According to The Observer, senior figures from the Conservative and Labour parties met in secret to discuss the outcomes of Brexit and consider ways to foster closer cooperation with the European Union. Last week, the secret meeting was held at Ditchley Park in Oxfordshire. Both parties agreed to monitor the economic and political situation. In addition, diplomats and representatives of industry discussed the failings and prospects of Brexit, as well as the economic downturn in the UK. Notably, an extraordinary cross-party summit bringing together the pro-EU side and the leading figures of the leave campaign, including members of Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet, addressed the flaws of Brexit and how to remedy them in the national interest. The participants acknowledged that the country had faced challenges after Brexit and some diplomats confirmed that "so far the UK has not yet found its way forward outside the EU." Representatives of large businesses note that Brexit is "acting as a drag on our growth and inhibiting the UK’s potential." However, some politicians, commenting on the weak sides of Brexit, are confident that leaving the European Union is the right decision in the long run. Meanwhile, the summit documents said that "there is also clear European as well as British strategic interest in a productive and closer relationship." At the same time, rejoining the EU was not on the agenda. Nonetheless, the papers stress that the EU and UK have shared interests in developing new sources of energy and tackling organized crime and illegal immigration. The meeting also addressed a possible joint EU-UK policy towards China and the unresolved matter of the Northern Ireland protocol. In June 2016, 52% of respondents in a referendum supported the UK's exit from the European Union. On January 31, 2020, the country left the EU. This procedure was followed by a transition period. On January 1, 2021, five years after Brexit, an updated trade and cooperation agreement between the UK and the EU came into force.
