Talks on a UK-EU deal are in their ‘final hours’ ahead of a major summit with the bloc, the minister in charge of negotiations has said.
Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce a deal with the EU when he meets European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa in London on Monday.
The prime minister has insisted that closer ties with the EU will be “good for our borders, cut bills and boost jobs”, ahead of a summit where he could announce a deal.
But on Sunday, cabinet office minister NickThomas-Symonds said the final details of the deal were still being worked out, with negotiations ‘going down to the wire’.
Sir Keir is also facing pressure to be more ambitious with the deal.
Urging the government to be bolder, the Commons foreign affairs committee chair Dame Emily Thornberry said: “We should be clear about what it is that we want and act with a little less caution and a lot more confidence. If we do this, there is every reason to believe the EU will respond positively.”
Surrender a ‘big word’ for Nigel Farage, Emily Thornberry claims
Emily Thornberry has lashed out at Nigel Farage, claiming that surrender is a “big word” for the Reform UK leader.
The chairman of the foreign affairs committee hit back at Mr Farage’s opposition to Labour’s planned youth mobility scheme with the EU, which he has said amounts to an upicking of Brexit.
Speaking to LBC, Ms Thornberry said: “The public… want, if their neighbours run a small business, to be able to export sausages to France and for it not to be held up.
“They want to be able to travel to Europe and not have their passport stamped and be able to go through e-gates and be able to travel more easily, and they want more money in the economy.”
Asked specifically about Farage’s “surrender” claim, Ms Thornberry said: “Big word for him, isn’t it?”
She added: “There’s 13 of these youth mobility schemes already with the UK and the sky hasn’t fallen in, and I think youngsters in Britain would like to be able to travel in Europe and so it has to be reciprocal.”
Starmer deal is ‘step back toward EU control’, Lord Frost claims
Britain’s former chief Brexit negotiator has said Sir Keir Starmer’s reset of relations with Brussels is a “step back towards being controlled by the European Union in important areas of our national life”.
“That’s not what people voted for in 2016,” Lord Frost told GB News.
He said Labour does not want Britain “to be a completely free country”, and will see the UK accept EU laws.
And Lord Frost denied there are problems that need fixing with the current deal underpinning Britain’s trade with the bloc.
Lord Frost was seen as partly responsible for Britain’s strained relations with Europe due to his hardball approach as Brexit negotiator.
EU student numbers slashed in half since Brexit
EU officials want lower fees for their students, according to reports, which is causing tension ahead of Monday’s talks.
International students currently pay around £12,000 more in fees on average per year than domestic students.
The number of EU students at UK universities has dropped by nearly half since Brexit, with 75,000 EU nationals enrolled in British colleges and universities in the 2023/24 academic year – down from 148,000 in 2019.
EU talks going ‘to the wire’ as Starmer prepares to announce deal
Talks on a UK-EU deal are in their “final hours” ahead of a major summit with the bloc, the minister in charge of negotiations has said.
Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce a deal with the EU when he meets European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa in London on Monday.
The Prime Minister said the agreement would be “another step forwards” for the UK and “good for our jobs, good for our bills and good for our borders”.
But on Sunday Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas–Symonds said the final details of the deal were still being worked out, with talks going “to the wire”.
Monday’s summit has been expected to bring an announcement on British access to a 150 billion euro (£125 billion) EU defence fund, in what could be a boost for UK defence companies.
But reports suggest there could also be agreements on allowing British travellers to use e-gates at European airports, cutting red tape on food exports and imports, and setting up a youth mobility scheme with the EU.
Provisions covering fishing and energy need be negotiated
Provisions covering fishing and energy are due to expire in 2026, and need to be extended or renegotiated over the next year.
The post-Brexit trade agreement transferred existing quotas to the bloc for a transition period.
But from 2026 they will need be negotiated on an annual or multi-annual basis.
EU diplomats have said that a fisheries deal should be the same length as any agreement on sanitary and phytosanitary measures, to ensure equal leverage during any renegotiations, while France is pushing for any defence deal to be contingent on a fisheries agreement.
Fishing has long been a source of tension. The EU has taken Britain to court over its ban of fishing for sand eels in UK waters.
Britain left the EU’s internal energy market after Brexit, but the UK’s energy industry is pushing for more efficient and closer electricity trading arrangements with the bloc.
Britain imported around 14 per cent of its electricity in 2024, a record high, through power links with Belgium, Denmark, France and Norway.
Youth mobility scheme would mean more EU youths working in UK
Summit could pave way for deal that reduces impact of the Irish Sea border
The UK-EU summit could pave the way for a deal which could reduce the impact of the Irish Sea border.
The summit on Monday is expected to include an “agreement to agree” on trade issues. This will include trade in food and agricultural products.
The Labour government made a manifesto commitment to seek a new agri-food agreement with the EU.
In 2022 Sir Keir Starmer said the party would eliminate “most border checks created by the Tory Brexit deal”, and implement a “new veterinary agreement for Agri-products between the UK and EU”.
If a full food and agricultural deal does follow later this year, it will reduce the need for checks and controls on products being sent from GB to Northern Ireland.
It could mean the end of using ‘Not for EU’ labelling.
Closer EU ties could boost UK exports by £24.8bn
Gordon Brown’s former economic adviser summed up the importance of Starmer’s summit
Gordon Brown’s former economic adviser Lord Jim O’Neill summed up the importance of Sir Keir’s summit in London: “Obviously, the closer and more serious we can get, the better it is for reversing our net trade losses, and importantly, net investment from EU areas.
“Given the shock from Trump [tariffs] to Europe, especially on Germany, on top of the Ukraine shock and China slowdown, I think Germany [will be] more open to pro-UK trade issues than before.
“Also, I suspect the EU is going to give more than lip service to cross-border services sector reform now. Given UK net advantages in service sector exports, this is important to us.”
Starmer accused of shutting foreign press out of major post-Brexit reset summit
A foreign journalist said news wires from Spain, Italy and Germany have been denied access to the EU-UK summit on Monday.
With the prime minister set to unveil his post-Brexit reset plans alongside Brussels leaders, the Foreign Press Association (FPA) has said “almost every European news outlet” with a foreign correspondent in London has been denied access to the summit.
In a letter sent to Downing Street the FPA, which represents foreign journalists based in the UK, said: “Sir Keir Starmer, you state that you want a reset with the EU. You organise a summit between the UK and the EU to restart the relationship.
“Yet you deny accreditation to almost every European news outlet who has a foreign correspondent in London, leaving out the biggest news agencies, the most important papers, the most trusted broadcasters.”
Read more by our political correspondent Archie Mitchell:
