The News
The European Union and the UK on Monday unveiled a package of deals spanning trade, defense, and security that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed as “a new beginning for old friends.”
Britain eased access to its waters for EU fishing vessels, and trade and border rules will be relaxed. The agreement also includes commitments to security and economic cooperation.
The deal came as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted EU officials for the first such meeting since 2020, reflecting the two sides’ push to reset post-Brexit relations amid US President Donald Trump’s trade war and the conflict in Ukraine.
Critics in Britain, however, argued that the agreement represented a repudiation of the 2016 referendum to leave the EU, with one commentator at the conservative-leaning Telegraph arguing it “reopened the wounds of Brexit.”