an appetite for opening up new decades of British exceptionalism, he said. The price of re-entry would be membership on normal terms."

"During its 47 years of EU membership, the UK achieved an unprecedented special status: opt-outs from core policies, such as the single currency and the Schengen passport-free zone, as well as a rebate on EU budget payments, while carving out an agenda-setting role. Sandro Gozi, Italy's Europe minister from 2014-18, said certainly we will start with those standard terms, when asked about the euro and Schengen zone membership in any re-entry negotiations."

"It is clear that the tailor-made suit is gone, and it is clear that the negotiation of the UK should tackle all the issues which are foreseen for any candidate. Gozi, now an MEP and chair of the European parliament's delegation to the EU-UK parliamentary partnership assembly, predicted EU member states would welcome a British application to rejoin despite the uncertainty of a possible Nigel Farage premiership."

Former Brexit negotiators and European officials warn that the UK would not be able to rejoin the EU on the special terms it previously enjoyed. They expect member states to be welcoming but firm in assessing any British application. Re-entry would mean membership on normal terms, including participation in core policies without the earlier opt-outs. During 47 years of membership, the UK had special status through opt-outs from the single currency and the Schengen passport-free zone, along with a rebate on EU budget payments and an agenda-setting role. EU officials indicate negotiations would start from standard terms and address all issues faced by any candidate, with the tailor-made arrangement no longer available.

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