A former Conservative MP sparked controversy in the UK with a proposal to bring Brexit-scarred Britain closer to Europe in a new European Confederation that would also include the Western Balkans. Despite some flaws, its timing could be right.
Nick Boles, a former Conservative MP and UK minister, made a big splash in a country still struggling to adapt to the consequences of Brexit when he published an essay this month proposing a new deal for the United Kingdom’s relationship with Europe. By Europe, Boles primarily means the European Union and European Economic Area (EEA) countries, Switzerland, Ukraine and the Western Balkans.
His proposal sparked reactions from international media and several commentators in the Western Balkans, but it also generated false claims that this was a proposal by the new UK government under Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
Central to Boles’s proposal is the negotiation of a ‘New Deal’ between the UK and Europe and the establishment of a new European Confederation that would replace the European Political Community (EPC), a 47-member intergovernmental forum established in 2022 in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The diagnosis of the UK’s current predicament is accurate. Its post-Brexit relationship with Europe remains unresolved, while weakening transatlantic ties and a gradual US strategic shift away from Europe increases space for threats from Russia and China.
Source: balkaninsight.com
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