Starmer’s post-Brexit reset talks go to the wire in bid to secure EU deal
Keir Starmer launches a charm offensive with European leaders shortly after becoming PM – now his officials are locked in negotiations for a deal to reset the UK’s post-Brexit relationship with the EU
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Sir Keir Starmer’s post-Brexit reset is going down to the wire just hours before the prime minister is to host Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa in London.
British and European negotiators will work overnight to hash out a deal before the prime minister appears at a press conference alongside Ms Von der Leyen, the European Commission president, and Mr Costa, president of the European Council, on Monday.
Downing Street sources said there are “outstanding issues on both sides”.
“Negotiations are going down to the wire and a deal is not yet done… conversations will continue overnight,” an official said. EU ambassadors were reportedly meeting in Brussels on Sunday to agree to any further compromises on either side.
Keir Starmer will unveil the results of his post-Brexit reset on Monday (PA Wire )
It came after an apparent breakthrough in the talks emerged over the weekend, with British travellers to Europe set to be allowed to use EU passport queues and e-gates to cut down on time spent queueing.
When the leaders meet on Monday, the PM is also expected to set out how young people will be able to live and work across the continent as he unveils the results of the post-Brexit reset.
But contentious issues such as European access to British fishing waters and the flexibility of the UK’s youth mobility scheme have held up talks throughout.
After months of talks with EU counterparts, the prime minister will host Ms Von Der Leyen and Mr Costa in London.
At an afternoon press conference, he will set out a range of areas the UK and Brussels have agreed to work more closely on – such as food standards and the linking of Britain and the EU’s carbon trading schemes.
The summit is the culmination of a charm offensive launched by Sir Keir shortly after he entered Downing Street, which he has vowed will boost the economy, create jobs and strengthen Britain’s borders.
Major breakthroughs from the talks include the agreement of a youth mobility deal with the EU, similar to arrangements already in place with countries including Canada and South Korea. It will allow young people to live and work freely between the UK and EU member states for a number of years.
Another element of the deal that emerged over the weekend is the agreement for British travellers to be allowed to wait in EU passport queues and use e-gates when arriving on the continent. Europe minister Nick Thomas-Symonds on Sunday promised the move would cut the amount of time travellers spend queuing when landing in Europe.
“I am sure we can all agree that would be sensible,” he told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme.
Sir Keir is also expected to have succeeded in allowing the UK access to a major European defence fund, under which EU countries will spend €150bn buying air defence systems, drones and other military equipment.
He has been warned by Brexiteers and the Conservatives against “betraying Brexit”, with the Tories likening the planned youth mobility scheme to a return to freedom of movement. But the PM has stuck rigidly to his stance, that Britain will not return to free movement, the single market or the customs union.
Mr Thomas-Symonds on Sunday stressed that any deal on a youth mobility scheme with Europe will have to be "smart and controlled" and will be "absolutely consistent" with the government's immigration policy.
Critics warn Keir Starmer is trying to unpick Brexit (AFP/Getty )
He told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: "It's about a smart and controlled scheme.
"As of today we have already 13 youth mobility schemes with other countries, nobody is remotely suggesting that is freedom of movement with those countries, it absolutely isn't."
The Liberal Democrats have called for Labour to take a more ambitious approach to relations with Europe, returning to the customs union.
And, on the eve of the summit, former armed forces minister Sir Nick Harvey said Brexit had left Britain with “billions less to the treasury, to our public services, and to our flatlining economy”.
Sir Nick, chief executive of the European Movement UK, added: “We are five years in – do we want another 10 years of economic havoc, or do we want to take a sensible, responsible path towards undoing the damage that Brexit has done."
Mr Thomas-Symonds also said Britain will be willing to align itself with EU rules in some areas as part of the reset.
He told the BBC the UK would align with the EU “where it is in our national interest to align on common standards to make sure we get far easier trade”.
“That's what we did in the US deal where we wouldn't compromise on our food standards and it's exactly that same pragmatic approach for jobs and growth here in this country we are taking in these negotiations,” he added.
The EU-UK summit comes in the wake of Sir Keir striking significant trade deals with India and the US.
