EU open
to flexibility on euro and Schengen if UK tries to rejoin
The
clarification could be a boost for Andy Burnham’s ambition to see Britain
return to the European Union in his lifetime.
Demonstrators
gather in London to mark 10 years since the Brexit referendum, on June 20,
2026. | Brook Mitchell/Getty Images
Exclusive
October
30, 2026 6:25 pm CET
By Jon Stone
https://www.politico.eu/article/brussels-flexible-euro-schengen-uk-tried-rejoining/
LONDON —
Brussels would be flexible on letting Britain stay out of the euro and the
Schengen area if it applied to rejoin the European Union, two EU officials
familiar with the bloc’s approach have told POLITICO.
Britain
would not necessarily have to join the single currency or passport-free zone —
a concern held by some British voters — according to the two officials, who
were granted anonymity to speak freely about a sensitive matter.
Opening
the door for the U.K. to return to the bloc on similar terms would be a serious
boost to the prospects of restoring the country's EU membership, and a
rejection of those who have argued it shouldn't be allowed back in without
joining the euro or Schengen.
U.K.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said Brexit isn’t working — and even suggested
rejoining the EU could make it into Labour’s next election manifesto.
But some
euroskeptics say a returning Britain would likely be strong-armed into making
commitments to European integration that go beyond the membership deal it had
before Brexit.
Polling
conducted by YouGov earlier this month found that 55 percent of Brits want to
reverse Brexit, with just 34 percent wanting to remain outside the EU, but the
numbers shift significantly if joining the euro single currency and Schengen
passport-free area become requirements — with just 35 percent in favor to 43
percent opposed.
EU
officials stress that the union currently has no formal stance on Britain
joining as London has not yet applied.
But they
say the EU always takes the specific circumstances of a country into account
when conducting negotiating talks. “In theory there is a standard approach but
in practice you see that it is more flexible,” one of the officials told
POLITICO. “There are different models.”
The
clarification could be a boost for Burnham’s ambition to see Britain back in
the EU in his lifetime.
The
European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
‘More
harm than good’
When it
was an EU member, the U.K. had exemptions from Schengen and the euro — built on
a series of opt-outs and agreements negotiated over decades of membership.
But
states who have joined the union more recently have made commitments to move
towards both goals.
Andy Burnham meets with Ursula von der Leyen in New York on
Sept. 22, 2026. | Pool photo by Toby Melville via Getty Images
While
Burnham has said he wants to eventually see the U.K. rejoin, he says he will be
led by U.K. public opinion on the matter.
Crucially,
he has said nothing will happen before the next general election when he seeks
a fresh mandate at the polls. That is due no later than July 2029.
On Nov.
20 Burnham will meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in
Brussels to sign off a package of measures meant to smooth the post-Brexit
relationship.
These
negotiations, begun under Burnham’s predecessor Keir Starmer, include an
agreement to smooth food trade, new visas for young people, and a linking of
emissions trading systems.
But the
prime minister has also said he will use the occasion of the summit to set out
options for an even bigger overhaul of Brexit, which he said "has caused
more harm than good.”
Burnham
has said the options could include membership of the single market or customs
union, but also rejoining wholesale.
The
chosen option is expected to make it into Labour’s next election manifesto,
with the next contest due in 2029 but latitude given to the prime minister to
call an earlier poll.
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