British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, following talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to forge closer ties with the EU, has announced the first ever UK-EU bilateral summit to be held next year.
During his first visit to Brussels since winning the UK election in July, Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the summits would be held on a regular basis to monitor the development of relations.
The move signals a warming of relations between Britain and the EU as the Starmer administration seeks to repair the damage done by years of hostility after Brexit. Starmer told a news conference after the meeting:
“We are putting our relationship with Europe on a more solid, stable footing. Of course, there will be issues that are difficult to resolve and on areas in which we will stand firm: There will be no return to freedom of movement, the customs union or the single market. But we will find constructive ways to work together.”
Wednesday’s meeting marks the UK’s first significant step in resetting relations with the EU, with formal talks expected to begin in December or January.
UK and EU diplomats see 2025 as a crucial deadline for these pacts, and warn that the momentum from the reset under a new UK administration could be lost after that.
Von der Leyen said the “coherence between the UK and the EU on global issues” provides a good basis for bilateral relations, emphasising that there is broad agreement between them on European security and climate change. The UK and the EU plan to focus their co-operation on areas such as the economy, energy, migration and security.
Mending of UK-EU relations
The mending of relations between London and Brussels began under Labour’s predecessor Starmer, Conservative Rishi Sunak. In particular, he and the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen resolved the contentious issue of the trade status of Northern Ireland, because of which they sued each other after the kingdom’s withdrawal from the union.
After the NATO summit in Washington on July 9-11, Starmer said that “Britain belongs on the world stage” and that he was “determined to reset our relationship with Europe.”
