Sir Keir Starmer hails “new era” as EU and UK agree trade deal | BBC News

The UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has called the new UK-EU deal a “win-win” for both sides, after hosting the first joint summit between Britain and the European Union since Brexit. The UK and the EU have reached a new deal setting out post-Brexit relations on areas including fishing rights, trade and defence.

The deal will keep the current status quo giving EU boats continued access to UK waters until 2038.

The 2020 Brexit agreement, which saw the UK regain 25% EU fishing quotas, was due to run out next year. The UK will continue to agree yearly quotas with the EU and Norway and issue licences to control who fishes in its waters. A £360m "fishing and coastal growth fund" to invest in new technology and equipment.

In return for extending current fishing rules, the UK has secured a deal to reduce checks on food exports to the EUThe vast majority of routine border checks on animal and plant shipments to and from the EU will be dropped. The new sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement means the UK can sell raw burgers and sausages back into the EU for the first time since Brexit. Under the deal the UK will be expected to follow EU rules it does not write – overseen by the European Court of Justice. But it can break away if it keeps similar standards and avoids harming EU trade.

A formal UK-EU defence and security pact has been established. UK and EU officials will meet every six months to talk about defence and foreign policy. Both sides will coordinate on sanctions, share more information and develop a space-related security policy. The UK will join the EU's PESCO project on military mobility, aimed at speeding troop and equipment movement inside and outside the bloc. The government says the agreement "paves the way" for UK-based arms firms to access the Security Action for Europe (Safe) - a £150bn EU fund providing loans for defence projects.

The UK and the EU have agreed to co-operate further on a "youth experience scheme" - but this will be subject to further negotiations. The government says such a scheme "could see young people able to work and travel freely in Europe again" but would be "capped and time-limited”. It says the idea would mirror existing schemes the UK has with countries like Australia and New Zealand, where there is an annual quota of visas allowing people between the ages of 18 and 35 to work in each other's countries for up to three years. The UK is also negotiating to rejoin the Erasmus+ programme, which allows students to study or do an internship abroad.

British holidaymakers will be able to use e-gates at more European airports. When Brexit ended free movement, UK travellers were shut out from using EU e-gates. Now the EU Commission says the there is no legal barrier to stopping UK citizens using them after the roll-out of its long-awaited digital border checks system, which is due to come into effect in October. Each EU country still decides if UK citizens can use e-gates at its ports but the government has promised to work to expand access "as soon as possible”. A new passport system will make it easier for UK pets to travel, ending the need for repeat vet certificates.

The UK and EU will link their carbon markets to avoid taxes on carbon-intensive goods like steel and cement travelling between the UK and EU. The government says it will save £800m in taxes and shield British steel from EU tariffs, thanks to a UK-only deal worth £25m a year. The UK will begin discussions on buying and selling directly into the EU's shared electricity market but the UK would have to follow EU rules to seal a deal.

Reeta Chakrabarti presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Chris Mason, Faisal Islam, James Cook and Danny Savage.

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