War has returned to the European continent, putting many previous divisions into perspective. This has caused European leaders to think afresh about their politics – and raised the question of the United Kingdom’s role in European foreign policy. Seven years after the Brexit referendum, the EU and the UK have finally resolved some of their differences through the Windsor Framework. The possibility of a reset between the UK and the EU on foreign policy could be on the horizon. In this year’s mini-series, Mark Leonard and Susi Dennison examine what a reimagined EU-UK relationship might look like.

In this fifth episode, Mark and Susi welcome Britain’s former permanent representative to the EU, Ivan Rogers, who also served as David Cameron’s advisor for Europe and as principal private secretary to Tony Blair.

How could the evolving geopolitical landscape, particularly the US-China relationship, influence security dynamics in the EU and the UK? What challenges and opportunities might a new UK government face when rethinking the country’s economic and financial relationship with the EU? In what areas is the UK and the EU’s cooperation on rule-making asymmetrical, and how does that affect their ability to collaborate on various policy matters?

This podcast was recorded on 19 July 2023.

Bookshelf:

Revolutionary Spring: Fighting for a New World 1848-1849, by Christopher Clark

The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914, by Christopher Clark