IN BRUSSELS Controversial issues such as easier migration for under-30s and fishing rights will form part of Brexit reset negotiations with the EU, Sir Keir Starmer has signalled.
The Prime Minister promised to “make Brexit work” as he agreed with Ursula von der Leyen at talks in Brussels to strengthen cooperation on the economy and security which has withered since Brexit.
Speaking to reporters, he insisted that it “wasn’t in the nature of the discussion” to get into the EU’s thorny demands for a youth mobility scheme and increased fishing access to British waters.
But the Prime Minister conceded there would be trade-offs and “challenges along the way” when asked about youth mobility, and admitted that fishing rights would “have to be part of the discussion”, as he opened the door to negotiations on issues that could form major obstacles to the Brexit reset.
Youth mobility, which would make migration between the UK and EU easier for under-30s, is understood to be a key early demand from Brussels if Starmer wants to unlock talks on a so-called veterinary agreement to ease cross-border food trade, but the Government is reluctant to agree to anything that would add to net migration, which it has promised to reduce.
Starmer also refused to commit to upholding the previous government’s ban on sand eel fishing in the North Sea, which is designed to protect puffin birds, as he admitted access to UK waters will “have to be part of the discussion, of course”.
But the Prime Minister insisted that his talks with von der Leyen on Wednesday were more about “setting the tone” and “ambition” as well as scoping out what a UK-EU reset could deliver.
A joint statement after the talks said the two had agreed to meet again this autumn, with a plan for regular EU-UK summits at leader level beginning in early 2025.
“They agreed a stable, positive and forward-looking relationship was in their mutual interests and provided the basis for long-term co-operation,” the statement said.
The two leaders also agreed to move forward “at pace” on building closer ties in “mutually beneficial” areas such as “the economy, energy, security and resilience, in full respect of their internal procedures and institutional prerogatives”.
Speaking in Brussels as the pair met, Starmer said: “I firmly believe that the British public want to return to pragmatic, sensible leadership when it comes to dealing with our closest neighbours, to make Brexit work and to deliver in their interests, to find ways to boost economic growth, strengthen our security and tackle shared challenges like irregular migration and climate change.”
Von der Leyen meanwhile highlighted the need for the UK to fully implement the existing Brexit agreements while also adopting a warm tone on closer cooperation.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: “After years of Conservative failure, this new Government must make repairing our broken relationship with Europe a priority.
“That starts with a common sense agreement on a youth mobility scheme between the EU and the UK.”
The EU’s draft youth mobility proposals, published in April:
The planned scheme would set out conditions, including the age and maximum duration of stay (the Commission says it should be between 18 to 30 years, with up to four years of stay, although it has since signaled the amount of time is up for negotiation) as well as conditions of eligibility and rules for verifying compliance.
The proposal adds that UK citizens would only be granted mobility within the member state where they have been admitted and not the other 26 EU countries.
The Commission also wants equal treatment of EU and UK students when it comes to fees: after Brexit, EU students were moved from a “home” to “international” status, which varies between £11,400 and £38,000 per year. Student visas are another issue, and can be £490, while the healthcare surcharge is usually £776 a year.
