{"id":690884,"date":"2026-01-12T10:48:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T10:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/690884\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T10:48:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T10:48:13","slug":"eu-demands-farage-clause-in-brexit-reset-talks-with-starmer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/690884\/","title":{"rendered":"EU \u2018demands Farage clause\u2019 in Brexit reset talks with Starmer"},"content":{"rendered":"

The EU <\/a>is said to be demanding that any future British government <\/a>pay financial compensation if it reneges on a post-Brexit \u201creset\u201d <\/a>deal signed with Sir Keir Starmer<\/a>, as part of an attempt to protect against a possible Reform UK government.<\/p>\n

A draft text of the proposed EU-UK \u201cveterinary agreement\u201d<\/a> \u2013 which would slash red tape for UK food and drink exporters \u2013 reportedly includes a termination clause which would require Britain to pay a penalty if it leaves the deal, a stipulation which is said to have been dubbed a \u201cFarage clause\u201d by EU diplomats.<\/p>\n

Sources told the Financial Times that any party pulling out of the deal would be forced to cover the cost of reinstating border checks and infrastructure controls in the future.<\/p>\n

It comes after Nigel Farage said he would refuse to hand over any money to Brussels under any deal signed by Sir Keir, telling the FT: \u201cI would break it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Nigel<\/p>\n

Nigel Farage has said he would \u2018break\u2019 any clause signed by Keir Starmer that brings the UK closer to the EU (PA)<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cNo parliament may bind its successor, we will not honour any clause. If Starmer signs this, it is a democratic outrage.\u201d<\/p>\n

But a Labour official claimed it was \u201cstandard for agreements to have contingencies for termination and they would work both ways\u201d, noting that talks to set out the precise terms of the deal have not yet begun.<\/p>\n

The source added: \u201cExit provisions are a basic staple of any international trade agreement. Pretending these routine legal contingencies constitute a democratic outrage is frankly exhausting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Referencing the proposed clause, one EU diplomat told the FT it was a \u201csafety provision to provide stability and a deterrent for Farage and co\u201d, saying that the bloc is looking to sign a deal that would endure past the end of the current UK parliamentary term in 2029.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe EU wants an agreement long term and not only until 2029, should a change happen at the next election,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

The draft text of the agreement also requires Britain to \u201cdynamically align [with] and simultaneously apply\u201d any rules relating to animal and plant products that are introduced in Brussels.<\/p>\n

But both Reform UK and the Tories have promised to overturn plans for dynamic alignment \u2013 which would see Britain agree to automatically adopt future changes to EU rules \u2013 arguing it would water down Britain\u2019s legal independence since Brexit.<\/p>\n

It comes as the government prepares a bill which would hand ministers powers to bring the UK into alignment with EU law, as part of an attempt to reduce paperwork and boost growth<\/a> in Britain.<\/p>\n

The bill, which will be brought forward this year as part of the government\u2019s Brexit reset<\/a>, would give ministers overarching powers to bring the UK in line with EU law <\/a>in certain areas, such as food standards, animal welfare and pesticide use.<\/p>\n

It is understood that the new powers could be used to implement deals struck with the EU, such as agreements to align electricity and carbon markets, or plant and animal standards.<\/p>\n

When he became prime minister, Sir Keir promised to reset Britain\u2019s relationship with Brussels and rebuild ties with the bloc after years of tension and mistrust under the Conservatives.<\/p>\n

And in an interview at the start of the year, the prime minister signalled that the government would be prepared to align even more closely with the EU single market if the move is in the national interest, insisting Britain should \u201cgo further\u201d in strengthening post-Brexit ties with Brussels.<\/p>\n

The Cabinet Office has been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The EU is said to be demanding that any future British government pay financial compensation if it reneges…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":690885,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5226],"tags":[802,748,11330,2000,299,5187,1699,35015,4884,807,50069,58774,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-690884","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brexit","8":"tag-brexit","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-brussels","11":"tag-eu","12":"tag-europe","13":"tag-european","14":"tag-european-union","15":"tag-farage","16":"tag-great-britain","17":"tag-keir-starmer","18":"tag-sir-keir","19":"tag-termination-clause","20":"tag-uk","21":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115881738561112071","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=690884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/690885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=690884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=690884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=690884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}