UK-EU deal moves us on from Brexit rows, Starmer says

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said it is time to move on from "political fights" about Brexit, as the UK and the European Union agreed to a major reset of relations.

The UK and the EU have struck a deal that covers fishing, trade, defence, energy and strengthening ties in a number of policy areas still up for negotiation.

A key part of the deal involves giving European fishing boats a further 12 years of access to British waters in exchange for easing some trade frictions.

It marks the biggest reboot since the UK officially left the EU in 2020 and comes after years of disagreements over Brexit.

The Conservatives and Reform UK have described the deal as a "surrender" to the EU, while the Liberal Democrats said the government had taken some "positive first steps" to rebuilding ties with Europe.

The agreement was finalised late on Sunday, ahead of a summit involving EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa in London on Monday.

"It's time to look forward," Sir Keir said at the summit.

"To move on from the stale old debates and political fights to find common sense, practical solutions which get the best for the British people.

"We're ready to work with partners if it means we can improve people's lives here at home."

At a news conference, European Commission President von der Leyen described the summit as a "historic moment" that was only possible "thanks to the leadership" of Sir Keir.

"We're turning a page," she said. "We're opening a new chapter in our relationship."

The president said the deal would make "a real difference to people in the UK and across our union" at a time of global instability.

The government said the deal would make it easier for food and drink to be imported and exported by reducing paperwork and checks.

Some routine checks on animal and plant products will be removed completely, the government said.

In return, the UK will give the EU access to its fishing waters until 2038 - a 12-year extension of arrangements already in place.

One diplomatic source said it amounted to a rollover of the existing terms agreed as part of the revised withdrawal agreement negotiated by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government in 2019.

The text of the deal says: "We note the political agreements leading to full reciprocal access to waters to fish until 30 June 2038 and extending energy cooperation on a continuous basis."

The post-Brexit deal on fishing rights, which gave EU boats continued access to UK waters, was set to expire at the end of June 2026.

The UK government has also unveiled a £360m investment fund in coastal communities and the fishing industry.

Fishing only accounts for an estimated 0.04% of UK GDP, but British control over its fishing waters was a big issue in the Brexit campaign.

Defending the agreement, Sir Keir said it would allow British fishing communities to "sell more easily into the European market" and give them "stability over the long term".

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the 12-year deal on access for European boats "will be the end of the fishing industry".

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the prime minister "must ignore the naysayers and dinosaurs in Reform and the Conservative Party and be more ambitious in getting the best deal in the national interest".

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said giving the EU access to British waters for 12 years "was three times longer than the government wanted".

"We're becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again," she said.

The deal requires the UK to follow rules set by Brussels in areas covering food trade, emissions trading and potential co-operation in the electricity market.

Known as dynamic alignment, this arrangement would mean the UK giving the European Court of Justice a role in any trading disputes.

In a post on X, Johnson said under this "sell out of a deal the UK will have to accept EU law on a host of measures from food standards to emissions trading".

He said Sir Keir had agreed that the UK "will once again be paying countless millions of pounds into EU coffers - for the privilege of becoming the non-voting punk of the EU Commission".

The prime minister's spokesperson said payments to the EU in relation to the deals on agricultural products and energy were "not big", but not did confirm the costs.

The government said there was a difference between these "administrative costs" and the payments required to be part of EU programmes, which would be part of future negotiations.

A security pact is also central to the agreement, as European nations come under pressure to invest more in defence to support Ukraine as it faces Russia's full-scale invasion.

The agreement paves the way for the UK to participate in the EU's proposed new £150bn defence fund, opening up opportunities for UK arms firms to bid for defence contracts.

The government said British businesses will not be hit by an EU carbon tax due to come in next year, under plans to link emissions-trading schemes.

The agreements on trade and energy would add nearly £9bn to the UK economy by 2040, the government estimated.

Other announcements include:

The reset comes after years of ill-tempered relations between the UK and the EU over Brexit, which triggered one of the most tumultuous periods in British political history.

Since Labour took office last year, governments worldwide have been forced to rethink their relationships on trade and defence, in response to US President Donald Trump's policies and Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Ministers believe there is no public clamour to reopen the biggest questions of Brexit – membership of the single market and customs union.

Polling by YouGov suggests a majority of Britons now regret the Brexit vote and favour closer ties with the EU.

But the Labour government's reset of EU relations comes at a time when Reform UK - a Eurosceptic party - is leading in the polls.

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