Burnham Warns EU Industrial Accelerator Act Would Damage UK

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the European Union's planned Industrial Accelerator Act, a scheme to give EU-based companies priority for public contracts and subsidies, would damage British industry and supply chains, according to the BBC. He plans to raise the issue directly with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen when the two meet on the sidelines of a UN summit in New York.

What is the EU's Industrial Accelerator Act?

The proposal, also referred to as the Made In Europe scheme, is designed to protect EU manufacturers from Chinese competition by giving companies based inside the bloc priority access to public contracts and subsidies. The plan has not been finalized, the BBC reported, but the EU's car industry has already called for the UK to be included in the scheme to avoid disrupting cross-border supply chains that link British and European manufacturers.

Why does Burnham say the plan would hurt UK industry?

Burnham told reporters traveling with him to the US that the scheme risks becoming "collateral damage" for a country that is not the EU's intended target. "We have considerable support among the member states for the position we are taking, because Europe's argument is not with us," he said, according to the BBC. "We both suffer the same effects as other countries, particularly steel and the issue it raises for the steel industry in Europe and in Britain."

"We are making the argument 'we are not your enemies here… we are not the problem.' Made in Europe is dealing with a different problem. We are making the argument that 'let's avoid collateral damage.'"

What is Burnham doing about it in New York?

Burnham is set to meet von der Leyen at the United Nations General Assembly and intends to press her on how the UK can be shielded from the scheme's effects, the BBC reported. He is also due to deliver a UN speech reflecting on the decade since the Brexit referendum, telling reporters it would address how "outside actors seek to manipulate, to distort facts, influence the British democratic process," and that Britain needs to be "clear-eyed" and "more on the front foot about challenging that" going forward.

Why is the EU-UK summit delayed?

Tensions over the Industrial Accelerator Act have added to delays affecting this year's planned EU-UK summit, according to the BBC, which had already been postponed following Sir Keir Starmer's resignation as prime minister in July. Burnham said his priority now is building on Starmer's efforts to repair UK-EU relations and reaching a practical agreement that would boost the British economy, alongside separate EU requests on youth mobility.

Will Burnham commit to rejoining the EU?

Asked whether he would rule out a pledge to rejoin the EU in Labour's next election manifesto, Burnham declined to answer directly, calling it a question "for another day." He said the immediate focus is the UK-EU summit expected later this year and the practical agreements that could come out of it, rather than the broader question of EU membership.