Peter Ricketts

The stark message in the NSS on where Europe ranks in US priorities also makes tomorrow’s meeting a good moment for Starmer and the 2 Ms to revisit the disastrous handling by the Commission of the UK bid to join SAFE, and the delay in agreeing how to raise a loan against frozen Russian assets. End

Starmer, Merz and Macron have been effective before in persuading Trump (at least for a time) that he needs to make a deal which lasts, and for that he has to take account of Ukraine’s vital interests. The corruption scandal in Kyiv does not help but that’s their task again. 5/6

Washington may find this an inconvenient view from European leaders with ‘unrealistic expectations of war perched in unstable minority governments’ (to quote the NSS). But these expectations are for a settlement based on the principles of the UN Charter. And European leaders are right. 4/6

The US National Security Strategy, and the Kremlin response, give the meeting a new salience. The NSS seeks to reestablish ‘conditions of stability within Europe and strategic stability with Russia’. But there will be no stability in Europe if Russian aggression is rewarded. 3/6

Zelensky can’t agree to give up territory which Russia has failed to occupy, and Putin has no interest in settling for less. That’s the crux, and should be at the centre of the London discussions, together with Ukraine’s right to decide its own future security arrangements. 2/6

Starmer’s convening of Macron, Merz and Zelensky tomorrow is well timed. Witkoff tried to repeat his Gaza gambit by producing a hasty ‘peace plan’ and trying to railroad it. That was never going to work with Ukraine/Russia, and his current roadshow with Kushner won’t resolve the core issues 1/6.

Strongly recommend the Dulwich Gallery show: Anna Ancher: Painting Light. She lived and painted all her life on the N tip of Denmark at Skagen. But she also visited Paris, mingled with the impressionists and developed her own distinctive way of capturing the effects of light. It’s on till March.

I agree and hope this is widely read on the other side of the Channel. Anand captures well the wider issues raised by the failed SAFE negotiations.

The painting on the left here is full of references to the déjeuner sur l’herbe theme of the impressionists. On the right, an original take on the familiar artist and model in a studio subject. 2/2

Do see the vibrant Kerry James Marshall show @royalacademy.bsky.social until 18 January. His huge paintings are striking and thoughtful, celebrating black American culture adapting many of the conventions of centuries of Western painting. 1/2

In the Folketing in Copenhagen for COSAC - Chairs of national European Affairs Cttees. I expect much support for Ukraine and the urgent need for a strong Europe - a good context to regret the disconnect between this and the failure of talks on UK access to SAFE. @lordseuroaffairs.parliament.uk

We have talked a good bit about that!

Yes UK firms will still be able to bid for up to 35% of contracts. But I wonder how many will want to be subcontractors to EU-based primes? My guess is that the main effect of failing to get this deal is that UK firms will now go for bilateral projects with EU members. Shortsighted by the EU.

EU-UK talks on defense deal break down London and Brussels clashed over how much the U.K. would have to pay to take part.

Not surprising. It was bonkers that the EU demanded billions of € as an entry fee to SAFE for UK firms. It shows the disconnect between the shared imperative of increasing Europe’s military power and what looks to be a calculated move by some to keep UK out of SAFE. www.politico.eu/article/eu-u...

Our Chair @lordrickettsp.bsky.social is on this week's Parliament Matters podcast from @hansardsociety.bsky.social (at 21' 25"). He discusses the UK-EU 'reset' & our recent report on it, & Parliament's current & future role in scrutinising UK-EU relations, including prospective dynamic alignment

I represented @houseoflords.parliament.uk at a Summit in Stockholm to remind the world of Crimea’s plight since 2014: killings, children sent to Russian camps, cultural heritage destroyed etc. Zelensky put it powerfully in his speech to us ‘Putin wants legal recognition for what he has stolen’.

The task for the European team in Geneva today should be to channel Trump’s impatience for a ceasefire into a plan which respects Ukraine’s vital interests and its sovereign right to decide its own security arrangements - and doesn’t leave Europe paying the whole bill.

Thanks Simon!

PM - 14/11/2025 - BBC Sounds News and current affairs, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines

My assessment of what payments the EU are demanding from the UK to turn the aspirations set out at the 19 May Summit into firm agreements, and why their demand for €6.5bn to access the SAFE defence loan scheme is bonkers, its just after 30 mins in here. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Or indeed that a future President Le Pen might do the same? There are risks everywhere but the riskiest course is to throw up protectionist barriers to cooperation.

If you are puzzled by the proliferating EU demands for UK cash as part of the reset process I will try to see through the fog on BBC Radio 4 PM Programme at around 1730 (or later on BBC Sounds)!

On another point, it’s unbelievable that the EU are asking for €6.5bn as an entry fee to access SAFE. Remember: this is a loan scheme. The Gov’t are willing to contribute to the costs of running it. But a €6.5 bn fee is so off the scale that it suggests some EU members don’t want UK in the scheme.

Thanks to the FT for quoting me on the Lords European Affairs Cttee report. But as I understand the outcome of the Brussels debate on money, a UK contribution to EU cohesion funds w’d only be sought for future access to the Internal Market, not for SPS/ETS deals. This is good news. t.co/8UqLZ7bGn4

As the only Committee of Parliament dealing with UK/EU relations, we also highlight the issues that dynamic alignment will create for Westminster. There will be a continual need to adapt UK Regulations as EU policies change, and Parliament must scrutinise Government decisions effectively. End.

Two parts of the 2021 Brexit deal were due to expire in 2026: the access arrangements for EU fishers to UK waters and energy cooperation. The first was rolled over for 12 years and the second only on an annual basis. We ask why the Gov’t settled for this lop-sided deal. 7/8

There has been little progress on two initial UK priorities, touring artists and recognition of professional qualifications. On young people, we welcome the negotiations on accessing Erasmus+, and ask how a youth experience scheme (and the promised cap on numbers) will work. 6/8

Negotiations on SPS and ETS haven’t even begun yet, as the EU has not agreed negotiating mandates. SPS won’t be in place until 2027 at the earliest. The Gov’t agreed to make an ‘appropriate financial contribution’ to EU costs. We ask what they consider a fair cost to pay. 5/8

The 19 May summit agreed to work towards reducing checks on the trade in animal and plant products (SPS agreement) and linking UK/EU Emissions Trading Schemes (ETS). Both would involve ‘dynamic alignment’ with EU regulation. We ask a series of questions on how this will work. 4/8

We welcome the Security and Defence Partnership which responds to acute threats to European security. But the current negotiations to access the EU’s SAFE defence loan scheme need to deliver strategic benefits for the UK industry and value for money - not vast entry fees. 3/8

This was a long and complex inquiry. We were aiming at a moving target as the Government’s ambitions grew. The 19 May Summit was a key waypoint but the reset is a process not an event - and in fact there will never be an endpoint. Our Report provides a snapshot 16 months in. 2/8