Britain | Britain and the European Union

Hopes of a better post-Brexit relationship with the EU are fading

Differences over Northern Ireland will outlast vaccine nationalism

SINCE BECOMING prime minister in July 2019, Boris Johnson has often referred to EU countries as “our friends and partners”. Many of his fans believed that, once Brexit was done, a more co-operative relationship between the two would be possible. Even those who criticised Mr Johnson’s December trade deal for its thinness hoped closer collaboration on issues ranging from the environment to foreign policy would allow Britain and the EU to build on it. Yet three months on, the relationship seems scratchier than ever.

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Cross-channel conflict”

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