From fishing rights to passports and youth mobility: Starmer's Brexit reset deal explained
19 May 2025, 13:47
Britain and the European Union have agreed a landmark deal after a last minute breakthrough go the agreement over the line.
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Sir Keir — who has made the Brexit reset a centrepiece of his administration - said Monday’s summit marks a "new era" of relations with the bloc, adding that it is about "moving on from stale old debates" and "looking forward, not backwards".
Here we look at what has been agreed and what failed to make the deal::
Read More: LBC callers react as Keir Starmer signs off his 'Brexit reset'
Youth mobility scheme
After months of speculation - including a strongly worded article calling for its introduction from London Mayor Sadiq Khan on the LBC App last week - it is understood that no such deal has been agreed.
While there was mounting pressure on the UK from the EU to agree a scheme — which would let under-30s study, live and work between Britain and the continent for a number of years — negotiators appear to have failed to reach an agreement.
Instead it appears they left the door open for further discussion.
The UK and the EU have also agreed to “work towards” Britain rejoining Erasmus - an EU programme which provides funding for students, teachers, and staff to study, train, gain experience, and volunteer abroad.
The scheme was seen as a major loss to British students after Brexit.
Defence and security
A UK-EU security and defence partnership has long been sought by the UK government and has been seen as the centrepiece of Britain’s new relationship with the European Union.
But the agreement appears to be thin on detail, with the document saying the partnership provides a “framework for dialogue and cooperation on security and defence”.
Cooperation should be "boosted" in a number of areas, including supporting Ukraine, the mobility of military personnel, space security, cyber security and maritime security. They have also agreed to explore further cooperation on health security, including the “detection of, preparedness for, and response to emerging health threats to prevent and mitigate against future pandemics and health crises”.
It has been announced that the UK will enter talks about access to EU facial images data for the first time, which will make it easier to catch criminals across borders.
Fishing rights
Fishing rights have been a key stumbling bloc in negotiations with the European Union, with negotiators hashing out details on the issue until the early hours of the morning on Monday.
But after a major breakthrough, Britain has now agreed to open its fishing waters for 12 more years to EU boats — significantly more than the five years that was initially offered by the UK.
Passport eGates
The agreement says there will be no legal barriers to eGate use for British Nationals traveling to and from EU countries after the introduction of the European Union Entry/Exit System - an automated IT system for registering non-EU nationals travelling for a short stay each time they cross the external borders.
Trade
As part of the deal, a new sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) agreement will make it easier for food and drink to be imported and exported by reducing the red tape that placed burdens on businesses and led to lengthy lorry queues at the border.
This agreement has no limit, which the government has said will provide “vital certainty to business”.
Meanwhile, some routine checks on animal and plant products will be removed completely, allowing goods to flow more freely between the UK and EU. UK officials said this could “lower food prices and increase choice on supermarket shelves – meaning more money in people’s pockets”.
The deal also brings an end to the EU ban on UK exports of sausages, mince and other chilled meats, which has been in place since January 2021.
Alongside this, British steel exports will be protected from new EU rules and restrictive tariffs in an arrangement the government estimates will save British steel £25m per year.
