FRANCE has declared it is ready to open the EU door to Britain 10 years after Brexit and offered its backing to Andy Burnham as prime minister.
Jean-Noel Barrot, France’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, made the declaration in a France 5 television interview, adding he hoped Burnham would ‘secure the post he’s aiming for.’
“As for us, we’re absolutely ready to open the door to the United Kingdom for a return to the European Union, which, it’s true, comes with rights but also duties,” Barrot said.
Brexit, Barrot added, had ‘failed to deliver any of its promises’ — a verdict he backed with a stark economic comparison.
READ MORE: A decade after Brexit: Could Andy Burnham be the man to steer Britain back towards the EU?
Before Brexit, UK per capita wealth ran €3,000 a year above the European average, Barrot said. Now it sits below it.
He said ‘negotiations have already begun between the UK and the European Union to re-establish ties,’ referring to the reset process Starmer had initiated before his resignation.
A planned July 22 UK-EU summit has since been postponed, with Labour leadership nominations opening July 9 and closing July 16.
“When you’re all alone, you inevitably grow weaker and more fragile,” Barrot said.
Burnham won the Makerfield by-election on June 19 and has since secured the backing of more than 200 Labour MPs, making him the overwhelming favourite to succeed Keir Starmer as party leader and prime minister.
Burnham has publicly distanced himself from the question of EU membership, saying in May he was ‘not proposing that the UK considers rejoining the EU.’
He had previously told Labour’s annual conference in September 2025 that he hoped ‘in my lifetime’ to see Britain return to the bloc.
But once he finally ascends to Number 10, the drum beat pushing ‘Breturn’ will surely only get louder.
Click here to read more Politics News from The Olive Press.
