On Monday 19th May, presidents of the European Commission and Council, Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa, respectively, and UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, met for the first ever EU-UK summit since the UK departed the bloc five years ago.
In a world where global politics is being reshaped almost daily – courtesy of an erratic and unpredictable Trump administration – this summit offered rare respite and a game-changing opportunity for the old frenemies to reset their relationship and explore new avenues for cooperation.
In the lead-up to the first serious forum since Brexit, intense negotiations produced a series of preliminary agreements spanning fisheries, food, defence, and even a potential youth free movement scheme. While at the summit itself, both sides explored deepening cooperation in energy, including discussions on linking their respective Emissions Trading Systems. They also agreed to strengthen collaboration on law enforcement, judicial cooperation, and tackling irregular migration.
While the finer details of these agreements will be clarified in the coming months, and more significantly, in 2026 during the review of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), UK businesses are minded to begin preparing for a shift toward closer regulatory alignment and deeper economic integration with the EU.
One of the summit’s key outcomes was a new 12-year reciprocal access arrangement, allowing EU boats to fish in UK waters and vice versa.
And although the UK will remain outside the EU’s fisheries rules and will retain the quota uplift agreed in the Brexit deal, British fishermen have nonetheless protested the move, labelling it a ‘horror show’.
For the British government, however, the deal represents a first step toward a long-awaited agreement on agri-foods — specifically, a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement aimed at reducing the burdensome bureaucratic barriers to food imports and exports at the border.
At present, the EU remains the most important trading partner for UK food and drink businesses, representing roughly 62% of exports and 76% of imports in 2024. Not only would it ease administrative burdens for businesses, it’s also projected to benefit British consumers by improving product availability and lowering supermarket costs.
It’s also hoped that the SPS agreement will help reduce the vast food safety backlog that continues to plague enforcement authorities at the border. Elsewhere, UK fisheries are also expected to benefit from deal by removing protracted physical checks for British fish exports to the EU.
However, to facilitate the free-flowing trade of foodstuffs across the channel, the UK will be forced to mirror the EU’s food standards through a process known as “dynamic alignment”.
While the UK has already refrained from diverging further by rejecting American chlorinated chicken or hormone-treated beef from its market in a separate deal with the Trump administration, it will likely have to align even more closely with EU standards to ensure straight sailing for any SPS deal.
Plainly, the UK will have to maintain reciprocal regulatory standards with the EU and vice and versa to ensure a level playing field for businesses.
The UK may even participate at a technical level in shaping regulatory standards within the EU. However, crucially – unlike when it was a member of the bloc – it will no longer have the final say on those standards.
On energy, both parties agreed to extend cooperation and to link ETS – thereby hoping to alleviate costs for consumers and limit trade frictions for British businesses impacted by the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism. They will also explore the participation of the UK in the EU’s internal electricity markets – making electricity trading swifter and creating further inroads for collaboration.
Significant headway was also made on defence, with both parties signing a new security partnership that restores previous levels of cooperation that fell victim to Brexit. In times of geopolitical uncertainty and frailties in transatlantic partnerships, this move no doubt shores up both the UK and EU. Included within the deal is also an invitation for the UK to participate in top-level EU discussions on key issues such as cybersecurity, as well as participate in the EU’s loans-for-arms fund.
While still politically sensitive, the British government signalled willingness to engage in discussions on the EU’s proposed Youth Mobility Scheme, which would allow individuals aged 18 to 30 to live and work more freely across borders. However, with immigration still a political hot potato in the UK, progress on this front is likely to be slow.
Though the specifics of many of these agreements are still to be finalised, it would be prudent of British businesses to get ahead of the curve. A closer EU-UK relationship will inevitably have vast regulatory and commercial opportunities and challenges – so now would be the time to get stuck into the detail and assess how the swathe of incoming changes might affect your business.
At Whitehouse Communications, we specialise in helping businesses on both sides of the Channel navigate these complex waters. If your organisation needs timely insights and strategic guidance on the implications of the renewed EU-UK dialogue, our team is here to help – don’t hesitate to get in touch.
