UK’s Starmer touts post-Brexit EU reset, but practical steps might take time

4 months ago 19

Britain’s new Labour-led government on Thursday (18 Thursday) touted a post-Brexit ‘reset’ with the EU, and closer cooperation in Europe to advance support for Ukraine and tackle illegal migration.

Hosted in the picturesque Blenheim Palace near Oxford in southern England, Prime Minister Keir Starmer used the UK-hosted European Political Community (EPC) summit as a massive “speed dating” opportunity with European leaders, British officials said on the sidelines.

Two weeks in office, Starmer said he wants to “fire the starting gun” on resetting the UK’s troubled relationship with Europe, with an initial focus on building links concerning security issues and fighting against illicit migration.

“Under my leadership, Britain will be a friend and a partner, ready to work with you, not part of the European Union, but very much part of Europe,” said Starmer in his remarks at the opening session of the summit.

“We want to work with all of you to reset relationships, rediscover our common interest and renew the bonds of trust and friendship that brighten the fabric of European Life,” the Labour leader told his counterparts.

On the sidelines of Thursday’s gathering, Starmer engaged in a series of bilateral meetings, including French President Emmanuel Macron, whom he will host for dinner, as he attempts to sound out what a new relationship with the EU could look like.

Deeper cooperation

Both sides are also expected to discuss prospects for a bilateral UK-EU summit early next year, as well as an EU-UK security partnership, according to European and UK officials.

“It’d be good if this is possible in the future, to have a bilateral summit so that we can put in place a clear framework for strategic cooperation between the United Kingdom and the EU,” European Council President Charles Michel told a group of reporters, including Euractiv.

Tangible results on paper, however, might not come as quickly.

“It would be wise not to go too quickly publicly into the details of what should be discussed or assessed,” said Michel.

The organisation of the bilateral summit would be the task for the EU’s next institutional team, he added.

The same would apply to an EU-UK security pact, a senior EU official said earlier this week, which they said would take more time to draw up but could materialise by the end of the year.

Asked whether he would be worried about British “cherry-picking” when it comes to carving out any bilateral ties, Michel said “if there are attempts, of course, it is legitimate to defend some interests.

But in the end, what is important is common sense and political courage so that we can make the right choices for the benefit of our citizens,” said Michel.

London would want to amend a veterinary agreement to ease border checks on agricultural foods, as well as an improved trading deal in the near future. The EU, meanwhile, would like to find common ground on youth mobility as well as citizens’ rights.

Starmer’s government has ruled out rejoining the EU’s single market or customs union, along with an agreement on the freedom of movement.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, however, admitted on Thursday, that London was not even close to renegotiating deals with the EU.

“Of course, we’re entering into discussions but we’re nowhere near a negotiation on the trade agreement — the paper-thin trade agreement that Boris Johnson struck — the veterinary deal that we have said that we want to get, the mutual qualifications that we want to work on, and the UK-EU security pact that we are proposing to Europe that will enable us to discuss a whole range of issues across the European family,” said Lammy on BBC Breakfast.

“We are not at that stage two weeks into office,” he added.

Remaining in ECHR

With migration being a key theme in the talks at Blenheim Palace, Starmer said problems related to it “cannot be solved without Europe.”

“We started that work here today. We are increasing the UK presence at Europol in the Hague to play our full part in the European migrant smuggling centre,” Starmer told reporters after the summit.

“We have agreed on new cooperation arrangements with partners like Slovenia and Slovakia to disrupt organised crime, and with our new Border Security Command, we are going to work with our European partners to share intelligence and data expertise to put the gangs out of business,” he said.

Starmer explicitly distanced himself from the previous Conservative government of former prime minister Rishi Sunak, who had threatened to withdraw from an international treaty on human rights, offering other European leaders a clean slate.

On the latter, the new UK government scrapped the controversial Rwanda scheme in which the UK had paid the East African country hundreds of millions of pounds, without any migrants being forcibly sent there.

“We are here to serve our country in the national interest in pursuit of solutions that will deliver results. And more than that, we will approach this issue with humanity, and with a profound respect for international law,” Starmer told his European counterparts.

“That’s why we scrapped the unworkable Rwanda scheme on day one. And it’s why we will never withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights,” he said.

[Edited by Rajnish Singh]