Britain and the EU will on Monday agree a serious post-Brexit reconciliation, however haggling over key particulars together with fisheries, meals commerce and youth mobility dragged on into Sunday night as each side engaged in eleventh-hour brinkmanship.
A historic summit at Lancaster Home in London will see each side signal a safety and defence partnership, the centrepiece of the “reset” and a recognition that the entire continent wants to tug collectively to confront the risk from Russia.
Sir Keir Starmer will signal the defence pact and a communiqué promising deeper financial co-operation throughout a two-hour assembly with European Fee president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president António Costa.
The EU-UK summit, the primary since Brexit took impact in 2020, might be bathed in a spirit of reconciliation, however the talks in Brussels on Sunday have been a reminder that the connection between the 2 sides is now extremely transactional.
British officers mentioned on Sunday night that “huge progress” had been made in some areas however that “negotiations are going down to the wire”. In Brussels, EU ambassadors have been advised to arrange for additional talks at 10pm.
Particulars of the EU-UK deal are extremely politically delicate. Conservative chief Kemi Badenoch has warned that Starmer is about to “surrender” British pursuits.
In Brussels, EU ambassadors demanded extra concessions from Britain in alternate for undoing a few of the financial injury attributable to Brexit, together with a deal to protect long-term entry to British fishing grounds for France and different coastal states.
British officers admitted that the EU wouldn’t comply with an open-ended deal to take away post-Brexit boundaries to commerce in meals and animals — one of many greatest “asks” of the UK — except Brussels was glad with a deal on fish.
“We want to give confidence to business,” mentioned one UK official, admitting {that a} time-limited veterinary deal — generally known as a sanitary and phytosanitary settlement — would go away an excessive amount of uncertainty for farmers and supermarkets.
There was annoyance in Brussels that Starmer put out a press launch over the weekend wherein he claimed a deal to chop costs within the retailers had already been agreed. “That isn’t the case,” mentioned one EU diplomat on Sunday.
Nonetheless, Britain has conceded that eradicating boundaries to commerce in foodstuffs would require the UK to “dynamically align” with guidelines made in Brussels, and in addition make a monetary contribution to the EU to fund work on meals and animal requirements. Conservatives declare it is a “betrayal” of Brexit.
In the meantime, the EU can also be attempting to get Britain to enroll to an bold youth mobility scheme — together with higher entry for college students to UK universities — in a “common understanding” communiqué to be issued alongside the defence pact.
The EU has warned Starmer that it’ll not make it simpler for British touring musicians to journey throughout nationwide borders in Europe or for UK travellers to make use of passport e-gates except he’s bolder on youth mobility, in keeping with officers briefed on the talks.
Starmer has conceded {that a} youth mobility scheme will occur, however is attempting to maintain the language within the communiqué obscure, permitting detailed talks about controversial areas corresponding to numbers and pupil charges for additional negotiations later this yr.
Downing Road mentioned the Lancaster Home summit would come with an settlement to chop “queues on holiday”, with European relations minister Nick Thomas-Symonds confirming on Sunday he was searching for a deal to permit the usage of e-gates at borders.
However a second EU diplomat denied the request — which was additionally beforehand made by Starmer’s predecessor Rishi Sunak — had been granted.
“Starmer sees some of the outcomes of the summit as a done deal already which is not the case, and he wants to appear as a dealmaker,” the diplomat mentioned.
“UK negotiators need to show they really want a reset on a ‘win-win’ basis, and not only look at potential gains for one side only.”
One individual concerned in talks on the EU facet mentioned the discussions had at all times been anticipated to go to the wire. “The British are tough negotiators. But we should get a deal in the end.”
EU diplomats complained of Starmer’s latest ways to power a deal. Late final week British ministers referred to as counterparts in EU capitals to push for a deal, bypassing the fee — which one diplomat dubbed a “divide and rule tactic”.
Whereas each side have been attempting to extract concessions from one another on Sunday night, the talks is not going to derail an total settlement. The place points are unresolved, British officers say that they might be “kicked into the long grass” for additional talks later.
Particulars of the ultimate textual content are anticipated to be printed at noon on Monday, however Starmer and his EU interlocutors might be at ache to emphasize areas of settlement, fairly than the painful last-minute haggling by their negotiators on Sunday.
Further reporting by Barbara Moens in Brussels
