UK-EU summit in Brussels on 20 November: what is on the table

Prime Minister Andy Burnham will meet European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels on 20 November 2026 for the second UK-EU summit, according to GOV.UK. The UK EU summit in Brussels is expected to cover food and drink, emissions trading, youth mobility and cooperation on illegal migration. The government says it wants to cut costs and red tape for farmers and businesses.

Mr Burnham set out his aims to MPs on Monday 12 October. He said: “Sticking with the status quo is not good enough for Britain.” The first summit, in London on 19 May 2025, agreed a new strategic partnership, and leaders in Brussels will review progress and agree practical next steps.

What the UK-EU trade negotiations could change for citizens

The food and drink deal would cut checks under sanitary and phytosanitary rules, the safety rules for importing and exporting food, according to the i Paper. Mr Burnham told MPs that “entire truckloads of plants or fresh produce can be destroyed because of a single missing stamp or a minor paperwork delay”. He said Scottish salmon faces a 100% rate of document checks at the border, costing around £100m in lost exports, and argued a deal would “ease the pressure on prices in the supermarket”.

A second deal would link the UK and EU emissions trading systems. Mr Burnham said this could “lower energy costs for households and businesses alike” and cut wholesale energy costs by 20% in Northern Ireland. The i Paper reported it would also shield Britain from EU carbon taxes. Overall, he said the agreements would add the equivalent of over £10bn a year to the economy by 2040. That is the prime minister’s estimate, and the reports we have seen do not explain how it was calculated.

Youth mobility: what is still being negotiated

The youth scheme would let EU and British citizens under 30 live, work or study in each other’s countries for up to three years, according to the Guardian. The two sides disagree on overall numbers and on the tuition fees EU students would pay at British universities. The UK is reported to want to cap arrivals at 45,000 a year, although that figure has not been confirmed, and the i Paper said details are still being negotiated.

The fee question is where the money is. The i Paper said the EU has offered a compromise fee between the full international rate of £38,000 a year and the £10,000 UK students pay, which it said could still cost universities around £280m a year. The sources do not say where any compromise would sit, so the table below uses a halfway figure purely as an illustration. It is not a reported proposal.

At that halfway figure, an EU student would pay £14,000 a year more than a UK student, or £42,000 more over a three-year course. They would still pay £14,000 a year less than the full international rate.

What happens next and what stays off the table

Negotiations are likely to continue until shortly before the summit on 20 November, according to the i Paper. One EU diplomat told the Guardian that agreeing the food, emissions and youth mobility deals was a test of UK good faith. Another issue is the EU’s “Made in Europe” plans, which Mr Burnham said pose “a risk to UK manufacturing”. EU sources told the Guardian no agreement is possible at the summit, because the bloc has not settled its own position. EU lawmakers hope to agree a position on the Industrial Accelerator Act in December, and the i Paper said its scope will only be known next year.

After the summit, Mr Burnham wants “a serious dialogue about the different options for our relationship in the long term”. He said Labour’s manifesto commitments not to return to the single market, the customs union or freedom of movement stay until the next election, and that free movement is “not on the table”. The Guardian reported that he did not rule it out afterwards.

Reaction is split. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused him of “unpicking” the deal the UK signed with the EU and of revealing his negotiating hand. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey welcomed what he described as Mr Burnham’s recognition of the damage done by Brexit and urged him to go further.