I'm not an EU scholar, so don't take my word for it.
But as far as I can see, the EU's position is this:
The EU regrets Brexit which has caused a lot of harm and a lot of pain in the EU, too.
However, it will not want to see the UK rejoin unless it can be absolutely certain it gets a solid new member that will not cause this kind of upheaval again in the foreseeable future. 1/
But - and this is not nothing - the EU does want a much closer relation to the UK than is currently the case. It wants cooperation and it wants regulatory alignment because both would solve many current problems. A lot of the distance between the UK and the EU (and in a sense all of it) is the result of unilateral decisions by the UK. 2/
So a lot of it can be reversed through reversals in the UK. The EU is more than anything a negotiation machine. It will want to negotiate for changes and improvement in UK-EU relations. 3/
Moreover, not only is it possible for such negotiations to overcome many of the problems caused by Brexit, they are also important stepping stones that invite closer cooperation on a path that may eventually lead to rejoin. 4/
All of that is what we Danes would call "fremtidsmusik" (future music): hopes and dreams for a better future, but they ARE fairly achievable. 5/
But, much as I understand the grief, it is worth noticing that if the only positive development we are able to imagine is a full rejoin, then baby steps like these will seem abysmally small in comparison.
If, however, our baseline is 2023, not 2010, then it should be evident that much can be gained and that we can move towards better things together. 6/thread ends
Sune Auken
iamBullivant