Fishing rights and the free movement of young people between the UK and EU has emerged as a key negotiating point ahead of the UK’s EU-UK summit.
Sir Keir Starmer will meet EU leaders at the talks in London on Monday in an effort to secure a landmark reset of relations since Brexit.
But Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage have described the deal as a “surrender”. Before Brexit, people were allowed to come and go under “freedom of movement” rules.
Now, the EU would like a new “youth mobility scheme” but there are concerns about what impact this might have on UK immigration numbers.
There has been a significant drop in the number of EU students coming to the UK as EU nationals need specific visas, many of which require a sponsor, to come to the UK for an extended period.
Just over a year ago, the EU proposed a “youth mobility scheme” for EU and UK citizens (aged 18 to 30), allowing stays of up to four years.
But the previous Tory government rejected the idea. It is a politically sensitive one for Sir Keir too, given he has promised to “significantly” reduce immigration levels. Fishing is another sticking point for the talks.
Fishermen across the country campaigned to “leave” the EU as an industry before Brexit.
But many feel they received a bad deal, with one even warning the sector risks “extinction” without support”.
The post-Brexit deal on fishing rights – who gets to fish where – expires at the end of June 2026.
Several EU countries, including France, are asking the UK for concessions, in return for the things the UK wants from the summit.
They are pushing for a long-term extension of the current arrangements, agreed in 2020.
Under the Brexit deal in 2020 however, EU boats were given continued access to UK waters.
In 2023, UK vessels landed 719,000 tonnes of fish – an increase of 14% compared to 2019.
But this growth has been driven by Scottish catches, while English fishing boats have seen a fall in their landings.
The main ask of many fishermen appears to be to halt EU vessels entering the stretch of coastal water that lies between six and 12 nautical miles offshore.
