Burnham to unveil multibillion-pound EU trade deals at Brussels summit

The three deals cover an agricultural agreement the government believes will be worth more than £5bn to the UK economy by 2040, access to the EU emissions trading scheme, and a youth experience scheme that would issue visas to people under 30 to live, work and travel in each other's territories. Burnham is expected to announce them alongside Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, and António Costa, president of the European Council. Parts of the agreement will not be in place until 2028, but those close to the talks insist the process will not be derailed by disagreements over European industrial policy or UK university fees.

The package forms one half of Burnham's attempts to reset the British conversation over Europe. His advisers believe it will strengthen his efforts to forge much closer ties with the bloc, and potentially rejoin it. The prime minister is also planning a major announcement setting out his vision for how the UK could interact with the union in future. Downing Street has said this would take place around the time of the summit, though it has not been decided whether it will come before, during or after.

Burnham said on Tuesday that the agreement would boost the UK economy by £17bn, an increase of 0.4%. He told the Economist: "A deal could add up to 0.4% to GDP. Now that is a number that you cannot ignore." He told ITV: "Public opinion has changed nationally. But I want to be really clear on this issue. I will not run ahead of public opinion. The public need to be the boss when it comes to whatever happens with Brexit."

The emissions element, under which the UK will pay the EU billions of pounds to avoid a cross-border carbon tax coming into force next January, faces criticism from those who argue Britain is signing up to the same rules it was seeking to avoid when it left the bloc. Under a separate agreement the UK will join the EU emissions trading scheme.

On agriculture, UK companies and travellers would no longer need a certificate to transport live animals, including pets, into Europe, with a pet passport replacing paperwork on each trip. UK producers would be allowed to keep selling some products banned under EU law, such as certain pesticides, for a transition period, and trade in live molluscs and Scottish salmon would be freed up. Under the youth scheme, each European member state should get its own quota, and the UK is negotiating an emergency brake-style mechanism so that if a member state refuses to issue its quota, Britain will restrict the number of its nationals looking to travel to the UK.

Officials have also begun talks on a separate joint statement on future cooperation, including industrial policy and tuition fees. A draft prepared by the EU and not yet agreed by the UK would seek to conclude an agreement on charging European students lower fees within six months, and describes the two sides as "trusted partners", language the UK believes will allow it to take part in the Made in Europe scheme. European countries are pushing Britain to sign up to higher tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, which UK ministers and businesses are resisting. The draft also says the UK is likely to pay a contribution to the EU's cohesion budget, which has not been signed off by London and is understood to be more likely as part of a future agreement, and the EU has raised concerns about UK plans for an accelerated programme to deport foreign national offenders to the EU.