And reached a preliminary agreement on the defense and safety, fishing and mobility of young people in view of the bilateral session to be held Monday, paving the way for British businesses in major European defense contracts, European officials said.
Representatives of the EU governments in Brussels have received a text on the British-EU mutual understanding, which is now in the process of approval by the governments of 27 members, officials said.
British Prime Minister and European Commission President Ursula von der Laien as well as European Council President Antonio Costa will later meet in London today.
“There is an agreement (…) From what I have understood, all member states seem to be satisfied with what is on the table, as the meeting is preparing to begin. A process is now underway to have the official agreement of all Member States, but there is no problem expected, “a European diplomat said.
Indeed, in his post, Kir Starmer wrote: It is time to look forward – to leave behind the old, worn out political disputes and to seek reasonable, practical solutions that improve the lives of British citizens.
It’s time to look forward — to move on from the stale old political fights and to find common sense, practical solutions that improve the lives of British people.
Secure borders. Cheaper bills. More jobs.
We will close a deal in the national interest.
– Keir Starmer (@keir_starmer)
Unprecedented session after Brexit
It is noteworthy that Britain and the EU today participate in London in an unprecedented post -Brexit session, with the aim of laying our foundations more closely in the field of defense.
British Prime Minister Kir Starmer, who, after his election in July, pledged to “re -enact” cooperation with the EU, welcomes European Commission President Ursula von der Laien and European Council President Antonio Costa.
The chance for Starmer
This session is an opportunity for the British Prime Minister to take specific steps to approach his country with Brussels and turn the page after years of tension between the 27th and previous, conservative prime ministers associated with Brexit.
Since then, data has changed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the risk of US release from Europe, pushing London and Brussels to seek to tighten their ties in the field of security.
The thorns
Although the atmosphere between the two sides has been rehearsed, talks are burdened with some issues, such as young people’s mobility and fishing.
Starmer and von der Laienne talked to Albania on Friday on the sidelines of the European Political Community meeting in an attempt to normalize their differences.
The British prime minister promised Saturday night that “an enhanced partnership” with the EU would be “good for our jobs, good for our accounts and good for our borders”.
But the framework of the agreement remains unclear and the negotiations continued on Sunday.
“We are in the last few hours. I expect that (talks) will last to the end because we are negotiating extremely harshly in the national interest, “the British minister for relations with EU Nick Thomas-Simonds at the BCC explained yesterday morning.
“We are heading in the right direction. Some details are left, but they are rather positive (things), we will succeed, “commented a European diplomat who wanted to maintain his anonymity yesterday, Sunday, from Brussels.
What will be announced
EU and Britain officials are expected to announce a collaboration on defense and security, to sign a document that will clearly define their common vision of the big world stakes and another that will report the issues in which they intend to make progress.
The defense agreement will allow London to participate in EU ministerial meeting, as well as in some European military missions, beyond Britain’s existing joint commitments with European NATO member states.
For London, the stakes are also economical, with the main issue being the access of its companies to the future European program worth 150 billion euros aimed at boosting the EU’s technological and industrial base in the defense.
In addition to defense, the labor government, which is seeking to boost bilateral trade with the EU, implied that it is open to a dynamic alignment with EU standards for agricultural and nutritional products.
The red lines
An agreement in this area would help British producers “facing huge bureaucracy and controls to export to our closest and most important commercial partner,” Downing Street said.
But some EU countries have set other demands, such as allowing European fishermen to access British waters and a program of mutual mobility of young people aged 18 to 30 so they can work and study in Britain and the EU.
This issue is particularly sensitive to Britain, even more so after the rise of the Eurosceptic and anti -immigration Reform UK party under Nigel Faraj. For this reason, Starmer wants to avoid increasing the legal immigration, which is committed to diminishing.
At the same time, the British prime minister reiterated his “red lines”: there is no case of the country’s return to the EU common market or customs union, as there is no possibility of restoring the free movement of EU citizens to Britain.
