Crossing the Rubicon Starmer's 'win-win' EU reset deal offers rewards, but also risk

"Britain is back on the world stage," Keir Starmer said after shaking hands on a high-stakes agreement with the EU's Ursula von der Leyen in London.

- By Jessica Elgot

The British prime minister vowed his EU reset deal would deliver cheaper food and energy bills for British people, heralding a “winwin” for the UK and Brussels after sealing a high-stakes agreement that meant concessions on youth visas and fishing rights.

The deal, said Starmer, gives Britain “unprecedented access to the EU market, the best of any country outside of the EU or Efta, all while sticking to the red lines in our manifesto.”

Acknowledging for the first time the true damage Brexit has done to Britain’s trade, Starmer said the deal to remove red tape from agrifoods trade would give a boost of £9bn ($12bn) to the UK economy. In a briefing, No 10 said it would redress the 21% drop in exports and 7% drop in imports seen since Brexit.

Most controversially, the UK will grant EU fishers access to British waters for an additional 12 years, a late concession from the UK and three times as long as it had originally offered, which led to cries of betrayal from the Conservatives and industry figures.

The deal also paves the way for the return of the UK to the Erasmus university exchange programme, and the creation of a youth mobility scheme that would allow young people to experience the EU through work, study, au pairing or travel.