- Starmer, von der Leyen Reach Agreement in London.
- The agreement covers the defense, trade and fishing sectors.
- Long compliance of fishing attacked by British criticism.
Great Britain has agreed with the most important resetting of defense and trade ties with the European Union since Brexit on Monday after the reversal by US President Donald Trump of the World Order pushed both parties to go from their acrimonious divorce.
Almost nine years after having voted to leave the block, Great Britain, the second largest defense spending in Europe, will participate in joint public market projects. The parties also agreed to facilitate food and visitors to the United Kingdom to reach the EU and have signed a new controversial fishing agreement.
Trump’s prices, alongside warnings that Europe should do more to protect itself, forced governments around the world to rethink trade, defense and security ties, bringing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer closer to Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders in France.
Starmer, who supported remaining in the EU in the Brexit referendum, also bet that the provision of advantages to the British, such as the use of faster electronic gates in EU airports, would drow the cries of “betrayal” of the Brexit Nigel Farage activist.
Flanked by the president of the EU Ursula von der Leyen commission and the president of the European Council Antonio Costa, Starmer said that the agreement marked “a new era in our relationship”.
Von der Leyen said he sent a message to the world: “At a time of global instability, and when our continent faces the greatest threat he has had since generations, we, in Europe, stay together.”
Great Britain has said that resetting with its largest trading partner would reduce administrative formalities against food and agricultural producers would make food cheaper, would improve energy security and add almost 9 billion pounds sterling (12.1 billion dollars) to the economy by 2040.
This is the third agreement that Great Britain concluded this month, after agreements with India and the United States, and although it is unlikely to lead to an immediate economic boost, it could increase the confidence of companies, attracting essential investments.
At the heart of reset is a defense and security pact which will allow Great Britain to be part of all joint purchases and will open the way to British companies, including BAE, ROLLS-ROYCE and BABCOCK to participate in a program of 150 billion euros (167 billion dollars) to rearrange Europe.
On fishing, British and European ships will have access to the water of the other for 12 years – by removing one of the strongest hands in the United Kingdom in all future talks – in exchange for a permanent reduction in documents and border controls that had prevented small food producers from exporting to Europe.
In return, Great Britain accepted the outline of a limited youth mobility regime, with the details to take away in the future, and he discusses participation in the Erasmus + Student Exchange program.
The agreement was denounced by Farage and the Conservative Party of the opposition, which was in power when Great Britain left the block and spent years negotiating the initial divorce agreement.
Historical referendum
The vote of Great Britain to leave the EU in a historic referendum in 2016 revealed a country which was poorly divided on everything, of the migration and the sovereignty of power to culture and trade.
He helped to trigger one of the most tumultuous periods in British political history, with five prime ministers in office before Starmer’s arrival last July, and poisoned relations with Brussels.
Surveys show that the majority of British now regret the vote, although they do not want to join. Farage, which campaigned for Brexit for decades, conducts opinion polls in Great Britain, giving Starmer Limited Room for Manueavour.
But collaboration between Great Britain and the European powers on Ukraine and Trump has reconstructed confidence between the two parties after relations were seriously damaged by years of arguments.
Rather than looking for a complete return to an EU pillar as the single market, Starmer has sought to negotiate better market access in certain regions – a decision which is often rejected by the EU as a “cherry picking” of the EU advantages without the obligations of membership.
The abolition of administrative formalities on food trade has forced Great Britain to accept EU surveillance on standards, but Starmer will support that it is worth growing the economy and reducing the prices of foodstuffs. Commerce experts said that breaking the taboo in EU surveillance for something that would benefit small businesses and farmers was a good policy.
Despite the agreement, the British economy will remain considerably different before leaving the block. Brexit cost thousands of jobs in London, weighed on the production of the sector and reduces its tax contributions, according to studies.