British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will meet the European Commission and the French president on the sidelines of the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Albania as Brexit restart talks heat up, The Independent reports.
Sir Keir Starmer has held urgent talks with Ursula von der Leyen and Emmanuel Macron in a last-ditch bid to avert a crisis facing his Brexit restart deal.
The prime minister was due to speak to the European Commission and the French president separately on the sidelines of the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Albania amid concerns that a deal to secure closer ties with the EU could be scuttled.
Key differences between the UK and the EU emerged just days before the restart deal was to be presented at a summit in London on Monday.
Ahead of Friday's discussions, Sir Starmer stressed that Monday's talks were a "major opportunity" for the UK, as Chancellor Rachel Reeves said any deal would not be a "one-off" but a "step towards" closer partnership with Europe in further areas.
The prime minister told reporters on the sidelines of the European Union summit in Tirana: “In the last two weeks you have seen the UK do a trade deal with India, which is really important for our country and our national interest, a trade deal with the US, again really important for our country and our national interest.“
“I am optimistic about Monday and I think this is a significant moment for our country, which will be measured in the benefits for working people and their living standards.“
But it is understood that EU member states are pushing for EU students to be able to pay lower tuition fees at UK universities, which could cost the UK an estimated £1 billion.
Macron is also leading the campaign to demand that EU fishermen be able to fish in British waters as part of a deal to allow the removal of trade barriers.
In addition, there has been criticism of the lack of ambition in the proposed Youth Mobility Scheme for 18 to 30-year-olds, with claims that the UK's cap on the number of people who can come here is too low for the preferences of EU member states.
The Youth Mobility Scheme was reported by The Independent on Wednesday as a key part of Sir Keir's reshuffle plans, with a senior government source saying the strategy, "driven" by the Prime Minister, would anger "both extremes" of the UK's economy. in the Brexit debate, but “most will see it as a good deal“.
In an interview on Friday, the Chancellor insisted that the government would stick to its “red lines“, but suggested that an agreement on Monday could herald deeper cooperation with the EU.
“We think that because of the trust that we have built, we can get “a better deal. The European Union has understood those red lines from the start,“ Ms Reeves told The Guardian.
“I am ambitious about our future. This is not a one-off event. We will achieve things, some concrete results on Monday, but there will also be a step in the direction of where we want to go further between our countries.
“And I see this as a journey, not that what happens on Monday is the end; there will be future areas where we can do more.“
After Tory leader Kemmy Badenoch raised concerns about the nature of the negotiations, claiming that “every time Labour negotiates, Britain loses“, a UK government spokesman insisted Sir Keir would “negotiate in the national interest“.
She said: “No final agreement has been reached. We do not provide ongoing comment on our discussions with the EU; they are ongoing and cover a wide range of issues.
“We have made it clear that we will always act in the national interest to secure the best outcome for the UK.“
The last-minute row in the negotiations is reminiscent of the recent setbacks in attempts to reach a withdrawal agreement after the 2016 EU referendum before the UK finally leaves in 2020.
But it threatens to dash Sir Keir's hopes of a “superb deal”, which senior government sources have told The Independent is close to being signed.