UK and EU Rekindle Rapprochement 5 Years after Brexit

Five years after Brexit in 2020, UK and EU got back together after the UK-EU Summit with a comprehensive deal after arduous negotiations on 19 May 2025. The deal covers a host of areas including migration, defense, agrifood, fishing, electricity,#CarbonCredits and trade.

UK PM Keir Starmer projected that the deal could generate GBP 9 billion for the UK by 2040 by boosting trade through lower tariffs. Fishing rights was a stumbling block and negotiators on both sides went into extra time into the early hours of the morning before reaching a compromise.

The EU is UK largest trading partner with a trade volume GBP 821 billion. Individually, US is the largest trading country of the UK with bilateral trade exceeding GBP 300 billion in 2024.

On the other hand, defense cooperation was a walk in the park as it is clear that a military partnership would strengthen the capacity to tackle the Russian threat. The risk was made quite clear and present with the invasion of Ukraine. On t th cntbtn.hat chapter, US President Trump has called several times for EU members of NATO to shoulder thier fair share of the financial burden of the defense of the alliance.

Both UK and EU businesses have requested for the CarbonExchanges to be linked. Thus, the two sides will work to establish a link between the EU Emission Trading System (ETS) and the Carbon Market of the UK. The EU Carbon Tax is due to come into force in 2026.

In 2024, UK imported about 14% of its electricity from the EU. The UK has power agreements with France, Belgium, Denmark and Norway. The EU will finds way to integrate further the UK into the EU powe pool.