This week, the UK and the EU agreed to a new strategic defence and security partnership. Opening the 19 May summit alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stressed that it marked “a new era” in their post-Brexit relationship.
After months of prior negotiations, the summit delivered an agreement not just on the new defence and security commitments but also on a series of compromises easing specific trade barriers and extending a controversial fisheries agreement. London estimates the new measures could boost the UK’s economy by as much as 10.7 billion euros over the next 15 years. Starmer described the agreement as a “new strategic partnership fit for our times”, one that would bring “real and tangible benefits in security, illegal immigration, energy prices, agri-food, trade, among other areas.” Von der Leyen welcomed the outcome “at a time when we see geopolitical tensions rising”.
On entering office in July last year, Starmer promised a “reset” of Britain’s post-Brexit troubled relations with the EU. The Russian war against Ukraine and Washington’s threatened disengagement from European defence matters spurred efforts by London and Brussels to strengthen their defence ties. Under the new arrangement, the UK will be able to participate in EU ministerial meetings and to join certain European military missions. British companies will also have access to the planned €150 billion European programme being designed to develop the EU’s defence industrial base.
The politically-charged fishing agreement, which had been due to end in 2026, has been extended, allowing European trawlers to fish in British waters until 2038. Britain will be able to export food products more readily to the European market because of the “rapid alignment” of UK health regulations with those of the EU. Simplifying and/or removing administrative and customs formalities for the “vast majority” of animal and plant products had been a priority for the Starmer government, given the steep drop-off in British exports as a result of Brexit. Also, London and Brussels have agreed to cooperate on emissions quotas, which will allow British companies to avoid the EU’s carbon tax.
Discussions about youth mobility are expected to continue. Both sides have pledged to establish a visa programme enabling young Europeans to study or work in the UK (and vice versa). Moreover, Brussels and London have agreed to discuss the UK’s possible return to the European Erasmus student exchange programme.
Starmer has recently been at pains to make clear that in negotiating with the EU there is no question of seeking a return to the common market or the customs union, just as there is no question of restoring free movement. Nonetheless, on Monday, Reform UK Vice-President Richard Tice accused the government of having “capitulated” to the EU, a charge echoed by the leader of the Conservative opposition, Kemi Badenoch, who declared: “We are once again becoming subject to the rules of Brussels”.
