London and Brussels have agreed a post-Brexit reset of relations that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer claimed would be worth £9bn to the UK, but he faced immediate claims he had “surrendered” by agreeing to keep British fishing grounds open to EU boats for 12 more years.
The UK concession on fishing opened the way for a wide-ranging deal including a security and defence pact and the promised removal of much red tape for British farm exports and energy trading with the EU.
The agreement, described by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen as “historic”, was unveiled at a London summit on Monday, the first between the two sides since the UK left the EU in 2020.
Britain and the EU are seeking to deepen their ties five years after Brexit, as Donald Trump’s US presidency strains transatlantic relations over issues including trade tariffs and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking after the agreement was unveiled, UK chancellor Rachel Reeves said she hoped it would lead to further EU deals to smooth trade.
Referring to Monday’s agreement, she added: “It’s significant but there are things I think we could do to make trade easier.” She was disappointed the deal did not include plans to help British musicians to tour in Europe.
Britain had previously proposed an extension of EU access to its fishing grounds of only four to five years, but Starmer’s Labour government agreed to a longer-term deal in return for open-ended provisions to ease UK food products’ entry into the bloc. Current access arrangements for EU fishermen to UK waters were due to expire in 2026.
Von der Leyen said the agreement marked a “new chapter” in the EU’s relationship with the UK, while Starmer hailed it as a “common sense, practical” solution that moved on from the “stale old debates” about Brexit.
But Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch denounced the deal, saying the government had “surrendered” on fisheries and the fact that Starmer had agreed to accept Brussels rules on food standards to facilitate easier trade.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage wrote in the Daily Express: “This isn’t Starmer’s first time bending over backwards to appease EU interests. His betrayal of British jobs and national priorities has been evident since the day he took office.”
Starmer said that, together with a plan to link the UK and EU’s carbon emissions trading systems, the streamlined food exports rules — delivered through a proposed veterinary agreement — would bring £9bn of economic benefits to Britain.
The UK has conceded that removing barriers to trade in foodstuffs will require Britain to “dynamically align”, or stay in step, with EU regulations as they change. The UK will also make payments to the EU to fund work on food and animal standards.
The new rules would help Northern Ireland, which is treated differently to the rest of the UK under the terms of Britain’s departure from the EU, by reducing checks on food and animals crossing the Irish Sea.
But Elspeth Macdonald, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, described the UK-EU deal as “a horror show” and “far worse” than the previous Brexit agreement finalised by former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Jonathan Reynolds, UK business secretary, said the fishing sector would benefit from the promised veterinary deal, arguing it would help the industry sell to the EU.
The British government also announced it was providing £360mn for fishing and tourism in coastal areas.
UK food and drink exports to the EU, a far bigger sector than the politically charged fisheries industry, were worth £14bn in 2024, according to the Food and Drink Federation, a trade group.
Economists at Aston University have estimated that UK agrifood exports to the EU could be boosted by more than 20 per cent on the back of a vet deal. By contrast, the UK fishing industry accounts for only about 0.04 per cent of Britain’s national output.
The UK and the EU signed a communiqué promising deeper economic co-operation during a two-hour meeting at Lancaster House involving Starmer, von der Leyen and European Council president António Costa.
The two sides signed a defence and security partnership that could give the UK defence sector access to a €150bn fund of cheap loans backed by the EU budget, subject to a second more detailed agreement.
Starmer claimed the deal would allow British holidaymakers to enter the EU more quickly through the use of passport e-gates, after the European Commission indicated there were no legal obstacles. However, final decisions must be taken by EU member states.
Both sides were locked in intense haggling in the early hours of Monday over details of their revamped relationship, including wording about a proposed youth mobility scheme.
Tensions remain over the youth scheme, with the agreement containing only a loose commitment to “work towards” such an arrangement and Britain’s return to the Erasmus student exchange programme.
Starmer said the scheme would be time-limited, subject to number caps, and would not lower university fees for EU students at British universities to UK levels, which had been a key demand of the bloc.
The overall deal was unlocked when the UK agreed to open fishing waters for 12 years and the EU granted London’s late request to exempt more British steel from emergency tariffs.
The commission agreed to ask member states to grant a guaranteed tariff-free quota, which the UK said was worth £15mn a year to its steel industry.
Additional reporting by David Sheppard and Anna Gross
