Deal with EU will make food cheaper and add £9bn to UK economy, says No 10
A landmark deal clinched between the UK and EU to remove checks on food exports will add £9bn to the UK economy and lower food prices, No 10 has said, as the last-minute agreement was secured early on Monday morning.
Keir Starmer said the deal, billed as a 'historic' turning of the page, delivered the 'reset' he had promised after winning the general election last July.
It will grant EU fishers access to British waters for an additional 12 years and pave the way for the removal of checks on British food exports, allowing everything from the 'great British burger to shellfish' to be sold again with ease in the EU, Starmer said.
The deal also holds out hope for a return of the UK to the Erasmus university exchange programme, and the creation of a youth mobility scheme that would allow young people to experience the EU through work, study, au pairing or travel.
The UK said the deal would make 'food cheaper, slash red tape, open up access to the EU market'. But the trade-off for the deal was fishing access and rights for an additional 12 years – more than the UK had offered – which is likely to lead to cries of betrayal from the industry.
The two sides will begin talks on the 'youth experience scheme', first reported in the Guardian, which could mirror existing schemes the UK has with countries such as Australia and New Zealand.
The UK said it would be 'capped and time-limited', though there is no agreement yet from the EU on the details.
Related: From fishing to Erasmus: what the UK's deal with the EU will mean
Central to the agreement is the new agrifoods deal, known as an SPS agreement, which removes red tape on food and drink exports, removing some routine checks on animal and plant products completely. In return, the UK will accept some dynamic alignment on EU food standards and a role for the European court of justice in policing the deal.
Starmer, responding to a question at a press conference co-hosted by the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said of the deal: 'It is not about reopening old wounds; it is about turning a new page.'
Underlining the political breakthrough behind it, he added: 'The mindset, the mood, the intent are every bit as important as the details.'
Von der Leyen said it also sent a message to the world that at a time of great political turbulence, Europe stood together and showed that stability was possible.
Starmer and von der Leyen shook hands on the reset deal at Lancaster House just hours after negotiators finished the final three texts.
'It's time to look forward. 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,' Starmer said. 'We're ready to work with partners if it means we can improve people's lives here at home.
'So that's what this deal is all about – facing out into the world once again, in the great tradition of this nation. Building the relationships we choose, with the partners we choose, and closing deals in the national interest. Because that is what independent, sovereign nations do.'
Talks on the deal continued beyond midnight on Sunday with major concessions on both sides. The EU dropped its demand that the SPS deal be time-limited in exchange for a fishing deal lasting until 2038.
The government said it would put £360m of modernisation support back into coastal communities as part of the deal, a tacit acknowledgment of the concession.
But UK officials said the SPS deal would be a major win for British consumers and should lead to lower food prices and more choice in the supermarkets.
It will mean certain products are allowed to be sold in the EU for the first time since Brexit, such as some burgers and sausages, after the 21% drop in exports and 7% drop in imports seen since Brexit.
However, Scottish ministers accused the UK government of sidelining Scotland in the fisheries talks despite repeated promises that Westminster would respect its devolved powers and interests.
The Scottish government in Edinburgh, which has full devolved powers over fisheries policy in the waters around Scotland, has yet to issue a formal response to the 12-year-long access deal for EU trawlers agreed with the UK.
But Angus Robertson, Scotland's external affairs secretary, took to X to lambast Starmer's government, which he said had repeatedly cancelled meetings of the inter-ministerial group for environment, food and rural affairs which includes ministers from all the UK's administrations.
Related: How has Britain's economy fared since Brexit? The five charts underpinning the UK-EU summit
He said: 'So the UK Government has just reached a 12 year deal on the devolved issue of fishing without any recourse, involvement or approval of Scottish Government and other Devolved Administrations. It follows cancellation of last three EFRA inter ministerial meetings by UK government.'
Another agreement reached before the Lancaster House summit will be on linking emissions trading, which the UK said would avoid businesses being hit by the EU's carbon tax due to come in next year.
The deal also protects British steel imports from new EU tariffs through a bespoke arrangement, saving about £25m a year.
British holidaymakers will also be able to use European gates at airports, ending long holiday queues to use the gates for non-European citizens, and pet passports will be introduced to eliminate the need for animal health checks on each trip.
The UK will also now enter formal talks on a number of key topics, including a youth mobility deal, to grant visas for younger Britons and Europeans as well as re-entry to the Erasmus scheme.
There will be future talks, too, on access to the EU facial recognition data, a key ask of Starmer as a way of tackling cross-border crime and people-trafficking gangs.
But there will be no immediate entry for the UK to the EU's €150bn (£126bn) defence fund to allow UK arms companies to bid for contracts – though the UK said the deal struck on Monday would pave the way for that to happen in the coming months.
The UK's chief negotiator, Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Cabinet Office minister, said: 'Today is a historic day, marking the opening of a new chapter in our relationship with the EU that delivers for working people across the UK.
'Since the start of these negotiations, we have worked for a deal to make the British people safer, more secure and more prosperous. Our new UK-EU Strategic Partnership achieves all three objectives. It delivers on jobs, bills and borders.
'Today is a day of delivery. Britain is back on the world stage with a government in the service of working people.'
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