‘Pragmatic approach could reap ambitious UK-EU deal’

‘Pragmatic approach could reap ambitious UK-EU deal’

LONDON
‘Pragmatic approach could reap ambitious UK-EU deal’

A "pragmatic" approach to talks on food standards, youth mobility and European courts could yield an "ambitious" post-Brexit deal between the EU and U.K., Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in an interview published on May 10 by The Guardian newspaper.

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London and Brussels are hopeful of signing a deal at the first U.K.-EU summit since Brexit, which will take place in the British capital on May 19.

Despite the potential for domestic criticism, Starmer suggested to the paper that the U.K. was prepared to align with the EU on food standards as part of the deal.

"I think that British people are proud of the high standards that we have, and we want to maintain those standards," he said, adding the government would take a "serious, pragmatic" approach to talks.

Significantly, he accepted that the European Court of Justice would be involved in resolving disputes, pointing out that it already has a role as part of the existing agreement that deals with Northern Ireland.

Defense Secretary John Healey told the BBC on May 9 that London was willing to pay for U.K. companies to gain access to lucrative EU defence spending programs.

One of the most controversial elements of a new deal is a potential youth mobility scheme, which would remove restrictions on young people moving between the UK and EU.

Minister for EU relations Nick Thomas-Symonds said last week the government was exploring the scheme, and Starmer, when asked about the subject, told The Guardian that "we're pragmatists, and that's the approach that we bring to these negotiations."

Immigration was a key reason behind the 2016 vote to leave the European Union and the government has vowed there will be no return to free of movement of people.