LONDON/BRUSSELS: Britain agreed the most significant reset of defence and trade ties with the European Union since Brexit on Monday after US President Donald Trump’s upending of the global order pushed the two sides to move on from their acrimonious divorce.Nearly nine years after it voted to leave the bloc, Britain reached a wide-ranging deal with the EU, including a security and defence pact, fewer restrictions on British food exporters and visitors, and a contentious new fishing agreement.British PM Keir Starmer, who backed remaining in the EU in the Brexit referendum, also bet that offering benefits to Britons such as the use of faster e-gates at EU airports will drown out the cries of “betrayal” from Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage. Flanked by EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Antonio Costa at London’s Lancaster House, Starmer said the deal marked “a new era in our relationship”.Britain said the reset would reduce red tape for agricultural producers – making food cheaper – improve energy security and, by 2040, add nearly 9 billion pounds ($12.1 billion) to the economy, which is about 2.6 trillion pounds in size.It is the third deal Britain has struck this month, after agreements with India and the US, and while it is unlikely to lead to an immediate economic boost, it could lift business confidence, drawing much-needed investment. At the heart of the reset is a defence and security pact that will let Britain be part of any joint procurement and pave the way for British companies to take part in a 150 billion euro ($167 billion) programme to rearm Europe. On fishing, British and EU vessels will have access to each other’s waters for 12 years in return for a permanent reduction in paperwork and border checks that had prevented small food producers from exporting to Europe. In return, Britain has agreed to the outline of a limited scheme to let young EU and British people live and work in each others’ territories for periods. Farage, head of the right-wing Reform UK party, called the deal an “abject surrender – the end of the fishing industry”.
