Unbound Briefing Room – W/C 14 September 2026

In an article published today in City AM, Professor David Collins of City University has called the planned terms of the UK-EU Reset negotiations "an affront to international law". The renowned Professor of International Economic Law has given a blistering review of the approach undertaken by the EU and the previous Labour government, now continued under the Burnham premiership, stating that it "poses a serious threat to the UK’s sovereignty" and "must be abandoned".

You can read the full article and his thoughts on the proposed EU Reset, on the City AM website here.

The rollout of the EU's botched EES entry/exit system continues to unravel, with The Times now reporting that nine countries have now been "allowed" to delay biometric checks indefinitely to avoid long queues.

Some have attempted to make this a Brexit issue, but surely it says rather more about the incompetence and overreach of the EU! In any event, EU membership hasn't prevented Irish citizens from being delayed at the Schengen border, as reported here.

We've noticed an interesting undercurrent at the TUC conference - a recognition that Brexit makes it easier for a Labour government to provide more state support for key industries and to "buy British". These freedoms (for good or ill) would be at risk if the UK had to realign with EU rules.

Another damning report - this time from the European Policy Innovation Council - has been published on the impact of EU regulations on the EU economy. The report notes that the "EU continues to advance regulatory agendas of considerable scope without adequate economic calibration, stakeholder alignment, or proportionality testing", with another wave in the pipeline predicted to cost tens of billions of euros and hundreds of thousands of jobs. You can read the full report here.

EU's von der Leyen wants Canada to become the bloc's first "associate member". This could mean something or nothing…

For a start, there is no such thing as "associate membership", which is a new concept with no legal basis in the EU Treaties. Many countries already have bespoke deals with the EU on trade, or security issues, but EU officials have always resisted attempts to build formal alliances with non-member states and only offered deals on terms which are far more favourable to the EU. As Reuters reports. one EU diplomat expressed surprise at von der Leyen's proposal, saying "nobody really ​knows what it means". The diplomat added there were concerns that the European Commission chief "is overpromising and won't be able to deliver."

Indeed, there are plenty of obstacles to closer economic cooperation on both sides. For example, Canada won't open up markets like dairy and telecoms. Another sceptical report on Politico noted "further alignment than currently planned would create new issues around steel, cars, genetically modified crops and other substantive issues, diplomats said…"

Relations between the US and Canada are obviously strained right now, but Trump will not be President forever, and trade with the US is (and always will be) far more important to Canada.

What does this mean for "Brexit Britain"? Actually, the UK's experience with the so-called "reset" shows why Canada would be wasting its time trying to get a better deal from the EU! But this might be a win for the UK anyway. Bloomberg is reporting that "Andy Burnham has been forced to largely shelve his ambitions for a big EU reset after Brussels said it’s more interested in pursuing closer ties with Canada". If so, this would be a lucky escape.

The EU "reset" would be a disaster for the UK economy, and sovereignty. Now it's Canada's turn to find out just how bad a partner the EU can be…

The Guardian newspaper is reporting that the UK-EU "reset" summit could be delayed again unless Brussels agrees to include “Made in Europe” legislation on the agenda. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the UK government has finally decided to ask for something from the EU in return? As it is, the EU's insistence on framing "Made in Europe" as "Made in the EU only" is yet another example of the bloc's transparent protectionism.