Brexit reset: Who won – Starmer or the EU?

Yahoo

19-05-2025

The UK and EU talks went down to the wire, but in the early hours of Monday negotiators managed to strike a deal.
Sir Keir Starmer will be keen to promote the wins of the agreement, including trade and easier travel rules for British holidaymakers to the European Union.
But Britain has also had to make significant concessions, particularly on fishing rights, that are likely to prompt anger from Brexit supporters.
Here, The Telegraph looks at where the Prime Minister won, and lost, in his EU reset deal.
The EU has secured fishing rights in British waters for 12 years, until 2038. The move has been seen as a major concession by Sir Keir to secure other elements of the deal.
Prior to Brexit, the Commons Fisheries Policy gave European fishing vessels access to UK waters more than 12 nautical miles from the coast.
The Brexit deal struck by Boris Johnson reduced the annual quota that could be caught by EU fishermen by 25 per cent, but set a cut-off date for that arrangement in 2026.
Sir Keir has now agreed to extend the quota of 75 per cent of pre-Brexit fishing rights until 2038.
It has been dubbed a 'fish for food' deal, as the concession was made in return for an agreement to boost trade.
The UK Government has argued that it is a practical step as it removes the politics from annual negotiations and allows both sides to concentrate on other, more important areas.
In return for the granting of access to British waters for much longer than was expected, the UK has managed to secure a veterinary agreement to boost trade.
The Swiss style-deal that removes border checks and red tape on agri-food will be permanent.
But it does mean Britain has agreed to align with EU plant and animal health laws and will therefore be subject to European Court of Justice decisions over them.
The acceptance of 'dynamic alignment' will be highly controversial, with Brexiteers saying it is again allowing the EU to make British laws, subjecting the UK to the jurisdiction of a foreign court.
Monday's deal does not contain a youth mobility scheme, but does set out an intention to 'work towards' devising a 'balanced youth experience scheme' for the UK and EU.
The documents say that a future scheme should allow young people to work, study, volunteer and travel for a 'limited period of time' with a 'dedicated visa pathway'.
It also says that the overall number of participants should be capped at a level 'acceptable to both sides'.
Britain has also effectively promised to join the EU's Erasmus+ student exchange programme, which allows students from participating nations to do placements at higher education institutions in other countries.
Britain will have access to the EU's Security Action for Europe (Safe) fund, which will raise at least €150 billion (£126 billion) through the EU's budget to buy weapons from manufacturers in participating countries.
British firms such as BAE Systems will be able to bid for contracts from the fund, which will be a boost for the sector and create jobs.
Britain will also be able to jointly procure military equipment with the EU, which in theory will make it cheaper.
The wording of the agreement also suggests the EU will consider joining a Rachel Reeves-backed defence investment bank.
But the arrangement will mean that UK troops are likely to be deployed on EU military missions, if Britain's position on any mission is aligned with Brussels.
This is underpinned by the fact that the EU and UK are working in a similar way in Ukraine, and share the same visions for the Western Balkans and multilateralism.
The UK will now have access to EU databases of third country nationals' fingerprints, DNA and criminal records. There will also be facial recognition sharing.
This will be seen as a sizeable win for the Home Office, which is then better able to profile illegal migrants and can also use the data for extradition.
There will also be greater co-operation between the UK and Europol on migration, helping to crack down on people-smuggling.
Observers have said that this area is a surprising win for Britain, and comes at a time when the Government is seeking to show that it is committed to bringing down net migration.
Britain has agreed to dynamically align with the EU's rules for electricity trading, paving the way for a deal that will make it easier to buy and sell electricity.
It will also aid joint renewables projects in the North Sea. The EU has said that this will make bills cheaper, but it will again mean accepting the bloc's regulations.
The agreement, leaked to The Telegraph, says: 'The European Commission and the United Kingdom should explore in detail the necessary parameters for the United Kingdom's possible participation in the European Union's internal electricity market, including participation in the European Union's trading platforms in all timeframes.'
The UK will align with EU rules to hit net zero by rejoining the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).
This would mean rejoining the ETS carbon market and changing British rules to match EU laws, before then having to accept further decisions from the European Court of Justice. It would also mean the UK would be under pressure to stay in lockstep with Brussels on policy around achieving net zero.
Critics have claimed the move would push up the cost of producing electricity from gas-fired power plants – the UK's second-largest source of power – and ultimately add to the costs faced by British industry and increase household bills.
But the ETS system is very new, so it remains to be seen how it would work for Britain and the rest of the bloc.
British passport holders will be able to use EU e-gates, which means holidaymakers will no longer need to wait in longer queues to get their passport stamped at border control.
In the majority of EU countries, only EU travellers and members of the European Economic Area are allowed to use the e-gates.
This was one of the elements of the deal championed by Labour figures as a big win for voters.
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