Trump tech deal would be problematic for EU data sharing in fight against illegal migration, government warned

A deal with the United States on tech regulation could scupper Sir Keir Starmer’s goal to strike a Brexit reset migration deal that sees youth mobility traded for access to migrant data, the Government has been warned.

The Prime Minister wants the EU to share more information and intelligence, including the fingerprints of asylum seekers, with the UK in return for agreeing to Brussels’ demands to make it easier for under-30s to move between Britain and Europe.

But the EU is reportedly blocking British police and border officials’ access to databases on crime and migration, including the Schengen Information System real-time alerts on criminal suspects and the Eurodac system for fingerprinting irregular migrants.

The i Paper understands that the UK has not been seeking direct access, which cannot be granted to a so-called “third country”, but is attempting to persuade the EU to agree work-arounds to improve law enforcement’s ability to access data and intelligence that will help fight crime and the Channel small boats crisis.

Interpol work around

Brexit expert Anand Menon said one of the work-arounds that the UK might be exploring is to get the EU to share its data with Interpol, to which Britain has access, more quickly.

“We get the data second hand as it’s passed on to Interpol,” said Menon, who chairs the UK In A Changing Europe think-tank.

“There are technical fixes to make sure the EU shares that more quickly so it’s more close-to-seamless than it is now.”

Negotiations in this area are ongoing and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is believed to be pushing for concessions on data sharing in return for agreeing to the EU’s demands for a youth mobility deal, as she is concerned it might harm the UK’s ability to bring down net migration and wants something in return.

However, Menon and senior Labour MP Stella Creasy warned that proposed UK concessions to the US on tech regulation may make the EU more reluctant to share data with Britain.

Starmer has made artificial intelligence (AI) a central plank of his proposed economic deal with Donald Trump.

Lighter touch on tech

The UK is believed to be offering to align with America’s lighter-touch approach to regulating this and other technologies, in the hope of securing an agreement which reduces US tariffs on British cars, metals and pharmaceuticals.

But senior EU figures like the European Parliament’s Brexit lead Sandro Gozi, an ally of French President Emmanuel Macron, have warned the UK not to align with Trump on tech regulation.

Creasy said the UK’s approach could create concerns in the EU about whether it will adequately protect any data shared.

The EU’s reluctance to share data may well be connected to their concerns about where the UK is going on AI and data.

“The French have already spoken out, and it will no doubt be an issue in negotiations,” she said.

Menon said: “Lurking behind this is a potential tension between what we need to get closer to the US on tech – and the tech bros aren’t massively into personal data protection – and keeping on the right side of the EU which has far different standards.”

He added: “To date the European Union has not been willing to grant us the sort of access that would take us back anywhere near to where we were as a member state.

“If they have then clearly it is a triumph of negotiation on the British side, but I would treat this with a pinch of salt for now.”

Commenting on reports the EU was holding back access to data, a Government spokesman said: “We are not providing a running commentary on our discussions with the EU. These are ongoing and cover a wide range of issues.

“We want to together, build a safer, more secure and more prosperous UK and Europe and we have been clear that we will always act in the national interest to secure the best outcomes for the UK.”

The UK’s digital services tax of 2 per cent on large companies such as Amazon, X and Facebook – owned by Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, respectively – is also in Donald Trump’s sights, as are aspects of the Online Safety Act.

The act threatens social media companies such as Meta-owned Facebook and Twitter with fines for failing to tackle illegal content, which Trump considers to be censorship.