Five years after Brexit, the United Kingdom and the European Union have reached a significant agreement focusing on fishing rights and defense collaboration.

British Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds announced the deal during the first major summit in London between the two sides since the U.K.’s formal departure from the 27-nation bloc in 2020, following the 2016 referendum. British Prime Minister, in a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other senior EU officials, highlighted the summit as a key step in rebuilding relations.

“Historic day,” Thomas-Symonds posted on X. “After months of negotiations, I can announce that the Labour Government has secured a new agreement with the EU.”

Starmer’s chief negotiator stated the agreement would benefit jobs, bills, borders, and more.

“Britain back on the world stage, with a Government in the service of working people,” Thomas-Symonds added, without providing further details.

Starmer has emphasized that the U.K. will not rejoin the EU’s single market and customs union, nor agree to the free movement of people between the U.K. and the EU. The prime minister is facing increasing pressure from the Reform U.K. party, which backed Brexit and opposes upending the nation.

Reform, which recently performed well in local elections, and the opposition Conservative Party have criticized the deal as a “surrender” of U.K. sovereignty to EU leadership in Brussels.

“The white flag has been waved outside Downing Street. The great EU surrender by the UK is taking place as we speak,” Reform UK’s Richard Tice told British media, describing the agreement as a betrayal of Brexit’s fishing terms.

Discussions on strengthening ties primarily addressed security and defense, along with a youth mobility plan to allow young Britons and Europeans to live and work temporarily in each other’s countries. The Associated Press reports that this remains a sensitive issue in the U.K., with some Brexiteers viewing it as a step back towards free movement. The U.K. already has youth mobility arrangements with countries like Australia and Canada.

Fishing, a symbolically important issue for the U.K. and EU member states like France, has long been a point of contention. Disputes over fishing date back to 2020. The summit is also expected to address aligning standards for agricultural product sales, potentially reducing costly checks on food products exported across the English Channel.

Thomas-Symonds told the BBC he was confident that trade could be improved for food imports and exports.

“We know we’ve had lorries waiting for 16 hours, fresh food in the back not able to be exported, because frankly it’s just going off, red tape, all the certifications that are required, we absolutely want to reduce that,” he said.

The cited an unnamed European diplomat as saying the agreement will grant European boats access to U.K. fishing waters until June 30, 2038.

The agreement coincides with the return of President , creating a greater sense of urgency for U.K.-EU cooperation, as the incoming U.S. administration adopts a new approach to European trade and security, as well as the Ukraine-Russia war. It remains uncertain how Trump, a supporter of Brexit, will react to Starmer’s new deal with the EU.

“The reset could still be blown off course by disagreements over how to consolidate existing areas of cooperation like fisheries and/or external factors, such as a negative reaction from the U.S. to the U.K. seeking closer ties with the EU,” Jannike Wachowiak, a research associate at the UK in a Changing Europe think tank, told the AP.