EU and UK seal defence pact, will converge on food and energy

LONDON – The EU and UK signed on Monday a security pact and agreed on a 'reset' deal that includes commitments on food trade, energy and mobility, which leaders on both sides claimed as a "win-win." 

A security and defence partnership tees up the UK's eventual inclusion in the EU's €150 billion defence procurement scheme, and formalises cooperation between the bloc and its former member amid fierce geopolitical pressure.

Negotiations will accelerate on energy, youth mobility, migration, and alignment of food and drink standards. EU access to UK fishing waters, due to expire next year, is to be extended on current terms for a further 12 years, until 2038. Negotiators worked to finalise the text until late on Sunday night.

The deal, unveiled in London by four senior EU politicians, including the presidents of the European Commission and European Council, caps a period of thawing in post-Brexit relations and honours some electoral campaign commitments made by the UK Labour government on deepening ties with Brussels.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed an "historic" deal between "natural partners." European Council President António Costa said the pact demonstrated the EU and UK were "guardians of global stability," and would "strengthen Europe's contribution to NATO" amid uncertainty around US commitment to the alliance.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer proclaimed that "Britain is back on the world stage," and that closing such "win-win" deals is "what independent, sovereign nations do."

'Good faith' negotiations

The three-part package is "balanced" and includes "a number of concessions" secured by the UK, said Anton Spisak from the Centre for European Reform. But he cautioned that "this is a political deal, not a legal agreement" that primarily serves to inform further, more meaningful talks.

While the defence pact is the most concrete of the three agreements, a further deal is required – including on a British financial contribution – before UK defence firms can access an EU €150 billion loan scheme known as SAFE.

Areas earmarked for deeper cooperation include military mobility, space and cybersecurity, and UK ministers should more regularly attend meetings of EU ministers.

Last-minute haggling included a trade-off between a time-limited deal on fishing rights and an indefinite deal on food and drink checks – known as an SPS deal. A coterie of coastal EU governments, led by France, had withheld support for the latter without a longer-term solution on fish. An EU official said negotiations took place "in good faith on both sides."

The food and drink deal is to be facilitated by the UK accepting some EU rules – known as dynamic alignment – with "a short list of limited exceptions" to be agreed. Starmer said it would mean "lower food prices at checkouts" – but it was not clear when the benefits of such a deal could take effect.

Talks will intensify on a much vaunted youth-mobility deal – politically contentious in the UK amid concerns over net migration levels. Work towards the UK rejoining Erasmus+ – the EU's university student exchange scheme – will also resume.

Work to link the two sides' emissions trading schemes, with a view to eventual exemptions from one another's carbon border taxes, is set to continue. It took almost eight years for the EU and Switzerland to link their emissions trading schemes.

As widely reported in British media over the weekend, future negotiations will also explore "the potential use of eGates" by UK passport holders at EU airports, which could reduce queues for holidaymakers – though there was no agreement by Monday.

"Joint operational work," including through Europol, would take place to "crack down" on irregular migration, von der Leyen added.

Divorce wounds linger

The EU has persistently included language on "full, timely and faithful implementation" of the Brexit divorce deal in its statements after meetings with the UK. Similar wording is included in Monday's deal.

The divorce deal – known as the Withdrawal Agreement – set out the rights of EU citizens living in the UK after Brexit, and vice versa, as well as arrangements to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland and measures concerning Gibraltar.

An eventual deal on food standards could slash border checks on goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. But there was no substantive commitment made concerning the 6.3 million people who have applied to the UK's scheme for European nationals to retain their status.

The Commission was frequently at loggerheads with Starmer's Conservative predecessors over the UK's EU settlement scheme. A 2022 UK court judgement found a core part of the scheme to be unlawful. The UK began adapting the scheme accordingly in January this year after the Commission had taken the UK to court over related matters.

Asked directly by Euractiv if the UK government had offered any assurances on citizens' rights during negotiations, Starmer said his was a government that "respects those agreements, and sticks to those agreements," adding that "advances" on citizens' rights had been made.

Von der Leyen said the Commission would continue to seek "legal clarity", which is "a normal process". A second EU official confirmed the Commission's legal proceedings were progressing at a standard pace.

Costa said negotiators were "not very far" from a deal over Gibraltar, negotiations on which have been ongoing since 2021.

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