Resetting the Reset: Former Commissioner Calls for Faster Action on UK-EU Relations

Former European Commissioner Danuta Hübner has called for a swift acceleration of the diplomatic reset between the European Union and the United Kingdom, stating bluntly that Brexit "is not working." Hübner, who also served as a Polish Member of the European Parliament, urged both sides to step up efforts to rebuild closer ties. Her intervention follows comments from former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who suggested the UK should consider rejoining the EU within the next decade.

For citizens and businesses on both sides of the Channel, the post-Brexit arrangement has meant extra paperwork, trade friction, and new hurdles for cross-border work and study. When veteran politicians argue that the current setup is failing, they are pointing directly at these practical frustrations. While official policy in London and Brussels remains firmly attached to existing treaties, growing public interventions from former decision-makers add weight to demands for a smoother, less abrasive economic and political relationship.

In Brussels, a diplomatic "reset" is rarely a swift affair; institutional habit usually dictates months of preliminary meetings just to settle on an agenda. Hübner’s remarks highlight the ongoing friction inside the EU bubble between preserving the strict rules of the single market and managing a key neighbor pragmatic enough to warrant special care. While the EU machinery prefers to move at the pace of legal review, public pushes from seasoned EU insiders keep pressure on negotiators to prevent relations from settling into permanent administrative inertia.

Despite calls from senior figures to accelerate talks or reconsider membership, any formal shift in the EU-UK relationship depends on official political moves from the UK government and agreement among EU member states. For now, formal interaction remains limited to the established post-Brexit agreements, though continued debate in London and European capitals will test whether political leaders eventually seek a broader mandate to rewrite the rules.