Latest news with #UKEUdeal
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE UK-EU reset deal: Globalist Keir Starmer is pushing Britain back into the European Union by stealth, former Brexit party MEP Alex Phillips tells the Mail's 'Apocalypse Now?' podcast
Keir Starmer 's 'rushed' reset deal with the European Union represents a first step in Labour 's plan to push the UK back into trading bloc 'by stealth', former Brexit party MEP Alex Phillips has told the Mail's 'Apocalypse Now?' podcast. The broadcaster said our 'globalist' Prime Minister had 'fallen at the first hurdle' in negotiations with Brussels, awarding too many concessions for 'not much in return'. Starmer's wide ranging UK-EU reset deal was announced on Monday and included new agreements with Europe over trade, defence and travel. The UK had to concede ground on fishing and youth mobility, in exchange for access to European food and defence markets. Starmer described his deal as a 'win-win' and insists it sticks within Labour's manifesto promises not to renege on Brexit. Speaking to special correspondent David Patrikarkos, Ms Phillips said: 'I am not one of those Brexit zealots who believe we should have absolutely no relationship with the EU. Listen to 'Apocalypse Now?' wherever you get your podcasts. Listen now 'There are areas in which we should certainly cooperate. I think the information sharing over people smuggling gangs is positive. 'But, and there's a big but – there doesn't seem to have been much negotiation at all. It doesn't even seem to be a deal. A deal implies that we get positive things in return, which reflect British interests. 'There are so many areas where it seems like a first step of many, which opens the door for more and more deals. I worry it will begin to look like rejoining the EU by stealth.' Two of the areas which have sparked the most controversy are a commitment to dynamic alignment on trade and an agreement over continued access to Britain's fishing waters. Labour ministers approved a 12-year extension to an existing arrangement which allows British waters to be fished by EU boats. On these parts of the deal, Ms Phillips said: 'The 12-year extension poses a genuine risk of decimating the UK's fishing industry. 'In 12 years time, a lot of fishermen will retire, and you question how many will be joining the industry when they're very limited over what they can catch. 'In some respects, the erosion of barriers to trade is a good thing – but dynamic alignment where we have to follow EU rules and be under the jurisdictions of European courts is a very perilous path to go down. 'We know that Ursula von der Leyen will release a paper soon which will try to tie the UK into what amounts to joint foreign policy. 'I just feel the deal has been rushed. I do not feel like enough concessions and exceptions were asked for. I worry about the future, because Starmer has only been in power for a year – and this is going to be the first step of many.' The television presenter represented the Brexit Party in the European parliament for 8 months, from July 2019 to the UK's exit from the EU in January 2020. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch labelled the new deal as a 'betrayal', while Nigel Farage, head of a surging Reform UK, called it an 'abject surrender to Brussels'. Ms Phillips raised the EU's initial reaction to Russia's invasion of Ukraine as an example of why further alignment with the bloc is no good thing. 'On the outbreak of the invasion, the UK was quick to move forward', Philips remarked. 'We armed Ukraine, we applied sanctions, we were straight out of the blocks. Whereas the EU dithered. 'When it comes to crises, we have seen time and time again that the EU are slow to act. It either responds too slowly or uses a crisis to push forward its own imperial agenda. 'It's so important that Britain remains a sovereign and Atlanticist nation.'
Al Jazeera
21-05-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Will EU deal make food cheaper, add $12bn to the UK economy?
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced a 'landmark deal' with the EU that lays the ground for closer collaboration with the bloc. Nearly nine years after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, the new agreement includes a new security and defence pact, fewer restrictions on British food exporters and visitors, and a controversial new fishing agreement. Britain said the reset with its biggest trading partner would reduce red tape for agricultural producers, making food cheaper. The deal would also improve energy security and, by 2040, add nearly 9 billion pounds ($12.1bn) to the economy. While Starmer sold the deal as a 'win-win', attacks immediately emerged from the opposition Conservative Party, which said the deal would make the UK a 'rule-taker' from Brussels. Nigel Farage, head of the hard-right, pro-Brexit Reform UK party, called the deal an 'abject surrender'. As part of Monday's defence-and-security agreement, the UK and the EU will work more closely on information sharing, maritime issues and cybersecurity. Crucially for Britain, the bloc committed to exploring ways for the UK to access EU procurement defence funds. British weapons manufacturers can now take part in a 150-billion-euro ($169bn) programme to rearm Europe – part of United States President Donald Trump's push for Brussels to spend more on defence. Meanwhile, both sides have agreed to work on a joint agrifood agreement to remove Brexit-era trade barriers like safety checks on animals, paperwork and bans on certain products. In 2023, UK food and drink exports to the EU were worth 14 billion pounds ($18.7bn), accounting for 57 percent of all the sector's overseas sales. Monday's agreement should raise that. In exchange, the UK will need to follow EU food standards – a system known as 'dynamic alignment' – and accept the European Court of Justice's oversight in this area. There have been talks on linking up the UK and EU's carbon markets (i.e., a tradable price on CO2 emission) and on a joint electricity market. The deal also paves the way for the UK's return to the Erasmus student exchange programme, as well as granting young people access to the EU through work and travel. In a symbolic gesture to please tourists, Britons will be allowed to use border e-gates at most EU airports, reducing queues at passport controls. Finally, the UK will grant EU fishers access to British waters for an additional 12 years, an eleventh-hour concession from the UK – three times longer than it had originally offered. Critics from the Conservative Party and Reform UK quickly denounced the deal as a betrayal of Brexit, arguing that the price of the trade agreement was excessive. The fisheries deal drew fierce disapproval, with opposition politicians saying it meant handing over Britain's fishing waters to European fishers for an extra decade. Fishing is a key issue in the UK, despite making up just 0.04 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). And Starmer's deal appears to have reignited tensions last seen during Brexit negotiations. Offering '12 years access to British waters is three times longer than the govt wanted,' Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch wrote on X. 'We're becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again.' Reform's leader, Farage, told Bloomberg that Starmer's deal on fisheries 'will be the end of the industry'. The Scottish Fishermen's Federation called it a 'horror show'. Elsewhere, there were complaints about Britain having to submit itself to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice on agrifood policies. For their part, the Conservatives vowed to reverse all these changes if they got back into power. Still, Starmer stuck firmly to his election promise of not re-joining the European single market (in which goods and people can move freely) or the customs union (which eliminates tariffs on goods traded between EU countries). According to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the Ministry of Finance's independent forecaster, the UK's decision to leave the EU will shrink trade flows by 15 percent. The OBR also that calculated Brexit will lower GDP by 4 percent over the long term. That's the equivalent of costing the economy 100 billion pounds ($134bn) per year. For starters, Brexit involved erecting significant trade barriers with Europe. In 2024, UK goods exports to the EU were 18 percent below their 2019 level, in real terms. The decision to leave the EU also triggered business uncertainty. Lacking clarity over the UK's future economic relationship with the EU, business investment softened. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research estimates that business investment was 13 percent lower in 2023 than under a remain scenario. Brexiteers promised that leaving the EU would allow Westminster to sign global free trade agreements and break away from the EU's demanding regulatory regime. 'The argument was that doing business at home and abroad would be simplified,' says Gaurav Ganguly, head of EMEA Economic Research at Moody's Analytics. 'And while the UK has signed several trade deals since 2020, Brexit has not unleashed the potential that was talked about [by its advocates].' In recent weeks, the UK has signed up to trade agreements with India and the US. But Britain's average GDP growth was just 0.64 percent between 2020 and 2024. Elsewhere, public support for Brexit has fallen since the 52-48 percent leave vote in the 2016 referendum. Earlier this year, polling by YouGov found only 30 percent of Britons now think it was right for the UK to vote to leave the EU, versus 55 percent who say it was wrong. Roughly 60 percent of people believe Brexit has gone badly, including one-third of leave voters. A majority also believe that leaving the EU has damaged Britain's economy. Ever since last year's election, the Labour government has pledged to improve Britain's anaemic levels of growth. It sees lower trade barriers with the EU as crucial to that goal. Acknowledging the damage inflicted to Britain's trade by Brexit, Starmer said the deal to remove restrictions on food would give 9 billion pounds ($12bn) boost to the UK economy by 2040. In a government briefing, Downing Street said it would redress the 21 percent drop in exports and 7 percent drop in imports seen since Brexit. That said, 9 billion pounds ($12bn) would amount to just 0.2 percent of the UK's national output. As such, this week's agreement deal has dismantled only a fraction of the trade barriers erected post-Brexit. 'Yesterday's deal may lift growth,' Ganguly told Al Jazeera. 'But the UK economy continues to struggle from structural weaknesses, including low productivity and limited fiscal space.' The Centre for European Reform, a London-based think tank, recently calculated that the UK-EU reset would boost Britain's GDP by between 0.3 percent and 0.7 percent. Ganguly said he is 'not inclined to change my forecast in the short term', adding 'In addition, it's clear that yesterday's agreements won't completely reverse the economic hit from Brexit.' The upshot is that Ganguly expects modest GDP growth of around 1-2 percent between now and the next election cycle, in 2029.
Times
20-05-2025
- Business
- Times
Keir Starmer's EU deal a ‘horror show for Scottish fishermen'
A deal between the UK and EU has been branded a 'horror show' by Scottish fishermen who accused Sir Keir Starmer of selling out their industry. The Scottish Fishermen's Federation (SFF) claimed that other benefits secured by Britain, in areas such as defence, exports and travel, had been achieved entirely 'on the backs' of the fishing sector and coastal communities. The new pact means existing access to UK waters for boats from EU countries, which had been due to expire next year, will instead continue for a further 12 years in what was seen as a major concession that will benefit French, Dutch and Danish fishermen. The terms of the initial Brexit deal negotiated by Boris Johnson's government, which saw the UK regain 25
The Independent
20-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
‘No downside' for fishing industry in EU deal, insists Environment Secretary
Environment Secretary Steve Reed has claimed there is 'no downside' for the fishing industry in the UK-EU trade deal. The wide-ranging deal will allow farmers to get swifter, easier access to trade on the continent as a result of an agreement on animal and plant product standards. But the Government has also received swift condemnation for agreeing to grant European fishing trawlers a further 12 years of access to British waters. Speaking to the Environment Committee on Tuesday, Mr Reed described the deal as a 'huge boost for the UK agri-food and food and drink sectors'. But he was quickly forced to defend the agreement as MPs quizzed him about the concerns and anger from fishing sector leaders, who have described it as a 'horror show' and a 'betrayal'. Mr Reed said: 'I think this is a reasonably good deal for the UK fishing sector. 'Compared to what some of the speculation was, and indeed some of the pressures on our negotiating team, the EU was interested in more quota, more access to (UK) territorial waters. 'They were looking for a deal on fishing in perpetuity, and they were trying to achieve that by making what I felt was a spurious link between fishing and an SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) deal.' The Environment secretary said the UK's negotiating team 'held strong', resulting in an agreement that has seen 'no loss at all' in terms of quota and access to territorial waters. He argued that instead the sector will benefit as exporting British produce across the border becomes 'much easier, simpler, much less costly'. He added: 'There is no downside to this for fishers. There's a big upside in what they can export.' However, the Environment Secretary was challenged about making 'no progress' on major asks from the UK fishing sector. These included exclusive access to certain waters, regulatory autonomy relating to the management of fisheries and improving collaboration over the equitable and sustainable management of non-quota species. Continuing to defend the deal, Mr Reed said: 'This was a negotiation so we of course pushed for more, but it's a negotiation. 'I have to say I would've liked if we got more for them. We did push hard,' he said, adding that he engaged with industry bodies, ensuring their position was fed through during talks. Mr Reed went on to argue the UK retained regulatory autonomy with no return to the EU's common fishing policy as well its position on sand eels. 'This is a good deal standing on its own for fish but if you look at the wider impact on the economy, it's a huge boost,' he said. The Environment Secretary also denied claims fisheries were 'traded off' for other areas in the negotiations after Environment Committee chairman Alistair Carmichael suggested the Government had invited that compromise by allowing them to be part of these negotiations. 'I do want to really emphasise this point, because you said fishing was 'traded out' in this deal,' Mr Reed said. 'It wasn't. They've lost absolutely nothing and they've gained things, particularly (market) access that they did not have before,' he said.
BBC News
20-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
What does the UK-EU deal mean for holidays and jobs? Your questions answered
Many of you have been submitting questions to Your Voice, Your BBC News about the deal signed this week between the UK and European questions have touched on a range of issues, including jobs, food and experts have been digging into the detail to figure out what the deal means for you and your family. Will professional qualifications be recognised across the UK-EU border? Anna Maria, a dental student studying in Bulgaria, asked about mutual recognition of professional qualifications, which was a Labour Party manifesto pledge. Our political reporter Becky Morton has looked into the details of the its manifesto last year, Labour said it would seek to "secure a mutual recognition agreement for professional qualifications, external to help open up markets for UK service exporters".That would mean professionals such as doctors, lawyers and accountants who qualified in one country could practice in another with minimal extra bureaucracy - a system already in place across the deal promises to set up "dedicated dialogues" on the recognition of professional qualifications, but a full agreement could take much longer to an agreement would make it easier for British companies to move staff between the UK and EU and undertake short-term work in there may be less incentive for the EU to agree a deal, given the current situation makes it harder for UK firms to compete for business in Europe. Will Brits be able go skip long queues for non-EU passport holders? Malcolm in Bristol wanted more clarity on what the agreement will mean for passport queues for UK citizens visiting the EU. Our transport correspondent Simon Browning some EU ports and airports already allow UK citizens to use modern e-gates, many do not and queues have become familiar to new agreement provides more clarity on e-gates and sets out that in the future, UK citizens will be able to use them - but the EU Commission says that will not come into force in time for this the UK government has indicated it is hopeful there could be changes in time for the summer, so the timeline still appears to be up for EU says there will be no change before a new EU border security scheme comes into force in October, which will see biometric data including fingerprints collected from passengers coming from non-EU countries such as the UK. It will mean manned desks where people will have to queue in order to enter some EU countries could still be a feature of travel beyond this year, even if e-gate usage becomes more widely short, that will mean long queues at some destinations could continue during this holiday season and perhaps decision about UK citizens using e-gates will not be a blanket one across the bloc. Instead, it will be up to individual countries to decide how they manage queues at their borders. Will pet passports resume in time for the summer? We have received a lot of questions about pet passports. Our political correspondent Jack Fenwick has looked into when the scheme will be up and short, we just do not know yet whether there will be any change in time for this agreement between the UK and EU commits to introducing a new passport system which would make it easier for people to travel with their pets and end the need to acquire repeat vet British holidaymakers will be keen for these rules to be introduced in time for their trip this so-called pet passports come under a part of the deal known as the sanitary and phytosanitary agreement - and while the UK and EU have agreed to work together in this area, the full scope of it has not been fully fleshed out yet. What does the deal mean for British farmers? Chris in Bristol asked whether UK farmers would have to accept EU regulations on food standards. Our business correspondent Simon Jack has assessed the new agreement removes the need for time consuming and costly veterinary checks and forms - but in return, the UK will have to align with EU food standards. As those regulations change, the UK will have to change too. The government insists it will have a say in how those rules develop and it may be able to negotiate exceptions - but they will not have a vote. The National Farmers Union has broadly welcomed the new deal because it provides easier and quicker access to a big market for perishable products, in which the speed that goods can be moved is important. Will it be easier for British bands to tour in Europe? Andy in Eastbourne asked whether this deal would allow for the free and unrestricted movement of musicians and bands on tour in Europe. Our political reporter Becky Morton Brexit, British musicians have faced extra costs and red tape when touring industry has been urging the government to find a solution and Labour's general election manifesto pledged to "help our touring artists" as part of negotiations with the the deal agreed on Monday only recognises the "value" of touring artists and promises to continue efforts "to support travel and cultural exchange".The UK says it will explore "how best to improve arrangements for touring across the European continent".Tom Kiehl, chief executive of UK Music, which represents the industry, welcomed this as "an important first step" but said the sector was seeking "more concrete commitments". Will this agreement impact the UK's ability to boost trade around the world? Brian in Nottingham asked about any knock-on effect the agreement may have on the UK's ability to negotiate trade deals with other nations. Political correspondent Jack Fenwick looked into it for the UK was to re-join the customs union or single market, there would be knock-on effects for other trade agreements, like the Trans-Pacific Partnership - but this relatively limited agreement does not go nearly that the UK will now effectively be a rule-taker when it comes to EU standards on food and farming exports - but the government is fairly comfortable with that for two ministers do not want to lower food standards anyway, which we saw during recent trade negotiations with the the level of trade the UK has with the EU massively outstrips other agreements signed in recent UK-EU deal is expected to eventually boost the economy by around £9bn a year, largely from food, farming and energy trading. Compare that with the much broader agreement signed with India this year, which will bring economic benefits of around £5bn a year.
