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Joël Reland

Joël Reland

@jreland.bsky.social

6.4K followers 320 following 170 posts

Research Fellow at UK in a Changing Europe. Looking at UK-EU relations, regulatory divergence and European politics.

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Joël Reland @jreland.bsky.social · 3d

Don't disagree that an SPS (and ETS) deal would help but by the govt's own analysis it only scratches at the surface of the economic costs

Joël Reland @jreland.bsky.social · 4d

My take on the latest strange iteration in UK Brexit policy. We now have a government which openly laments the economic costs of Brexit, but rules out most of the options for dealing with it

ukandeu.ac.uk/labours-brex...

Labour’s Brexit trap - UK in a changing Europe

Joël Reland argues that the Labour government's strategy to voluntarily align more closely with EU rules will not result in economic growth in the UK.

Reposted by Joël Reland

UK in a Changing Europe @ukandeu.bsky.social · 6d

"What voluntary alignment does mean is a clunky process of copying and pasting new EU regulations onto the UK statute book for limited economic gain. It is a high-effort, low-reward strategy."

✍️ @jreland.bsky.social reflects on Labour's Brexit trap

ukandeu.ac.uk/labours-brex...

Labour’s Brexit trap - UK in a changing Europe

Joël Reland argues that the Labour government's strategy to voluntarily align more closely with EU rules will not result in economic growth in the UK.

Joël Reland @jreland.bsky.social · 7d

This trends suggest that, unless the government can soon demonstrate the benefits of the regulatory independence from the EU, it will increasingly struggle to justify its Brexit position, which significantly dampens trade with the UK’s closest partner while delivering few other benefits.

Joël Reland @jreland.bsky.social · 7d

And on financial services, a number of consultations are promised on tweaking the existing rulebook – but in truth these are unlikely to have much, if any, impact on growth – and certainly do not offset the loss of access to the EU financial services market.

Joël Reland @jreland.bsky.social · 7d

The UK, while broadly following the EU’s approach of trying to impose controls on big tech’s dominance of digital markets, has been somewhat less interventionist – reflecting the desire to secure a digital trade deal with the US.

Joël Reland @jreland.bsky.social · 7d

Under this model of voluntary alignment, the UK will continue to drift from the EU despite not wanting to. Which raises the question of whether there are any benefits from the UK's regulatory freedom, which offset those costs. The two areas govt has zeroed in on are financial services and tech/AI.

Joël Reland @jreland.bsky.social · 7d

But the key issue is capacity. The govt has announced plans to replicate new EU rules on vehicle safety and emissions testing. But there is yet to be a consultation – let alone legislation. Whitehall cannot move as fast as the Brussels machine - and so more and more gaps open by default over time.

Joël Reland @jreland.bsky.social · 7d

Why? In some cases there's nothing the UK can do to avoid it. The UK cannot legislate to exempt itself from new EU trade defence measures on steel, for example. And in some cases (e.g. AI regs) it might not want to align.

Joël Reland @jreland.bsky.social · 7d

In many goods areas (e.g. vehicles, product safety) the government is taking a (sometimes explicit) presumption in favour of voluntarily aligning with EU law as it changes – to avoid new complexity for UK-EU and GB-NI trade. But despite this there is still plenty of EU-led divergence occurring.

Joël Reland @jreland.bsky.social · 7d

This chart sums up the challenge. There are lots of cases of the UK taking active steps to align with EU regulations – but there are even more cases where the EU has diverged and the UK has not followed suit

Joël Reland @jreland.bsky.social · 7d

Our new divergence is tracker out: auditing the extent to which UK/EU rules and regs have aligned/diverged since June.

It highlights the increasingly awkward position which the UK occupies: of wanting to act like the EU on most regulatory issues, but without being part of the club.

UK in a Changing Europe @ukandeu.bsky.social · 7d

🚨 PUBLISHED TODAY 🚨

👀 Take a look at the latest edition of UK in a Changing Europe's UK-EU regulatory divergence tracker by @jreland.bsky.social

🤓 It's the only report of its kind to outline exactly how UK and EU rules and regulations have diverged

🧵 Key findings

ukandeu.ac.uk/reports/uk-e...

UK-EU Divergence Tracker Q3 2025 - UK in a changing Europe

This is the fourteenth edition of the UK in a Changing Europe’s regulatory divergence tracker, outlining how UK and EU rules and regulations have diverged in the period July-October 2025.

Reposted by Joël Reland

Anand Menon @anandmenon.bsky.social · Sep 25

After years of making the running on immigration, Farage may this week have handed the initiative back to his opponents'. @robfordmancs.bsky.social for @ukandeu.bsky.social on the unpopularity of Reform's proposals on ILR ukandeu.ac.uk/reforms-radi...

Joël Reland @jreland.bsky.social · Sep 24

Interesting piece on the success of the Social Democratic government in Spain and the lessons for Labour. The penultimate paragraph was particularly striking renewal.org.uk/articles/dar...

Joël Reland @jreland.bsky.social · Sep 15

One for the nerds here... New briefing on the key issues to resolve in the UK-EU ETS negotiations.

And for the slightly less nerdy, here's a blog on why the broader set of negotiations could prove tricky ukandeu.ac.uk/uk-eu-negoti...

Joël Reland @jreland.bsky.social · Sep 11

Strong stuff - lays out the political and historical reasons why the ECHR is so integral to the peace settlement in Northern Ireland, and why a 'British Bill of Rights' could never occupy the same role

UK in a Changing Europe @ukandeu.bsky.social · Sep 11

"The underlying point is that, given the history, there was nothing like sufficient trust that the UK state could, or would, provide the safeguards and protections of minority rights in Northern Ireland, and that remains the case today."

ukandeu.ac.uk/the-belfast-...

The Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and Human Rights - UK in a changing Europe

Andrew McCormick explains the role ECHR membership plays in the Belfast / Good Friday Agreement.

Reposted by Joël Reland

UK in a Changing Europe @ukandeu.bsky.social · Sep 10

This explainer by @joellegrogan.bsky.social and @alicedonald.bsky.social looks at the relationship between the Belfast/ Good Friday Agreement and the ECHR

To understand what role the ECHR plays and what UK withdrawal would mean for Northern Ireland, read this 👇

ukandeu.ac.uk/explainers/t...

The European Convention on Human Rights and the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement - UK in a changing Europe

This explainer examines the relationship between the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and the European Convention on Human Rights. It explores the role that...

Joël Reland @jreland.bsky.social · Sep 9

Very underwhelming FAC session on the UK-EU reset - which felt like it was stuck in 2024 with same old stuff about fish, touring artists and sovereignty but almost no detailed interrogation of ETS/SPS/energy talks or wider global challenges.
parliamentlive.tv/event/index/...

Parliamentlive.tv

Foreign Affairs Committee

parliamentlive.tv

Reposted by Joël Reland

Anand Menon @anandmenon.bsky.social · Sep 2

IT'S OUT! @ukandeu.bsky.social brand new survey of the policy challenges confronting the UK, done in partnership with the wonderful @resfoundation.bsky.social ukandeu.ac.uk/reports/poli... 1/???

Reposted by Joël Reland

UK in a Changing Europe @ukandeu.bsky.social · Aug 30

"One of his revealed flaws in his personnel appointments is that he seems to prefer appointing people whose attitude or background he likes, rather than look at whether they are equipped to do the job."

@jillongovt.bsky.social reflects on why Starmer struggles to get the machinery of govt. going

Joël Reland @jreland.bsky.social · Aug 27

Timely analysis from UKICE (@cbarnard.bsky.social) as per

UK in a Changing Europe @ukandeu.bsky.social · Aug 27

"The legal position is therefore clear: yes there is provision for a state to leave the ECHR and the Refugee Convention. But doing so comes with both legal and political consequences."

✍️ @cbarnard.bsky.social explains the impact leaving the ECHR would have on the UK

ukandeu.ac.uk/leaving-the-...

Leaving the ECHR and the Refugee Convention - UK in a changing Europe

Catherine Barnard explains the political and legal consequences of leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Refugee Convention.

Reposted by Joël Reland

UK in a Changing Europe @ukandeu.bsky.social · Aug 27

‼️ Don't miss our panel on the negotiations to come between the UK and EU on the policy areas outlined at the summit

W/ @anandmenon.bsky.social, @cbarnard.bsky.social, @jillongovt.bsky.social, @jannikewachowiak.bsky.social & @jreland.bsky.social

💻 Online, Weds 10 Sept

ukandeu.ac.uk/events/ukice...

UKICE Lunch Hour: UK-EU relations during negotiations - UK in a changing Europe

Ahead of this autumn's negotiations, join our expert panel as they discuss the what they will mean for the UK's relationship with the EU.

Reposted by Joël Reland

UK in a Changing Europe @ukandeu.bsky.social · Aug 21

📣 NEW EVENT 📣

Join us and @resfoundation.bsky.social as we launch the latest edition of our Policy Landscape report with expert analysis of the biggest public policy challenges facing the UK

📅 Tues 2 Sept, 9:30am
📍In-person (London) & online

Sign up 👇

www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/hot-t...

Hot topics, hard choices • Resolution Foundation

After a not-so-quiet summer, MPs are returning from recess to a torrent of public policy challenges. Immigration remains the public’s top concern, with the economy and the NHS not far behind. Defence ...

www.resolutionfoundation.org

Reposted by Joël Reland

Anand Menon @anandmenon.bsky.social · Aug 20

In Brussels in September? Come along! ukandeu.ac.uk/events/the-f...

The future of UK-EU relations - UK in a changing Europe

Join UK in a Changing Europe and The Open University in Brussels as they bring together leading academics, think tankers, officials and journalists in Brussels to discuss UK-EU relations.

Reposted by Joël Reland

Joe Noonan @joenoonan.bsky.social · Jul 30

“Man-made famine is not something that I’ve seen in my lifetime." - Martin Griffiths, UN’s former humanitarian chief.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...