Fishing rights will not derail EU-UK security pact, says European Council president With member states keen to link quotas to any deal, António Costa says defence and fisheries ‘are different things’.
The comments from António Costa, who took over as the European Council president in December, is a boost for Keir Starmer, amid frustration among UK officials over EU insistence on linking a security deal to other demands, notably fishing rights.
Striking a more emollient tone, Costa said: “What is important now is to take note of the wish of the United Kingdom to reset their relations with the European Union and our wish to have the closest relation as possible with the United Kingdom, namely on security and defence.” He added that it was important to implement previous agreements, overcome problems, and “prevent new problems”.
Senior EU diplomats view UK relations as “the easy bit” of Monday’s summit, which included talks on how to deal with a US president who has voiced open hostility to the EU, as well as a debate about funding European defence projects by incurring common debt.
The EU will not let the question of fishing rights derail a pact with the UK on security and defence, the president of the European Council has said.
