Monday (19 May) is the day of the long-awaited UK-EU summit. UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer will meet with European leaders as part of the much-heralded ‘reset’.
A cornerstone of Starmer’s foreign policy is the need to reset relations with Europe after the Brexit years. It comes not only ahead of the review of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) in 2026, but also as Europe faces the twin challenges of the war in Ukraine and the presidency of Donald Trump in the US.
For the PM, a lot is riding on this meeting. The Daily Update looks at the five key issues for this all-important summit.
Youth mobility
A long-standing desire in Brussels has been a youth mobility scheme, but this has typically been rejected by officials in Westminster in the past.
Even before the TCA was agreed, European figures talked up the possibility of limited visa-free access schemes, though this was rejected by the administrations of Boris Johnson and Theresa May.
If approved, UK and EU citizens between the ages of 18 and 30 would get easier access to work, live and study.
Although well short of the freedom of movement both sides enjoyed pre-Brexit, it is still a potentially thorny issue. Starmer faces domestic pressure to reduce immigration, and opposition parties have already made noises about ‘reneging’ on the Brexit deal.
The price of agreeing to a youth mobility deal could be high domestically, but could open up possibilities in other sensitive areas.
Fish
Despite the relatively small size of the UK industry, fisheries have remained a thorny issue. The EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said she was “surprised at how important fish are” in the talks.
Kallas, a former Estonian PM, later told the BBC that “I think we are over fish”, in relation to a possible security deal.
The Cornish Fish Producers’ Organisation (CFPO) called for a renegotiation of the TCA’s terms on fishing, asking for increased quota shares and a restoration of the 12-mile exclusive economic zone.
As it stands, UK vessels only have the right to fish within 6 miles of the British coast, something that the CFPO and others want to have extended to the 12 miles permitted under international law.
Currently, the EU has a 25% catch share of the UK’s fish. While French, Dutch and Belgian fishers would undoubtedly want more, the UK’s own industry cut this down.
Security and defence
Starmer has used security as one of his ways to rebuild relations with Europe, hoping to take advantage of a rethink in Brussels on how the EU defends itself without US military support.
The big prize for the UK is access to European supply chains, as Brussels looks to build up the EU’s defence capabilities by 2030.
In its White Paper for European Defence, the EC said it was looking for private investment of €150bn, with additional spending from domestic governments, into defence products.
Under the plans, Ukraine and members of allied trade blocks (like the European Economic Area and European Free Trade Association), will be able to join in. Crucially, their industries will also be allowed to sell defence goods to EU nations under the plan.
For Starmer, a security pact would not only tie the UK closer to Europe, it could also unleash billions of pounds in additional spending.
Food and drink
Traders have long complained about the issues of moving food and drink goods across the channel.
The UK’s food and drinks trade has suffered since Brexit, with some firms reducing their trade with Europe. A veterinary deal, which could cut down some of the paperwork, would no doubt be welcomed by many of these businesses.
Before the general election, Labour figures talked up the possibility of a deal with the EU to ease the flow of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) goods.
As recently as this week, Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Cabinet Office minister and a key Starmer ally told the House of Commons that the government had a mandate to negotiate a deal.
“The objective of negotiating a sanitary and phytosanitary veterinary agreement, so that agricultural products, food and drink can be traded more cheaply between the UK and the EU, is in the Labour manifesto.”
The reaction
Watching how each domestic party reacts is critical.
With Starmer’s Labour Party reeling from a poor set of local election results, capped off by a loss at the Runcorn and Helsby by-election to Reform, the PM will be looking to use this as a chance to get back on track.
While Reform leader, Nigel Farage, will most likely play the ‘greatest hits’ and criticise any deal that pulls the UK closer to the EU, what’s less clear is the approach of Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives.
Badenoch, an early supporter of Brexit and former trade secretary, is currently caught between Reform and the Liberal Democrats. Any measure to shore up her right inevitably weakens her with the more liberally minded voters in the South, while attempts to take on the ‘yellow wall’ and regain former Conservative heartland risk ceding ground to Reform.
Similarly, how Lib Dem leader Ed Davey reacts to the deal is instructive. The Lib Dems remain pro-European, but whether they use the summit as a chance to attack Starmer or go after Reform and the Conservatives will be indicative of how both how they view the deal and what political strategy they’re targeting.
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