Keir Starmer has effectively bound future governments to his 12-year fishing rights ‘surrender’ deal with Brussels in order to ‘Reform proof’ it after Farage’s party topped the recent polls. The Telegraph has the story.
A future British government would technically be able to rip up the terms of the deal, which has been described as a surrender by Labour’s political opponents including Nigel Farage. However, any such move would allow the EU to respond with huge trade tariffs.
In a move described as the ‘Reform clause’, UK and EU negotiators agreed to reopen the post-Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) to include the dates of the new arrangements.
It would allow Brussels to introduce punitive measures on British exports if European fishermen access to the UK’s coastal waters is restricted before June 30th 2038.
Confirming the move, an EU diplomat said: “A procedure will be started to include the new fisheries arrangements in the TCA.”
Both sides agreed to the plan in the wake of Reform UK topping the polls at the local elections earlier this month.
Mr Farage, the Reform leader, has claimed he would rip up the deal negotiated by Sir Keir if he became prime minister at the 2029 general election.
He told the Telegraph the agreement would be “the end of the industry with no new investment”, and described Britain as “an island without a fishing industry”.
Sir Keir’s new fishing deal has been called an insult to Britain’s coastal communities, which were promised that Labour would take back control of UK waters from Brussels as part of Brexit.
The Prime Minister had the opportunity to insist on annual negotiations over access to UK waters, but opted to agree to 12 years of guaranteed access as part of his Brexit reset.
Prior to that, Boris Johnson, the former prime minister, had agreed five years of access with Brussels, due to expire in June next year. Afterwards, he had intended to hold annual talks with Brussels on fishing rights to deliver his “take back control” pledge, made ahead of the 2016 EU referendum.
Now British and European negotiators have reached a ‘fish for food’ deal granting EU fishermen rights until 2038 in return for an agreement to boost trade. Downing Street said the agreement would add £9 billion to the economy by 2040 by linking the UK more closely to the EU’s food, veterinary and energy markets.
Sir Keir said it would allow the UK 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”, adding: “We’re ready to work with partners if it means we can improve people’s lives here at home.”
Nick Thomas-Symonds, the lead Government negotiator, said the agreement marked a “day of delivery” and was “the opening of a new chapter in our relationship with the EU”.
The two sides have also struck deals on a defence pact and youth mobility, while Britain has agreed to align with EU plant and animal health laws and to be subject to European Court of Justice decisions over them. In a win for British travellers, the EU will also allow UK passport-holders to use e-gates at European airports, which will ease queues.
The Telegraph has obtained a leaked copy of the full deal between the EU and Britain. The agreement, struck in the early hours of Monday, will be signed off by the ambassadors of the bloc’s 27 member states in Brussels before a UK-EU summit in London.
Worth reading in full.
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