--- title: Rachel Reeves Backs Rejoining the EU, and Britain's Under-30s Have the Most to Gain description: Rachel Reeves says Britain's future lies in the EU. The path back, from Erasmus+ in 2027 to the November summit, and what it means for young Britons. author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief) date: 2026-11-02T11:49:27.167Z updated: 2026-11-02T11:49:33.144Z canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/uk-rejoining-eu-future-generations image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/pexels-3973941.webp categories: EU Focus, Politics content_type: Feature region: United Kingdom publication: Sovereign Magazine schema_type: Article about: - type: Person name: Rachel Reeves - type: Organization name: European Union --- Rachel Reeves has become the most senior Labour figure to say openly that Britain belongs back inside the European Union. Writing in The Sunday Times on 1st November, the former Chancellor said Brexit 'has made us poorer, weaker and less secure' and added: 'I do believe Britain's future lies in the European Union.' Reeves helped write Labour's 2024 manifesto, which ruled out a return to membership, and she ran the Treasury until July. Her intervention comes less than three weeks before Prime Minister Andy Burnham meets European leaders in Brussels on 20th November for the [second UK-EU summit](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/eu-uk-summit-brussels-20-november). ## Andy Burnham and the Road Back to Brussels For ten years British governments followed one unwritten rule: never suggest that the 2016 vote should be reversed. Burnham, who became Prime Minister on 20th July, has set that rule aside. He told the Labour Party conference in September that Brexit had done more harm than good, and in a BBC interview he set out [three long-term options](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/burnham-eu-free-movement-summit): a customs union, a return to the single market, or full membership of the EU. He has been careful about the pace. Burnham remains bound by his predecessor Keir Starmer's pledge not to rejoin the customs union or the single market, and he has said that position could change after the next general election, which must be held by 2029. Around the time of the summit, his government will set out options for the long-term relationship and invite the public to have its say. Downing Street has confirmed that British and EU officials are already holding informal talks on what those options could include. ## What Is on the Table at the 20th November UK-EU Summit The summit itself deals with practical matters. Burnham will take to Brussels a food and drink trade agreement to cut border checks, cooperation on energy and emissions trading, and a youth experience scheme that would let young people live, work and study on either side of the Channel for a limited period. Reeves used her article to press for progress on two fronts in particular: youth mobility and European defence cooperation. The youth scheme has become the hardest part of the package, with tuition fees for EU students and the size of any annual cap still unresolved. ## Erasmus+ Returns for British Students in 2027 If you have children or grandchildren approaching university or an apprenticeship, the most concrete change is already agreed. Britain will rejoin Erasmus+ from the 2027/28 academic year, six years after leaving it. The government is paying £570 million for that first year, a 30% discount on the standard terms for countries outside the EU, and estimates that more than 100,000 people could take part. The scheme now reaches far beyond university students. Apprentices, vocational learners and adult learners can all apply, so a nursing student in Leeds, a trainee chef in Cardiff or a carpentry apprentice in Belfast can spend a placement in a European hospital, kitchen or workshop. Britain had taken part in Erasmus from 1987 until Brexit. ## A Generation That Never Had a Vote on Brexit Nobody under the age of 28 today was old enough to vote in June 2016. These young people have spent their entire adult lives outside the EU, without the automatic right to work in Madrid or [study in Berlin](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/the-effects-of-brexit-on-higher-education-students-in-the-uk) that the generation before them took for granted. A youth experience scheme would reopen that door for a few years at a time and in limited numbers. Full membership would open it permanently. A 22-year-old graphic designer from Glasgow could take a job in Lisbon as easily as a job in Leeds, and a Portuguese engineer could do the reverse. Membership would also return something no mobility scheme can offer: a British vote on the rules that British businesses already follow whenever they sell into a market of 450 million people. ## Europe's Defence and Security Partnership Security now sits at the centre of the case for closer ties. Burnham has said Russian attempts to interfere in European votes, including the 2016 referendum, show that 'the status quo is not good enough'. He has also said that leaving cost Britain access to EU databases and agreements that once helped it tackle unauthorised migration. Britain and the EU signed a [security and defence partnership](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/major-trade-reset-signals-new-era-for-cross-channel-commerce) at their first summit in May 2025. As European governments raise defence spending and build up their industries together, full membership would give British shipyards, engineering firms and research laboratories a place at the centre of that effort rather than on its edge. ## The Economic Case for Rejoining the EU Most economists agree that [Brexit has hurt the British economy](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/the-real-toll-brexit-has-taken-on-the-uk-economy). The Office for Budget Responsibility has long forecast that leaving will leave UK productivity around 4% lower over the long run than if Britain had stayed. Burnham has said he expects closer ties with Europe to add to national output and to give Britain stronger control of migration. For a young person starting out, those figures translate into wages, job openings and the cost of a weekly shop. A smaller economy means fewer graduate jobs, slower pay growth and higher prices on imported food. ## What Stands Between Britain and EU Membership The road back is long, and the outcome is far from settled. Any application would need the unanimous approval of all 27 member states. The terms would also differ from the deal Britain left: the rebate secured in 1984 would not return automatically, and new members commit in principle to adopting the euro, though Sweden has shown that such a commitment can remain unfulfilled for decades. Burnham has ruled out rejoining in this parliament and has said the public must have the final say. Resistance at home is real. Labour MP Melanie Onn, whose constituency voted heavily to leave, has warned against reopening the divisions of the past. Trade expert David Henig of the European Centre for International Political Economy has said the biggest obstacle lies neither in Brussels nor with voters but in building support within Labour and inside Burnham's own Cabinet. EU leaders have welcomed the warmer tone from London, though they remain wary of any British attempt to secure the benefits of membership without its obligations. Reeves accepted that the burden sits with her side. She wrote that supporters of re-entry must make the case, show tangible benefits and get the next steps right. ## What Rejoining the EU Means for Future Generations The first steps are already visible: Erasmus+ placements from 2027, a summit on 20th November, a public consultation on the long-term relationship and a general election by 2029 in which Labour could put membership before voters. For your children and grandchildren, the question is what kind of country they inherit. A teenager in Sunderland or Swansea today could grow up assuming, as young Britons did before 2016, that Europe is a place to study, work, fall in love and build a life.