Andy Burnham’s EU ‘Surrender’ Deal Is Reportedly Done

Andy Burnham has agreed a draft agreement with the EU that would see Britain follow Brussels’ food regulations and introduce a form of free movement for younger people, according to reports.

Ahead of the upcoming UK-EU summit, member states are said to be considering a 200-page draft sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement.

The BBC reports that draft agreements covering emissions and trading, together with a proposed “youth experience scheme”, are also being circulated. A 15-page joint statement for EU leaders is reportedly included in the package.

The proposals are expected to form the basis of the Prime Minister’s Brexit “reset”, which he hopes to complete at the Brussels summit on November 20.

The SPS agreement is expected to be the centrepiece. Under its terms, the UK would align with EU standards governing food safety, as well as animal and plant health.

A separate “youth experience scheme” would allow EU citizens aged under 30 to live, work and study in the UK.

British citizens would receive equivalent rights in EU countries.

The Prime Minister may also agree to spend up to £450million annually to enable EU students to access reduced tuition fees at British universities.

Andy Burnham, pictured playing cricket in Antigua, has agreed a draft deal with the EU to follow Brussels’ rules on food and allow ‘free movement’ for younger citizens, it has emerged

The agreements are set to form part of the Prime Minister’s Brexit ‘reset’, which he is hoping to finalise with European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen on November 20

Since Brexit, EU students studying in Britain have generally faced international tuition fees ranging from £11,400 to £38,000 a year for undergraduate courses.

That compares with the domestic fee rate of £9,790 a year paid by British students.

Brussels is seeking an arrangement that would allow EU students to pay the same tuition fees as their British counterparts.

Mr Burnham has claimed that the agreements he expects to sign this month could deliver the equivalent of more than £10billion a year to the UK economy by 2040.

However, angry Brexiteers have criticised the prospect of Britain becoming a “rule-taker”, warning that the Government could give up freedoms secured by leaving the EU.

Speaking at a rally in central London this morning, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: “The reason why we left the EU was so we could make our own rules.

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“But if what the Government is signing up to is just following EU rules, then what was the point of leaving?

“They are too scared to actually use the Brexit freedoms that we have.

“The free trade agreement that we have with the EU, like many others, is one that needs constant negotiating.

“So I want to see Labour negotiating and improving on deals with all countries, that’s what you do when you have your own trade policy.”

Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice said: “One of the key benefits of Brexit was that Britain no longer had to adhere to ridiculous EU rules, standards and regulations.

“Returning to any form of alignment with Europe would crush Britain’s competitiveness and force us to surrender sovereignty over trade policy, putting trade deals worth hundreds of billions of pounds at risk.”

Ahead of the summit, Mr Burnham has told MPs that he is also “open to a discussion about our relationship with the EU in the longer term”.

Those comments prompted speculation that the UK could eventually seek to rejoin the EU or restore freedom of movement for all citizens by returning to the bloc’s single market.

Although the Prime Minister recently told a newspaper that he wanted an “honest discussion” about the possibility of restoring free movement, he has appeared to retreat from that position following opposition from some Labour MPs.

In an interview with ITV broadcast today, Mr Burnham said: “I have not proposed freedom of movement coming back.

“I do believe that we should have an honest discussion with people about how immigration has changed since the Brexit vote because the shorter term migration of people coming from Europe and then going back has been replaced with long term settlement in bigger numbers, and that was the Boriswave.”

In a further interview with The Economist, Mr Burnham also appeared to respond to Mrs Badenoch’s criticism of his decision to reopen arguments about Brexit.

He said: “I think it’s interesting because I sense… that there is an appetite to discuss it.

“And those who are making the argument over ‘oh my goodness, don’t open up this psychodrama’ are misreading the public mood in my view.”

Mr Burnham said the Treasury had revised its estimates of the possible economic growth available if the Brexit “reset” agreements are secured later this month.

“A deal could add up to 0.4 per cent to GDP,” he said. “Now, that is a number that you cannot ignore.”