On 19 May, Keir Starmer is hosting European leaders for a crucial UK-EU Summit to discuss Britain’s future relationship with the EU.

This is a huge chance to start to put right some of the damage of Brexit - which is impacting our economic growth, our small businesses, our creative industries, opportunities for our young people, and so much more, every single day.

There are ten concrete steps the government can commit to in May that would start to make an immediate difference to people’s lives in this country, as well as laying the foundation for more substantial long-term changes to bring us back into the European fold. 

Here’s what could be on the table if our government are serious about starting to mend our broken relationship with the EU. 

1. A youth opportunity scheme giving young people in the UK and EU the chance to live, work, and study in each other’s countries – rebuilding cultural ties, boosting skills, and opening up life-changing opportunities for the next generation.
2. A defence partnership allowing the UK to contribute to joint security missions, peacekeeping operations and collaborative defence projects – with access to joint procurement schemes and initiatives.
3. Rejoining Erasmus+ to restore life-changing educational, cultural, and academic exchanges for students, apprentices and educators.
4. A better deal for musicians and touring artists, removing complex visa rules, transport restrictions, and customs paperwork – so UK talent can perform, tour, and collaborate across Europe without unnecessary barriers.
5. Rejoining Creative Europe, the EU’s flagship programme for the cultural and creative sectors – to restore access to vital funding, cross-border collaboration, and European networks that support jobs, training, and audience development across film, TV, theatre, and the arts.
6. Removing red tape for professionals through both a mutual recognition agreement on qualifications, that would allow UK- and EU-trained doctors, architects, engineers, vets and others to work across borders, and enhancing professional mobility by revising restrictive visa rules. 
7. Rejoining the European Environment Agency to take part in shared environmental monitoring, access high-quality data, and contribute to Europe-wide efforts on sustainability and climate change.
8. A UK–EU agreement on plant and animal health (a veterinary/SPS agreement) to reduce costly checks and paperwork at borders – cutting delays and red tape for UK exporters and helping businesses trade more smoothly with the EU.
9. A mutual recognition agreement on conformity assessments to allow goods tested and certified in the UK to be accepted for sale in the EU – and vice versa – reducing duplication, cutting costs, and helping UK businesses trade more easily and confidently across Europe.
10. A joined-up approach to energy and net zero by both linking Emissions Trading Systems to remove carbon borders and eliminate CBAM payments on British exports, and an agreement on electricity trading provisions to re-couple day-ahead markets, which would cut costs for consumers and improve energy efficiency.

With global instability and the threat of Donald Trump’s trade war hanging over us, it’s more important than ever that we start to put Brexit behind us and restore our ties with the EU.

19 May is a huge opportunity, but there is a question mark over whether our government are prepared to go beyond vague promises, and start to commit to real action. 

That’s why we’re raising money so we can up the pressure between now and 19 May. If you can, please donate to our crowdfunder so we can ramp up the campaign over the next crucial week.