The EU is a constantly evolving institution. The rules keep changing and, since Britain is destined by geography to want a close economic relationship with the bloc, there will always be something to negotiate in Brussels.

Most of those discussions over the past two years have been uncontroversial, except in the eyes of dogmatic Eurosceptics. That doesn’t mean the talks have been easy. They never are with a club of 27 nations. But later this month, at a summit with the EU commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, Andy Burnham is expected to complete a treaty covering closer cooperation in a wide range of areas, including elimination of customs barriers to agricultural goods, a youth-mobility programme and integration with the EU’s carbon emissions trading scheme.

The agenda was set by Sir Keir Starmer as part of his intended “reset” of EU relations. Mr Burnham has since pledged to move........

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