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May 19, 2025
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UK on verge of deal with EU

Announcements around trade and security have been expected to include British access to a £125 billion EU defence fund, which could be a boost for UK defence companies

Negotiations for a deal between the UK and EU are still ongoing hours before the prime minister hosts a UK-EU summit on Monday. Starmer will meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for the second time in four days as he aims to strike a deal with the EU on a range of issues.

This could include a youth mobility scheme, allowing UK passport holders to use EU airport e-gates, and announcements on trade, security, and fishing rights. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage have already described the deal as a “surrender” despite the contents not being known.

As the talks continue into the night, it is understood that there is no deadline for when they will conclude. Negotiations for the UK are being led by the minister for UK-EU relations, Nick Thomas-Symonds, who said that he was driven by “ruthless pragmatism” and was focused on jobs, lower household bills, and stronger borders.

But he declined to give specific details of any deal, saying: “Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.” Announcements around trade and security have been expected to include British access to a 150 billion euro (£125 billion) EU defence fund, which could be a boost for UK defence companies.

Fishing could also be part of a deal, with a post-Brexit deal on fishing rights set to expire at the end of June 2026. The Conservatives have warned that the government must “make it clear that giving up any rights to UK waters and natural resources would represent a betrayal to British fishermen”.
Reports have circulated that a youth mobility scheme with the EU could be set up – something that Starmer told the Times on Saturday would be a “reciprocal” arrangement in which young people would be able to move abroad for up to two years. No specific details about the ages of those who could be eligible and whether there would be a cap on numbers were given, and it has received mixed responses from opposition parties.

Badenoch described the possible scheme as “free movement through the back door” while Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice said earlier this week that such a scheme would be “the thin end” of EU free movement.
The Liberal Democrats have backed the idea of a “capped mobility scheme”, although the party’s Europe spokesperson James MacCleary has accused the government of “dragging their heels when it comes to properly negotiating on the issue”. Reports have also suggested there could be agreements on British travellers using EU e-gates at European airports and cutting red tape on food exports and imports.

Conservative MP Alex Burghart sais that he was concerned the government was signing up to EU standards and becoming “a rule taker – one of the things we specifically left behind when we left the EU”.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, “In this time of great uncertainty and volatility, the UK will not respond by turning inwards, but by proudly taking our place on the world stage – strengthening our alliances and closing deals in the interests of British people. First India, then the United States – in the last two weeks alone that’s jobs saved, faster growth and wages rising. More money in the pockets of British working people, achieved through striking deals not striking poses. Tomorrow, we take another step forwards, with yet more benefits for the United Kingdom as the result of a strengthened partnership with the European Union. It will be good for our jobs, good for our bills and good for our borders. That’s what the British people voted for last year, and it’s what my government will deliver.”

Meanwhile, former Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf has attacked Starmer for his “dog whistle” stance on immigration after the prime minister said the UK risked becoming an “island of strangers”.
In a piece penned by Yousaf for LBC, the former leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) repeated claims the prime minister’s recent remarks on immigration were a “modern echo” of Enoch Powell’s infamous 1968 Rivers Of Blood speech.

The prime minister stirred controversy earlier this week when he argued Britain “risked becoming an island of strangers” if immigration levels were not cut. After many MPs criticised his language, Starmer rejected the comparison to Powell, with his official spokesperson saying migrants have made a “massive contribution” to society but his point was that the Tories “lost control of the system”.

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