Meanwhile Sir Keir has been in Rome, taking notes from Italy on how to stem migration at source in Africa and the Middle East with economic agreements.
Human rights groups have been highly critical of Italy’s and similar EU deals, saying they often result in the abuse of migrants.
But of all the points on the prime minister’s wish list, the EU is most wary of Labour’s zeal to strip away what it calls ‘unnecessary trade barriers’.
Brussels says those barriers are a result of the UK’s own choices: leaving the single market and customs union. Something the prime minister insisted again today was not up for renegotiation.
In which case, says the EU, our hands are tied.
The reality is: trade add-ons will require trade-offs. On both sides.
The government wants to ease the movement of food and drinks exports. It wants easier access for UK artists, including musicians to the EU.
Some EU member states want enhanced fishing rights in UK waters.
The bloc as a whole has asked for a youth mobility scheme where young Europeans study and work in the UK for a visa-limited time period. British youngsters would be offered the same deal in the EU.
But Sir Keir – who has pledged to reduce immigration levels – said again today that ‘free movement is a red line’.
He tried to avoid directly addressing prickly issues when pushed by the press.
He insisted that the focus of Wednesday’s meetings was the bigger picture, with an emphasis on “what we can do, not what we can’t do, and on deliverables rather than running commentary.”
But the European Commission has emphasised it wants the already-negotiated post-Brexit deals with the UK – the Withdrawal Agreement, the Windsor Framework on Northern Ireland and the Trade and Cooperation agreement – to be fully respected before it embarks on brand new chapters.
This summer it alleged non-compliance in a number of areas.
Behind-closed-door talks start imminently, we’re told, with the first of now-to-be regular EU-UK summits planned for the new year.
The joke once shared amongst us Brussels-based journalists during the Brexit process, that negotiations would go on forever, might to be coming to pass.
