More than five years after the UK's withdrawal from the EU, London and Brussels have agreed to strengthen relations. Several agreements were reached at a summit in London on Monday, the British government said. These included a security and defense pact and an agreement on topics such as trade, fisheries and youth mobility.
According to Downing Street, the security and defense pact should enable the British arms industry to “participate” in a future EU defense fund. The 150 billion euro fund is currently being negotiated between the EU member states.
According to information from London, the UK will also keep its waters open to European fishermen for twelve years after the current agreement expires in 2026. In return, the EU will relax the bureaucracy for food imports from the UK for an indefinite period.
In order to exclude British companies from the EU's CO2 tax, the emission quotas of both sides will be linked. With regard to youth mobility, the negotiators have agreed on a very general formulation that will be fleshed out in later negotiations.
London fears that an overly generous agreement on this topic could ultimately lead to a return to freedom of movement between the EU and the UK. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer received the EU leaders in London on Monday. The meeting with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, EU Council President António Costa and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas was the first of its kind since the UK left the EU on January 31, 2020.
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