France Urges UK to Fully Rejoin European Union Amid Brexit Reversal Debate

French Finance Minister Roland Lescure has urged the United Kingdom to “come all the way back” to the European Union, responding to Labour’s Andy Burnham, who raised the possibility of a new referendum to reverse Brexit.

Lescure spoke after Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged in his Labour conference speech to explore closer ties with Brussels at an upcoming summit. In subsequent interviews, Lescure outlined a broad reconsideration of Britain’s relationship with the EU, arguing that Brexit had caused “more harm than good.”

When asked about Burnham’s remarks, Lescure told the BBC: “British people decided, and that’s obviously their 100% right, and if they’re willing to come back, they will have to decide. But what I can tell them is: come back, anytime.” He added that he wanted Britain back in the union to face emerging global threats together.

Burnham had outlined a range of options last week, including maintaining current arrangements, seeking a customs union, returning to the single market, or pursuing full membership. He said ministers would examine “what is doable” and weigh the “pros and cons” of each path.

The prime minister is travelling to Germany for talks with Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose government has supported Burnham’s proposal to explore closer EU links. Burnham and Merz are expected to agree on a security cooperation deal against cyber-attacks, while also discussing broader UK-EU relations.

Lescure also addressed Burnham’s criticism that EU rules protecting European manufacturers could harm the UK. British government sources had earlier warned that the “EU reset” summit risked further delay unless Brussels agreed to discuss legislation that could restrict British businesses from parts of EU industry.

“Come back, and you’ll be at the table, and we discuss all these things together,” Lescure said.

Nigel Farage claimed Burnham’s comments had given him “the biggest boost in my career” by reopening the Brexit debate, which the Reform UK leader said exposed a “huge flank” to his party. Dismissing polls showing that as much as 59% of the public favoured rejoining the EU, Farage said: “Of course they do, until you tell them it’ll cost 25bn quid a year, until you tell him it’ll mean joining Schengen [the area of Europe that has open borders], until he tells them it will mean actually having to recommit to joining the euro.”

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