United We Stand: All about the UK's new deal with the European Union

Pictured: President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen meets Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Yesterday (19 May 2025), Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced a ground-breaking new deal between the United Kingdom (UK) and European Union (EU). Widely praised and supported by the people of both unions, the deal commits them to several initiatives, including a new youth mobility scheme, a security and defence partnership, and easier entry for British nationals into EU countries, among others.

A new youth mobility scheme for the young people of Britain

Pictured: Campaigners call for a youth mobility scheme between the EU and UK and the UK's re-entry into the Erasmus Plus programme for young people.

A key part of the deal is the agreement to pursue a brand new youth mobility visa scheme for the benefit of working class young people across the UK. The scheme will give young people aged 18-to-30 from the UK the right to study, work, volunteer, intern and au pair in the EU for up to four years. It will be capped, though the exact numbers are yet to be confirmed. It also has widespread bi-partisan support, with leading Brexiteers like Steve Baker backing the scheme.

The EU joins several other entities in operating such a scheme with the UK, including the countries of Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Iceland and Uruguay. Like these youth mobility schemes, it is expected that the EU scheme will require young people to have at least £2,530, or a similar sum of money, in savings upon arrival.

The scheme will also be accompanied by the UK's re-entry into the EU's Erasmus Plus student exchange programme, which will allow university students in the UK to exchange to an institution in the EU for their studies. It allows these students to stay enrolled in their home university back in Britain under their existing tuition fee plan, while studying abroad free of charge with a monthly grant from the EU to also help cover living expenses. Internships in the EU will also be offered through the programme.

The Erasmus Plus programme will require applicants to study at a UK university, with all the academic entry and tuition fee requirements that entails. The youth mobility scheme, on the other hand, will have no such requirements with no ties to a university institution needed to go to the EU. However, whereas Erasmus Plus offers structured financial support, the youth mobility scheme will have no such financial support, hence the savings requirement for those who seek to benefit from the scheme.

A new security and defence partnership for Britain and Europe

Pictured: Defence Secretary John Healey (left), EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Kaja Kallas (centre), and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Secretary David Lammy (right) a few days ago.

The deal also includes a vital security and defence partnership, which will enable the UK and the rest of Europe to stand united in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine and elsewhere across the globe. For the first time since Britain's exit from the EU in 2020, it formalises UK-EU co-operation on defence to ensure Europe's safety and security.

The partnership will allow the UK military to benefit from the EU's €150 billion Security Action for Europe (SAFE) defence fund, which will support and introduce thousands of brand new British jobs for British people and improve economic growth, while also encouraging co-operation on safe-guarding our continent.

The agreement also commits the UK and EU to work together on issues relating to cyber crime and threats, hybrid threats, counter-terrorism, space security, disruptive technologies, infrastructure resilience, foreign interference and misinformation, illegal immigration, the climate-security nexus, economic security and global health. It also introduces avenues for the two unions to collaborate in international forums, such as the United Nations and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

British police and security services will also regain access to valuable Europol policing, terrorism and crime data, which the UK lost after leaving the EU. The Home Office will regain access to data on DNA, criminal records, fingerprints, vehicle registrations and stolen goods. A future agreement on sharing facial identification imagery is also in the works.

Easier holidays, imports, exports and access to Europe for Brits

Another win for Britain comes in the form of easier holidays, imports and exports to Britain, with easier access to Europe for Brits. A big feature of the deal is a commitment to make it easier for British holidaymakers to access the EU, with particular focus placed on plans to allow UK citizens to use EU e-gates when travelling through airports, a restriction which has been a huge issue for British holidaymakers since the UK's departure from the EU in 2020.

Economically, both the UK and the EU have agreed to remove EU health regulations on farming exports from the UK, including fresh meat, dairy products, vegetables, leather, timber and wool. This is a huge victory for British business owners, as these regulations were the main cause of many small-time wool sellers and cheese and sausage makers across the UK going under after 2020.

The deal also brings a big win for Northern Ireland, with reduced checks for fresh food imports and exports between Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Irish cheese and beef now once again allowed to export to the UK without checks. The issue of checks has dominated the politics of Northern Ireland since Brexit, with the unionist community bemoaning checks which separate Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.

Another big win in the deal comes in the form of a fisheries agreement with the EU, which will remain in effect until 2038. In a big boost for British fishers, the deal removes all checks for fish exports to the EU, eliminating a huge cost caused by Brexit. Furthermore, shellfish, including crabs, mussels, shrimps and other such products, caught in British waters will now be allowed to be sold to the EU. This is expected to give a big boost to the British fishing industry, as 70% of British fish exports are sold to the EU.

Despite these provisions, the UK will not rejoin the EU common market or customs union, with Brexit customs declarations remaining in force. The deal also does not include an agreement on medical products, nor does it include a much sought after agreement on easing the visa process for touring musicians and performers from the UK.

Nonetheless, the deal marks the biggest breakthrough in UK-EU relations since the UK left the EU in 2020. It heralds a brand new era of close co-operation and friendship between the two unions and paves the way for future deals on areas like these and a wide range of other areas, which will only serve to benefit and improve the lives of British youth.

Thanks to this deal, we can all look forward to better standards of living and greater opportunities! For we now stand united, rather than divided.