London: Britain and the European Union hailed a new chapter in their relationship on Monday after they sealed new agreements on defense cooperation and easing trade flows at their first formal summit since Brexit.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other senior EU officials in London for talks, said the deals will slash red tape, grow the British economy and reset relations with the 27-nation trade bloc since the UK left the EU in 2020.
“Britain is back on the world stage,” Starmer said. “This deal is a win-win.”
Von der Leyen called the talks a “historic moment” that benefits both sides. More broadly, she said it sends a message at a time of global upheaval that the U.K. and EU are “natural partners standing side-by-side on the global stage”.
Britain’s opposition parties slammed the deals as backtracking on Brexit. “We’re becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again,” Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said.
Under the deals, a new UK-EU defence and security partnership will allow the UK to access a EU defence loan programme worth 150 billion euros ($170 billion.)
Other agreements include removing some checks on animal and plant products to ease food trade across borders, and a 12-year extension of an agreement allowing EU fishing vessels in UK waters.
While the EU is the UK’s largest trading partner, the UK has been hit with a 21 per cent drop in exports since Brexit because of more onerous border checks, laborious paperwork and other non-tariff barriers. Post-Brexit visa restrictions have also hobbled the cross-border activities of various professionals.