Burnham to unveil EU deals on youth visas, pets and carbon
Andy Burnham is preparing to announce three agreements with the EU at a Brussels summit on 20 November: an agrifood deal including pet passports, British access to the EU emissions trading scheme, and a visa scheme for under-30s. He says the package would add £17bn, or 0.4%, to the economy. “I will not run ahead of public opinion,” he told ITV.
Officials say the final texts are close, though the size of the youth scheme is unsettled; each member state would have its own quota, with a British “emergency brake” if any country refuses to issue its share. The agrifood deal, which the government values at more than £5bn by 2040, would free trade in goods such as live molluscs and Scottish salmon. Critics argue Britain is paying to sign up to rules it left the EU to escape. An EU draft seen by the Guardian presses Britain to match tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, which ministers resist.