Former PM urges caution on EU rejoin discussions

Cameron, who resigned from his position as Prime Minister following the 2016 referendum and subsequent remain campaign, expressed concern that such a discussion would be “very long and painful.”

Burnham has recently revived conversations about the UK’s future relationship with the EU. He is scheduled to meet with EU leaders in Brussels next week to formalize agreements anticipated to increase GDP by 0.4%, encompassing areas such as agriculture, emissions trading, and a youth mobility program.

Following this summit, the UK intends to “explore options” for a revised long-term relationship with the EU.

Cameron, speaking to Bloomberg, acknowledged his disappointment over the UK’s decision to leave the EU a decade ago, but emphasized the importance of avoiding attempts to reverse that decision.

“Instead of launching an argument about rejoining, which I think would be a very long and painful argument – and who knows where it would end up – instead of that, focus on how do we be the best friend, best neighbour, best partner,” he stated.

He warned that entertaining the possibility of rejoining could undermine efforts to secure a more favorable agreement, as EU nations might be disinclined to negotiate if a return is anticipated.

“If you’re not going to, you know, commit to trying to make the partnership stronger because you’re flirting with rejoining, I think there’s some dangers there,” Cameron added.

He expressed reservations about rejoining a customs union and attributed the UK’s economic challenges to factors beyond Brexit, citing overspending, over-borrowing, over-taxing, excessive regulation, and high welfare expenditure.

“Do we really want to go into another decade-long debate about whether we should be in or out, when actually we should deal with our own problems while making the partnership model work?”

Former EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier recently cautioned that deeper ties with the EU would necessitate concessions, asserting there would be “no cherry picking.”