Britain is pushing the EU to get it to drop a demand that a security and defence pact cannot be agreed between the two sides unless the UK makes concessions on fishing rights.
As part of this, the UK Government is increasingly looking to tie Brexit reset negotiations to the security situation on the ground in Europe, The i Paper understands.
EU Relations Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds last week visited the border in Poland, which is dealing with a migration crisis fuelled by Russian aggression, and argued in an article for The i Paper last week that the two sides need to take their relationship to the “next level”, including a Security and Defence Partnership.
He is likely to continue with this approach as part of wider moves to get Brussels to agree to separate out security and defence from wider Brexit reset talks and pave the way for the two sides to potentially sign a pact at the landmark UK-EU summit on 19 May, The i Paper understands.
France, backed by the likes of Denmark, continued to insist on fish-for-defence at a key meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels to prepare for the summit last Friday.
But other member states, such as Germany and Poland, have long backed the UK’s position that in the face of Russian aggression and the United States partly withdrawing from Europe, it is in both sides interests to agree a defence deal without subjecting it to preconditions.
Sandro Gozi, an ally of Emmanuel Macron who is the European Parliament’s Brexit reset lead, said the UK must resolve the issue of fishing rights to build “trust” with the EU as the current deal on fish expires in 2026 under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) between the two sides.
Asked whether a deal with defence could be separated out from wider issues such as fishing rights, he told The i Paper: “It is not fish versus peace, or fish versus weapons.
“It is about launching a new partnership, a new agenda by doing two things.
“The first is building a common trust basis that can only be built up by properly, fully implementing the TCA and also tackling the outstanding issues, and among these is fisheries.
“At the same time, in parallel, the partnership has to take stock of the new common interest and challenges in the geopolitical context.”
The EU did however agree at the meeting to take a “package” approach to wider Brexit reset talks, meaning negotiations on other areas such as a so-called SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) deal to ease food trade, youth mobility, energy and business mobility will be linked to each other, although “these wouldn’t necessarily move on the same timelines”, accordion to a European diplomatic source.
Brussels has now submitted an early draft joint political declaration, which could be signed at the May meeting in the UK, to London and is awaiting a response, potentially ahead of talks between Sir Keir Starmer and Ursula von der Leyen at a Lancaster House international summit on energy security on 24 April.
The UK is understood to be pushing for the declaration to display as much progress as possible at the summit on talks that have seen Brexit negotiator Michael Ellam engaged in shuttle diplomacy to Brussels and Thomas-Symonds increasingly visiting European capitals, and for a side agreement on defence which is not tied to fishing rights.
Britain has indicated a willingness to compromise on fish, but does not believe an agreement in this area should be a quid pro quo to a defence deal.
Labour MPs increasingly believe a defence deal is within grasp.
One said they had been “told a security pact has been done”, raising the prospect that it may have been agreed at a technical level between UK and EU officials, but does not yet have political sign off.
Several sources expect any security deal to include UK involvement in Europe’s joint £150bn defence fund, although this may mean British firms are only included in the rearmament package if they collaborate with European partners.
A senior Labour MP said it was a “no brainer” for both sides to include the EU in the ReArm joint defence fund and that a defence deal was now “much more likely” since Donald Trump called into question the future of US security guarantees for Europe.
Former Lib Dem armed forces minister Sir Nick Harvey said there was “growing consensus in London and Brussels” that any defence deal with Brussels could be partly modelled on the EU-Norway Security and Defence Partnership.
This could include intelligence-sharing, joint strategic planning, UK participation in EU high-level meetings as well as an annual bilateral dialogue, and British involvement in EU-led crisis management exercises.
“Crucially”, it would also unlock British access to defence industrial collaboration, a key ask of the Prime Minister, including participation in the European Defence Fund, moves to ramp up ammunition and missile production in response to the Ukraine war and joint procurement efforts such as ReArm and European Industry Reinforcement.”
Harvey, who is the CEO of the pro-EU European Movement, also called for any deal to include British troop participation in common European defence missions.
He told The i Paper: “A UK-EU Security and Defence Partnership is not just overdue – it is essential. The threats facing Europe are increasingly complex and transnational. From Ukraine to hybrid warfare to global supply chain vulnerabilities, neither the UK nor the EU can afford to go it alone. A structured, mutually beneficial partnership would strengthen Europe’s collective security – and mark an important step towards a more constructive UK-EU relationship.”
It came as pro-EU Labour MPs prepared to ramp up the pressure on Starmer to move towards a softer Brexit than planned in the reset, with the Labour Movement for Europe (LME) now granted the same status by parliamentary authorities as the Conservative European Research Group (ERG).
LME chair Stella Creasy wrote to colleagues last month to say that the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) had approved her organisation to offer bespoke pooled research on “all matters European” which can be paid for from MPs’ budgets at the price of £100 a month.
Creasy said: “The Labour Movement for Europe is Labour’s only affiliate dedicated to our nation’s future working relationship with Europe.”
“This service will provide briefings as well as updates on what is happening across Europe and sample material to help you respond to your constituents on these matters.”
On a defence deal, a Government spokeswoman said: “The UK has been a leader in enhancing the defence and security of the continent, and we stand ready to negotiate a Security and Defence Partnership Agreement with the EU.
“The upcoming UK-EU Summit will cover a range of issues as we look to foster a stable, positive and forward-looking relationship. We will not be providing a running commentary on these talks.”