EU and UK ink post-Brexit deal on security, fish and energy

LONDON — Britain and the European Union agreed a new defense and security pact Monday, as part of a wide-ranging “reset” of relations between London and Brussels after years of Brexit bad blood.

In a sweeping deal on the day of a major summit in London, the two capitals also agreed to extend generous fishing rights for EU fleets in British waters for another 12 years, until 2038.

That marked a big concession on the U.K. side after intense lobbying from France, and prompted immediate scrutiny back home for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Negotiators worked late into the night on Sunday to strike the accord ahead of the London summit at Lancaster House.

On defense, the deal opens the way to the United Kingdom participating in joint EU procurement programs, a prize coveted by Britain which has a lucrative defense industry.

However, further negotiations will be required for the U.K. to actually access the EU’s prized €150 billion SAFE rearmament program — with budget contributions from London the price of entry.

Speaking at an all-smiles press conference alongside European Council President António Costa and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Starmer said Monday lunchtime: "Ladies and gentlemen, Britain is back on the world stage — working with our partners, doing deals that will grow our economy and putting more money in the pockets of working people.”

Costa and von der Leyen both heaped praise on “dear Keir” and talked up a cooperative new spirit between Brussels and London, with the European Commission president declaring: "What we have agreed today is historic. It will make a real difference to people in the U.K. and across our union.

“But the message we are sending to the world today is equally, if not more important. It is a message that, at a time of global instability and when our continent faces the greatest threat it has for generations, we in Europe stick together.”

To that end, the security and defense pact formalizes cooperation between the two sides on areas including hybrid warfare, cybersecurity, infrastructure resilience and maritime safety.

But von der Leyen made clear there is a way to go — describing Monday's pact as only "the first step towards U.K. participation in Europe's defense investment program," known as SAFE.

"We need another second step, but this joint procurement we've discussed will increase our readiness, will close military gaps that we have and will increase ... our interoperability when our armed forces are going on missions together," she said.

Common understanding

As well as the defense agreement, the two sides inked a "common understanding" of the topics they want to improve ties on in the coming months. They agreed to work towards deals on energy, agrifood rules, climate, migration and policing, plus the mobility of people. Von der Leyen told reporters Monday she hoped those talks would be wrapped in "only a few weeks."

Perhaps the most ambitious plan is on energy, where both sides have agreed the U.K. will effectively rejoin the single market for electricity and follow EU regulations, with oversight from the European Court of Justice — a move that could spark anger from Euroskeptics back in London.

"We have decided to explore U.K. participation in the EU's electricity market," said von der Leyen. The two sides have, she said, "agreed to work towards linking our emission trading system."

Similar arrangements will be negotiated on sanitary and phytosanitary rules (SPS), which would enable a significant reduction in red tape at Channel ports and the Northern Ireland border — smoothing the flow of trade.

According to a “common understanding” document published on Monday, the deal would enable the “vast majority” of plant and animal products to be able to move between the U.K. and the EU without the certificates or controls that are currently required. These benefits will also apply to the movement of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the document confirmed.

In a move likely to rile up hardline Brexiteers, the agreement will be subject to a “dispute resolution mechanism with an independent arbitration panel that ensures the Court of Justice of the European Union is the ultimate authority for all questions of European Union law.” This may also raise some eyebrows in Labour circles, given Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s insistence that Britain will be a “rule-maker” rather than a “rule-taker.”

British passport holders won't face a legal impediment to using speedier e-gates when flying from EU airports, a move that strikes against one of the more visible signs of Brexit.

One area of the document where progress is less clear is on the hot-button subject of youth mobility, however. One EU diplomat described this policy area — an EU priority — as a "work in progress."

The two sides have agreed to open talks on how business mobility can be improved — a major ask of firms on both sides of the Channel. They will also start talks on the U.K. rejoining the Erasmus+ student exchange program.

Starmer said any youth movement scheme would "come with all the appropriate time-limits, caps, and visa requirements," although such a cap is notably absent from the agreed document.

The U.K. government wants to slash net migration to Britain and is worried that agreeing to such a scheme will see an influx of European young people moving there, with a corresponding impact on official statistics.  

Bumpy landing in London

In the U.K., ministers flooded the airwaves early Monday morning to hail the deal, as scrutiny began in earnest of what had been agreed — particularly on fish.

Starmer swiftly faced questions from reporters on whether he had "sold out" British fishermen to bag a wider deal.

Hitting back, the British prime minister talked up the planned easing of SPS checks as directly beneficial to fishing communities exporting to the EU, and tried to sweeten the deal by promising £360 million of fresh investment into "our fishing industry to help them take advantage" of the agreement.

Critics back home weren't buying it.

Nigel Farage’s pro-Brexit Reform UK — which is pressuring Starmer in the polls — warned of a “surrender," while Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch chimed in: "12 years access to British waters is three times longer than the [government] wanted. We’re becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again."

A spokesperson for the governing Labour Party said of the Tory response: “This is hypocrisy, pure and simple. We will take no lessons from Conservatives who heralded their deal and now criticize ours."

Under the new deal, U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy and EU High Representative Kaja Kallas will hold a dialogue once per semester, in addition to regular exchanges on Russia-Ukraine, hybrid threats and Western Balkans, according to one of the diplomats.

Annabelle Dickson contributed to this report. This developing story is being updated.