New agreement with EU confirmed today – here are some surprising things in it
The UK and EU agreed a new Brexit deal at 2am on Monday, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announcing details at a London summit with leaders from the bloc. Sir Keir highlighted measures to make it easier for British travellers to enter European countries without long queues at the border, as well as a new defence agreement designed to ensure the UK and EU work closely together to deal with the threat from Russia.
However, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the deal is “very concerning” as it will give EU fishing vessels more access to UK waters, ensure the UK obeys some EU food and drink rules and includes a “youth mobility scheme”, allowing younger people from EU countries to live and work in the UK. Here is what is in the deal:
- EU fishing vessels will continue to have access to UK waters until 2038. Current reciprocal arrangements for fishing were due to end next year and the UK had been hoping to extend the agreement for four years – but the EU demanded a 12-year extension instead
- The UK and EU will create a “Common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Area”. This means having shared rules on the movement of plants, plant products and animal products. It will make trade easier but it means the UK accepting EU rules, which will be enforced by the European Court of Justice. Tories say this will make the UK a “rule-taker”
- A youth-mobility scheme will give younger people from the EU and UK, probably those 30 and under, the right to live and work in each other’s countries for a limited period, maybe three years. The numbers will be capped. It seems the full details will not be published on Monday in an attempt to ward off criticism, but Brexiteers say this undermines the Government’s pledge to cut immigration
- The UK will rejoin the EU’s Erasmus scheme, a student exchange programme
- UK travellers going into Europe will be allowed to use e-gates at borders, avoiding long queues to show their passports to an official. EU travellers coming into the UK are already allowed to do this at our border
- A new defence and security pact means the EU and UK will work more closely together on information sharing and maritime and space security. UK firms will be allowed to bid for EU defence contracts, after the EU set up a £125billion defence fund.
Mrs Badenoch condemned the deal, saying: “Twelve years’ access to British waters is three times longer than the Government wanted.
“We’re becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once agai