Talks go ‘to the wire’ as Starmer prepares to announce UK/EU reset deal

By Christopher McKeon, PA Political Correspondent, and Chronicle staff

Talks on a UK-EU reset deal largely centred on defence and security went “to the wire” on Sunday ahead of a major summit with the bloc in London today, the minister in charge of negotiations said.

Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce a deal with the EU when he meets European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa in London on Monday.

The Prime Minister said the agreement would be “another step forwards” for the UK and “good for our jobs, good for our bills and good for our borders”.

But on Sunday Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said the final details of the deal were still being worked out, with talks going “to the wire”.

Monday’s summit has been expected to bring an announcement on British access to a 150 billion euro (£125 billion) EU defence fund, in what could be a boost for UK defence companies.

But reports suggest there could also be agreements on allowing British travellers to use e-gates at European airports, cutting red tape on food exports and imports, and setting up a youth mobility scheme with the EU.

No major announcement on Gibraltar is expected today, though the ongoing treaty negotiation may be raised following controversy last week after comments to BBC Newsnight by Spain’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jose Manuel Albares.

Mr Albares said the Gibraltar treaty “is not resolved yet”, adding a deal on the Rock’s post-Brexit relations with the bloc was necessary “to have a full UK/UE relationship”.

The comments were interpreted by UK opposition parties as Spain flexing its muscle over Gibraltar just days ahead of a summit widely regarded as a landmark moment in the UK’s efforts to rebuild its post-Brexit relations with the EU.

Mr Thomas-Symonds would not give details of the prospective deal on defence and other matters during broadcast interviews on Sunday, telling the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: “Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.”

But he said the UK Government had been pushing for British citizens to be able to use EU queues at airports once again, and he was “confident” that a deal on food could be reached.

He said: “We know we’ve had lorries waiting for 16 hours, fresh food in the back not able to be exported because frankly it’s just going off, red tape, all the certifications that are required, we absolutely want to reduce that.”

He also suggested the UK could be open to aligning with EU rules in some areas “to make sure we get far easier trade”, saying this was “a sovereign choice”, and he said any youth mobility scheme would have to be “smart and controlled”.

Both Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage have already described the deal as a “surrender”, despite the details not yet being known, and indicated they would tear it up if they came to power.

Youth mobility could prove a major sticking point for the opposition, and Mrs Badenoch said she feared it would involve a return to free movement “by the back door”.

Shadow Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips there were “very limited circumstances” in which the Tories would support a scheme, saying it must not be “uncapped”.

Existing schemes with countries including Australia and Canada involve limited numbers and require a visa, but the details of any EU scheme remain to be seen.

But the Liberal Democrats have backed a “capped youth mobility scheme”, and the party’s Europe spokesman James MacCleary accused the Government of “dragging their heels when it comes to properly negotiating on the issue”.

The Lib Dems have also said that a youth mobility scheme could boost GDP by enough to fund a reversal of the cuts to the winter fuel payment.

But the economic expansion predicted by the Centre for European Reform as a result of a youth mobility scheme would take years to materialise.