The United Kingdom and the European Union have agreed to a landmark deal aimed at “resetting” their post-Brexit relationship, easing restrictions on travel and work for hundreds of millions of people on the continent.
The pact, agreed at a summit in London on Monday, followed months of negotiations between Downing Street and Brussels. It includes agreements on defense, migration, work and travel — and leaders on each side of the Channel will hope it leaves behind years’ worth of tensions.
“This is a historic moment,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer as they unveiled the deal on Monday. “We’re turning a page. We’re opening a new chapter in our unique relationship.”
“Britain is back on the world stage,” Starmer added following the meetings at Lancaster House.
But the deal has already threatened to open old wounds; Starmer has been criticized by leaders on Britain’s resurgent populist right, who have claimed the deal weakens the UK’s sovereignty.
Here’s what you need to know.
Slashing ‘red tape’ for trade
The two sides have struck a deal to ease trade between their two markets — one of the most contentious areas of the long-running Brexit negotiations.
Downing Street announced in a statement that it has agreed to reduce the “red tape” currently burdening British businesses exporting food and drink to the bloc on an indefinite basis. Part of that agreement will include the complete removal of some routine checks on animal and plant products, it said.
Starmer’s office added that it hoped the changes would ultimately “lower food prices and increase choice on supermarket shelves” but was resolute that they do not cross certain “red lines” central to the government’s vision of Brexit, including remaining outside of the EU’s single market and customs union.
The trade partners have decided to move toward “a common sanitary and phytosanitary area,” von der Leyen told reporters on Monday. “That means more certainty, more stability for farmers and food producers, and fishermen and fisherwoman, on both sides of the Channel.”
In any case, changes to the trading rules between the two sides are significant: The EU is the UK’s largest trading partner, with the bloc accounting for 41% of Britain’s exports and more than half of its imports last year, according to official figures covering both goods and services. The UK is also a top trading partner for Brussels, and was the second-largest destination for EU goods exports in 2024, Eurostat data shows.
The deal also included commitments to give the EU fishing boats access to British waters for a further 12 years beyond the current agreement, which is set to expire next year. Europe will also open up its electricity market to the UK, a move that von der Leyen praised as a step toward boosting energy security and lowering prices.
The agreement comes as US President Donald Trump’s barrage of tariffs have wreaked havoc on the global trading order. In a joint statement released Monday, the EU and UK said they shared a “commitment to free, sustainable, fair and open trade.”