Fishing rights will not derail EU-UK security pact, says European Council president | European Union

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.

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.

Costa said the EU wanted the “closest relation as possible” with the UK. Asked whether fishing rights would get in the way of a security pact, he said: “No, these are different things. European defence and fisheries cannot be put on the same level. We should have common sense of what we are talking about.”

He was speaking to reporters three days after Starmer outlined his ideas for an EU-UK security pact at a dinner with EU leaders on Monday, the first time a British prime minister had attended a European Council since Brexit.

Costa said that had been “a very important moment” where “everybody expressed the will that we need to strengthen our cooperation on security and defence”.

Along with the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, Costa will travel to the UK for an EU-UK summit on 19 May. The meeting is expected to yield an agreement to open negotiations in a range of areas, although precise outcomes remain uncertain.

For the EU, a main concern is the post-Brexit fisheries agreement that expires in June 2026. Member states want to maintain the status quo, but the prime minister will face pressure to secure bigger quotas for British fishing fleets. According to diplomatic sources, a large majority of member states favour “a package approach”, linking all topics of the EU-UK reset, including security, fishing rights and a youth mobility deal.

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 needs to find €500bn (£418bn) for extra defence investments over the next decade, the commission has said.

Asked about common debt to raise defence funds, Costa said he could not exclude any solution. The summit was “not the moment to draw red lines” but “a brainstorming” and “the moment to open green lanes to create a space to debate”, he said.