The European Union reshuffled key ministerial meetings to enable its top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, to attend a summit in London aimed at resetting relations with the UK, according to Euractiv.
The EU foreign ministers’ meeting, originally scheduled for 19 May, will now take place in Brussels on 20 May—the same day as a gathering of defence ministers—to accommodate Kallas’ participation in the high-profile UK-EU event.
The London summit, set for 19 May, is expected to unveil a series of agreements, with a security and defence pact between the EU and UK anticipated as the centrepiece. Kallas, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, is likely to sign the pact, mirroring similar accords her predecessor Josep Borrell finalised with South Korea and Japan.
The summit was initially envisioned as a meeting between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. However, Kallas’ inclusion signals the EU’s intent to elevate the event into a broader diplomatic reset, aligning with Starmer’s pledge to foster closer ties since taking office in 2024.
While the UK government has yet to confirm whether Foreign Secretary David Lammy will attend, the summit faces underlying tensions. France has reportedly linked progress on the security pact to resolving disputes over post-Brexit fishing rights and youth mobility schemes, a stance Kallas openly criticised as counterproductive given urgent security threats.
The push for closer defence ties comes as both sides seek to stabilise support for Ukraine. The proposed pact aligns with the UK’s call for collaboration on military mobility, joint missions, and defence industrial partnerships.
The rescheduled ministerial meetings and summit highlight the EU’s adaptive diplomacy under Kallas, who has prioritised pragmatic cooperation over bureaucratic inertia. Her attendance in London also underscores the bloc’s recognition of the UK as a “key partner” in an era of geopolitical fragmentation.
