Diplomats from European countries establish contacts with Farage’s party — Politico Europe
Diplomats from several European countries will attend the annual conference of the British Reform UK party in Birmingham to establish contacts with Nigel Farage’s political force. Germany, Italy and Spain are sending representatives to the event for the first time, Politico Europe reports.
Contacts without the highest-level representation
According to the publication, European capitals are taking into account the possibility of Reform UK entering the government. An EU diplomat told Politico that embassies are increasingly recognizing the need to take the party seriously and maintain ties with various political forces. According to him, attending the conference makes it possible to better understand Reform UK’s policies and ambitions, as well as convey the position on the importance of European cooperation.
Representatives of Denmark, Norway, Finland, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania are also expected at the conference at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre. These are mainly political affairs officers and other diplomats rather than ambassadors. This indicates European capitals’ intention to establish contacts with the party without raising engagement to the highest diplomatic level.
Differences over agreements with Brussels
Reform UK promises to abandon the agreements on the “reset” of relations with Brussels currently being discussed by the Labour government, as well as review the post-Brexit trade agreement. The party also wants to review the UK-France agreement on the return of migrants, abolish settled status for welfare benefit recipients and stop providing student loans to foreign nationals.
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Politico writes that the EU is considering the so-called “Farage clause” — a possible mechanism to protect the “reset” agreements from being revoked by a future government. Farage himself previously stated that he would not comply with such a clause.
France will not send representatives
France, according to two EU diplomats, will not send representatives to this year’s conference. Reform UK invited Jordan Bardella, president of the French far-right National Rally party, to address Farage’s supporters on Friday. The French embassy did not respond to a request for comment before the article was published.
According to the party’s internal data, the conference may attract approximately 2,000 more participants than last year. Reform UK did not comment on the increased interest from embassies.
