So far, few details have been ironed out, from the agenda to the venue or the cast list, but the outlines are beginning to take shape for what experts say will be a crucial moment for the reset.
One EU source suggested foreign policy cooperation was “low hanging fruit” that would be ripe for plucking at the summit and could “pave the way” for the kind of wider security and defence deal the Prime Minister seeks. Both sides have already agreed working groups on Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific, the Western Balkans and hybrid threats.
They also acknowledged foreign policy and security was the area in which there is the most goodwill and predicted that the summit could see the announcement of some sub-agreements to the wider security pact.
But away from this, the gathering, which could take place in London or Brussels or even another European country, and is likely to feature several ministers and their officials talking about different issues, will be closely watched for how the two sides deal with some of the thorniest issues.
But much of this may depend on whether Starmer and his team are willing to discuss the EU’s own asks, which leaked documents revealed earlier in December are more hardline than previously anticipated.
In December, The i Paper reported that the EU may hold back from raising its call for a youth mobility scheme at the opening summit, in recognition of the political sensitivities around immigration in the UK at the moment.
But German ambassador Miguel Berger has signalled his country will be pushing for youth mobility, and for the question of whether the UK will rejoin the Erasmus student exchange programme to be on the agenda.
“The agenda will be designed in a way to make the summit a success so it might make more sense to focus on the foreign policy side,” an EU source said.
The exact shape of a UK offer is likely going to have to wait until the Government hires its new EU negotiator, with a job advert closing earlier in December.
However, some in Whitehall suggest the role, which carries the title of second permanent secretary, might be too junior for Robbins, Pierce and Romeo.
“Although we know some of the interests of both sides, how these become a package of negotiations is unknown and needs to be resolved quickly as it will then take some time to negotiate details.
Henig agreed that the “quick win” was likely to be on foreign and security policy, and while youth mobility may not be “directly discussed” then “it will be part of the packages”.
He went on: “There are a couple of issues to particularly watch out for – Gibraltar where talks seem to have [become] stuck and badly need some resolution.
“And energy, where EU carbon border charges will start to hit UK exports from January 2026.”
UK demands versus the EU’s own asks
Veterinary agreement: Labour’s manifesto makes this the centrepiece of its demands on trade, with a deal mooted to reduce border checks on food trade and bring down prices for consumers in the UK.
EU response: In the leaked European Council paper: the document formalises warnings that the UK will have to follow EU rules and submit to European Court of Justice (ECJ) oversight if Starmer wants a deal.
But it goes further than some had been expecting, making clear that it will not recognise “equivalent” domestic laws to govern the deal, stating that the UK must adopt regulations made in Brussels for it to work, and demanding Britain pays the EU for oversight of the deal. This would risk angering Leave backers, and causing a backlash from the Tories and Reform.
UK-EU security pact: As well as closer co-operation on defence and foreign policy, UK ministers have set out calls for the mooted deal to cover a wide range of areas including energy, climate, and irregular migration.
EU response: Similar demands on so-called “dynamic alignment” with EU rules and payments to Brussels are set out if the UK wants to link its carbon trading scheme with the bloc.
On security, it is revealed that the Government has been pushing for a non-legally binding Security and Defence Partnership, but warns that a wider pact of the kind pushed by Starmer must not give the UK a back door to the European single market, despite Rachel Reeves’ push for British defence firms to be involved in the bloc’s weapons-buying plans.
On the Channel crisis, the document suggests the EU is open to more data-sharing, if the UK is willing to give up more of its own information and pays more towards the European Migrant Smuggling Centre, but rules out a returns agreement to send small boat migrants back to the continent.
Mobility: The UK Government wants the EU to agree to the mutual recognition of professional qualifications to allow British-qualified doctors, lawyers, architects, accountants and others to work more easily in the bloc and vice versa. Labour has also promised to help touring artists work on the continent with less red tape.
EU response: The EU has renamed its much-mooted youth mobility proposal a “youth experience scheme”, but makes clear there is “strong support” among EU member states for a deal to create “new mobility opportunities for young persons between 18 and 30 years for a limited period of time” and to address “key impediments of student mobility”.
In recognition of the pressure Starmer is facing on migration, the document however does not call for an early deal or make this a condition of other agreements, reflecting The i Paper’s reporting that the EU recognises the immediate political sensitivities on the issue in the UK.
Starmer and other ministers have repeatedly said the UK has “no plans” for a youth mobility deal, without ruling it out.
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