It has been announced that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will host European Union leaders at a meeting in May aimed at “resetting” the relationship between London and Brussels.
The Labour Party leader, who campaigned against Britain leaving the EU in 2016 and urged in 2019 for a second referendum to be held, was in Brussels on February 3 to discuss defence issues when the summit was announced.
According to officials on both sides, the UK-based summit will be held on May 19 and will cover a range of issues regarding the closer integration of Britain with the EU.
“We are ready to discuss deeper cooperation, notably in security and defence,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in response.
“And we will discuss the structure and format of such a deeper cooperation and other topics at our joint defence summit in the UK Summit in May.”
European Council President António Costa said the talks would be aimed at building “the closest relationship … possible” between Brussels and London.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk echoed the sentiment, taking credit for inviting Starmer for the February meeting before saying that now was the moment for the UK and EU “to get as close as possible again”.
Tusk had previously expressed support for the UK’s so-called “Breturn” to the bloc.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has told British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that he “dreams that Brexit will be replaced by ‘Breturn’”. https://t.co/tW14Sr3Rs2
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) January 20, 2025
Speaking after the February summit, Starmer insisted the UK needed to “lead” on the issue of defence in Europe and that he wanted “an ambitious UK-EU security partnership to bolster NATO”.
The PM has stressed that he also wanted a closer relationship with the US.
“Both of these relations are very important to us,” he previously remarked.
“We are not choosing between them, but that’s historically been the position of the UK for many, many decades.”
The issue of US President Donald Trump loomed large during the Brussels meeting, with EU leaders said to be fearful that he risked derailing the bloc with tariffs.
Von der Leyen has insisted the EU had things under control, recently telling reporters that Europeans were ready to put up a united front when dealing with Washington.
“There are clearly new challenges and growing uncertainties, so the European Union is prepared for a robust but constructive dialogue with the United States,” she said.
“But we also recognise potential challenges in the relationship with the United States and we are ready for that.
“When targeted, unfairly or arbitrarily, the European Union will respond firmly,” she added.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has urged the European Union to stay “united” and respond in a “clear and firm” way to US President Donald Trump’s warning of tariffs. https://t.co/nYuBJnee3k
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) February 4, 2025
