Dutch travellers, students and exporters to gain from EU-UK deal

The Netherlands will benefit from Britain’s new agreement with the EU in various ways, ranging from easier travel with pets to cheaper fees for international students, the AD reported on Tuesday.

Dutch fishing fleets will also have 12 more years of access to British waters following the deal, which was agreed over the weekend and rubber-stamped on Monday morning. Britain formally left the European Union on January 1, 2020 following the June 2016 vote in favour of Brexit.

The new agreement also means flower firms and farm produce exporters will not have to go through lengthy and expensive procedures to access the British market, the paper said, as Britain aligns with EU food standards. Long waits at borders for paper checks will also disappear.

Travellers with dogs will once again be able to take their pets to Britain without a passport listing their vaccination status, and Europeans will again be able to use electronic passport gates at British airports, although it will be months before those moves become a reality.

The Dutch energy market will also benefit indirectly, the AD said, because deals on energy trading will reduce the cost of electricity in the Netherlands and boost investment in North Sea wind farms.

The Erasmus student exchange programme will also be opened up to British students again, although those talks are still ongoing, the paper said. In the meantime, EU youngsters will be able to get a visa under the Youth Experience Scheme to work or study in Britain – although that deal also still needs finalising.

Britain has also agreed to contribute to the EU rearmament fund and to open its intelligence agencies to cooperation with EU equivalents, including access to EU facial recognition data.

British prime minister Keith Starmer told parliament on Tuesday that the deals would “release” the country from the “arguments of the past” and showed Britain is “back on the world stage”.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen described the deal as “a historic moment … opening a new chapter in our unique relationship”.