A new defense pact
The two sides have worked increasingly closely on defense since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and that unity has only grown since the Trump administration threatened to pull its security guarantees for Europe and leave Kyiv to fend for itself against Moscow.
It made defense one of the least controversial aspects of the negotiations, and Monday’s deal saw a formal handshake on a new UK-EU defense partnership. The UK now will gain access to a Europe-wide defense program, allowing British companies to bid for security contracts alongside European rivals.
“This joint procurement will increase our readiness, will close military gaps that we have,” von der Leyen said.
Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have emerged as the leading voices advocating for Kyiv on the global stage, and the two leaders have pushed their European counterparts to boost military spending and join a European bulwark against Moscow’s advances.
What will change for Brits and Europeans?
The two sides will work toward a youth mobility scheme that will allow under-30s to travel and work between the UK and Europe. Starmer has taken pains to insist there is no return to full freedom of movement, a benefit Britons enjoyed when it was a member of the EU, but European officials have stressed that a deal would prove mutually beneficial.
British students are also set to once again have access to Europe’s Erasmus scheme, which allows them to study abroad in other European countries. The two sides agreed to find an agreement on that scheme. “This will allow the next generation to once again live and study in each other’s countries. This will build friendships that will last a lifetime,” von der Leyen said.
And one visible impact of Brexit will disappear: Britons will now be able to use e-gates at European airports when they travel on vacation, joining EU passport-holders in the streamlined queues.
Will the deal open old wounds?
Starmer is striking a deal in a unique political environment. Public sentiment is broadly behind him; Britons increasingly regret the decision to leave the EU, and prize an agreement with the bloc over a similar deal with the US, opinion polling suggests. But the country remains weary of the heated, years-long arguments that engulfed Westminster after the 2016 Brexit vote, and Downing Street is treading carefully to avoid re-opening those wounds.
It may be wishful thinking. The prime minister, whose government is unpopular as it approaches one year in office, is also wary of the threat from the right. The populist Reform UK party is leading opinion polls, and its leader Nigel Farage — the chief architect of the Brexit movement — has already sought to frame Monday’s deal as a surrender to Brussels.
A decision to extend the EU’s favorable access to British fishing waters until 2038 — 12 years longer than the current agreement — provides Farage and other critics ample bait. “We’re becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again,” Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch complained.
But Starmer will be desperate to set another narrative: that Monday’s deal finally closes a contentious chapter in British politics. “It’s time to look forward,” he said. “To move on from the stale old debates and political fights to find common sense, practical solutions which get the best for the British people.”