Reset or compromise? Taking stock of the EU-UK summit

This week, Mark Leonard is joined by Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at Eurasia Group and ECFR council member, for an emergency room episode dissecting the long-awaited EU-UK summit. 

While the summit’s agreement sets precedents on policies including an agri-food deal, and a security and defence partnership, it falls short of achieving ambitious goals like a customs union. Mark and Mujtaba’s discussion, recorded as European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, European Council president Antonio Costa and British prime minister Keir Starmer announce the summit’s outcomes, delves into how the EU-UK reset has been marked by such progress—alongside continued unresolved tensions.  

Amid domestic political pressures, and within a fragmented global order, can this summit lay the foundation for deeper cooperation? Or is it simply one cautious step in a deeply fraught political landscape? 

This podcast was recorded on May 19.