Dossier

EU-UK relations after Brexit

The Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung is looking at critical themes for both the UK and the EU — their future relationship, democracy, foreign and security policy and the green transformation. We commission some of the leading thinkers on these topics to write commentaries and analyses.

Latest articles

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Updating Europe’s energy networks

Factsheet
Europe’s electricity grid planning was designed for a slower, fossil-based energy system. Today, rapid renewable deployment, rising electricity demand and the emergence of hydrogen call for a new institutional framework. This factsheet outlines how forward-looking, coordinated planning can help achieve climate neutrality by 2050. It recommends that Member States develop spatial energy plans, that stronger unbundling rules prevent conflicts of interest, and that an Independent EU Energy System Planner be created to improve cross-border coordination and efficiency.
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Do Britain's pylon-haters have the power to stop them? This time, probably not

Commentary
As the UK races to upgrade its electricity grid for a net-zero future, new pylons are sparking old arguments. To some, they are industrial blights on the countryside; to others, symbols of progress. Yet with offshore wind and solar booming, new transmission lines are unavoidable. The government hopes bill discounts and community funds will ease opposition – but as legal reforms curb local objections, many Britons may soon have to get used to the view.
Ros Taylor
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Beyond Brexit: A new chapter for EU-UK relations

Böll EU Brief
The EU and the UK are holding their first post-Brexit summit on 19 May. Since coming to power in July 2024, the focus of Labour’s much-vaunted ‘reset’ with the EU has been on building friendly relations with EU institutions and Member States. Whilst these overtures have been positively received, (substantive) progress has been slow. The summit will therefore be crucial in determining whether the two sides can move from ambition to action.
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Böll EU Brief 02/2025 | Beyond Brexit: A new chapter for EU-UK relations

Böll EU Brief
The EU and the UK are holding their first post-Brexit summit on 19 May. Since coming to power in July 2024, the focus of Labour’s much-vaunted ‘reset’ with the EU has been on building friendly relations with EU institutions and Member States. Whilst these overtures have been positively received, (substantive) progress has been slow. The summit will therefore be crucial in determining whether the two sides can move from ambition to action.
Jannike Wachowiak
Read more articles on EU-UK relations

Related content

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Digital rights post-Brexit

Dossier
Since leaving the EU, the United Kingdom has new autonomy to explore differing approaches to regulating the digital economy and is seeking to deliver the potential benefits of regulatory divergence. This dossier considers the emerging issues within each major area of policy intervention – data protection, content policy and competition – to help policy makers in Europe and the UK begin a discussion about the potential effects of EU-UK divergence, to begin to think about where co-operation may still be needed, and, if this cannot be achieved, the best way to deal with the impacts they may be dealt with. 

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