UK and EU strike new foreign policy deal

The first official EU-UK summit since Brexit next year will be a pivotal moment that will set the agenda for what Sir Keir Starmer can achieve in “resetting” relations with Brussels.

So far, few details have been ironed out, from the agenda to the venue or cast list, but the contours are beginning to take shape for what experts say will be a pivotal moment for the reset.

Both the UK and the EU involved in the reset talks hope and expect that there will be a formal announcement to be made at the summit itself, which will be held in the spring.

An EU source suggested that foreign policy cooperation was “low-hanging fruit” that would be ripe for plucking at the summit and could “pave the way” for the kind of broader security and defense deal that the prime minister is following him. Both sides have already agreed on working groups on Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific, the Western Balkans and hybrid threats.

Meanwhile, a Whitehall source suggested Britain was looking to use the summit to announce “easy win deals” before starting negotiations on “more complex” and contentious areas.

They also acknowledged that foreign policy and security is the area where there is the most goodwill and predicted that some sub-agreements to the broader security pact could be announced at the summit.

Leaks of EU documents earlier this month revealed that the UK was pushing for a non-legally binding security and defense partnership, which Paper i understand it would then be supported by a more formal pact.

But far from that, the meeting, which could be held in London or Brussels or even another European country, and is likely to feature several ministers and their officials speaking on various issues, will be closely watched for how the two parts address some of them. the thorniest problems.

The UK will seek progress on its calls for a veterinary agreement to facilitate cross-border trade in food and possibly mutual recognition of professional qualifications and easier travel within the EU for touring artists.

But much of this may depend on whether Starmer and his team are willing to discuss their own EU demands, which leaked documents revealed in early December are tougher than previously anticipated.

Negotiation documents showed that Brussels was preparing to drive a hard bargain. It calls for a new fisheries deal as a precondition to reset the negotiations right from the start, to get Britain to pass the bloc’s laws to get a vet deal – a keystone of Starmer’s plan – and easier youth migration between the two parties.

In December, Paper i reported that the EU may refrain from raising its call for a youth mobility scheme at the opening summit in recognition of the political sensitivities surrounding immigration in the UK at the moment.

And the document gave hope in this area at least, without tying the newly renamed “youth experience scheme” to a timeline or making it a condition for granting cooperation in other areas.

But Germany’s ambassador, Miguel Berger, signaled that his country would push for youth mobility and put the question of whether Britain would join the Erasmus student exchange program on the agenda.

Starmer is reluctant to give ground on these, and early talks risk derailing the summit.

“The agenda will be designed to make the summit a success, so it might make more sense to focus on foreign policy,” an EU source said.

However, even if it is not about youth mobility, the UK will need to come up with an answer at least on fishing rights in time for the summit if it is to avoid a collapse of the talks.

The exact shape of a UK offer will likely have to wait until the government hires its new EU negotiator, a job posting set to close in early December.

Various names are believed to be in the frame, including Theresa May’s ex-Brexit negotiator Olly Robbins, who was loathed by Brexiteers, highly regarded US ambassador Karen Pierce, German ambassador Jill Gallard and Justice Department permanent secretary Antonia Romeo.

However, some in Whitehall suggest the role, which carries the title of second permanent secretary, may be too junior for Robbins, Pierce and Romeo.

David Henig, director of the UK-based European Center for International Political Economy, said: “I believe the summit will be a crucial moment in setting the agenda for the trade negotiations that will take place during this Parliament’s term.

“While we know some of the interests of both sides, how they become a negotiating package is unknown and needs to be resolved quickly, as it will then take some time to negotiate the details.

“For example, it is easy to imagine the SPS (veterinary agreement) talks lasting several years, possibly more.”

Henig agreed that the “quick win” will likely be on foreign and security policy, and while youth mobility may not be “discussed directly” then “it will be part of the packages”.

“If the UK cannot agree to future negotiations on youth mobility, then it is likely that the Commission will hold back on other topics – certainly touring artists, possibly even SPS. This is the negotiation that must take place before the summit.”

He continued: “There are a couple of issues to watch out for – Gibraltar, where the talks seem to have (become) deadlocked and need a solution.

“And energy, where EU carbon taxes will start to hit UK exports from January 2026.”

Britain’s demands versus the EU’s own demands

Veterinary agreement: Labour’s manifesto makes it the centerpiece of its demands on trade, with a proposed deal to reduce border controls on food trade and lower prices for UK consumers.

The EU response: In leaked European Council document: The document formalizes warnings that the UK will have to abide by EU rules and submit to European Court of Justice (ECJ) oversight if Starmer wants a deal.

But he is going further than some expected, clarifying that he will not recognize “equivalent” domestic laws governing the deal, saying the UK must adopt regulations made in Brussels for it to work and requiring Britain to pay for EU oversight. of understanding. This would risk angering Leave supporters and provoking a backlash from the Tories and Reform.

UK-EU Security Pact: As well as closer cooperation on defense and foreign policy, UK ministers called for the proposed deal to cover a wide range of areas, including energy, climate and irregular migration.

EU response: Similar demands for so-called “dynamic alignment” to EU rules and payments to Brussels are being put forward if the UK wants to link its carbon trading scheme to the bloc.

On security, it reveals the government has pushed for a non-legally binding security and defense partnership, but warns that a wider pact of the kind promoted by Starmer must not give the UK a back door back to the European single market, despite Rachel Reeves’ Force for British defense firms to be involved in the bloc’s arms purchase plans.

On the Channel crisis, the paper suggests the EU is open to greater data sharing if the UK is willing to give up more of its own information and pay more to the European Migrant Smuggling Centre, but rules out a deal to return to send small boat migrants back to the mainland.

Mobility: The UK government wants the EU to agree to mutual recognition of professional qualifications to allow qualified British doctors, lawyers, architects, accountants and others to work more easily across the bloc and vice versa. Labor also promised to help touring artists work on the mainland with less red tape.

EU response: The EU has rebranded its much-discussed youth mobility proposal as a “youth experience scheme” but makes clear there is “strong support” among EU member states for a deal that would create “new mobility opportunities for young people between 18 and 30 for a limited period of time’ and to address ‘key impediments to student mobility’.

In recognition of the pressure Starmer is facing on migration, the document does not, however, call for an advance agreement or make it a condition of other agreements, reflecting The and Paperhis reporting that the EU recognizes the immediate political sensitivities on this issue in the UK.

Starmer and other ministers have repeatedly said the UK has “no plans” for a youth mobility deal, without ruling it out.