Keir Starmer to carry talks with EU on protection cooperation

Sir Keir Starmer will settle for an invite to carry talks on protection cooperation with the EU on Thursday, within the first such assembly between a British prime minister and the bloc’s 27 leaders since Brexit.

António Costa, the brand new president of the European Council, will prolong the symbolic invitation to Starmer at a gathering in Downing Avenue, an indication of enhancing relations between the 2 events.

Costa’s assembly with Starmer comes simply 12 days after he took workplace in Brussels, an indication that the previous Portuguese prime minister needs to prioritize the bloc’s relationship with the UK.

On Thursday he’ll talk about his invitation to Starmer to attend a dinner with EU leaders on February 3 throughout a casual retreat in Belgium on safety points. “The prime minister will settle for the invitation,” a British official mentioned.

Starmer would be the first British prime minister to satisfy the 27 since Britain left the EU in 2020, though he has attended gatherings of the broader European Political Neighborhood like his Conservative predecessors Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.

Costa and Starmer can even work on dates for an EU-UK summit within the first half of 2025, which would be the focus of efforts to “reset” post-Brexit relations, together with reducing obstacles between the 2 sides.

However Brussels officers burdened that it was too early to start detailed negotiations on resetting relations. The EU has postponed the adoption of a negotiating mandate for what it now calls a “youth expertise programme”.

Costa is predicted to have a casual dialogue on political developments, notably within the Center East, an EU official mentioned.

“It must be famous that within the present geopolitical context, this would be the second to give attention to the truth that the EU and the UK have a standard place on many points, equivalent to Ukraine,” mentioned the supply.

The assembly comes amid rising concern inside the pro-European wing of Britain’s ruling Labor Celebration over the extent of ambition of the EU-UK “reset”, notably concerning considerations enhancing commerce relations and reaching an settlement to allow younger individuals aged 18 to 30. stay, work and research in one another’s nation.

Starmer is predicted to signal a brand new safety partnership settlement with the EU early within the new 12 months. However he has been notably cautious on the commerce and mobility parts of the reset, repeatedly ruling out a deal on youth mobility.

Furthermore, voters within the UK and main EU nations are extra open to strengthening ties between the EU and the UK than politicians on either side, notably in gentle of Donald’s victory Trump within the US presidential election, in line with a brand new survey.

Some 55 p.c of Britons favor a “nearer” relationship with the EU, in contrast with 10 p.c who would really like it to be extra distant, in line with a ballot revealed Thursday by the European Council on International Relations.

Main EU states additionally largely supported a rapprochement between the EU and the UK, with greater than 40 p.c of Germans, Poles, Spaniards and Italians favoring nearer ties. The French respondents had been extra hesitant, with solely 34 p.c being in favor.

The YouGov and Datapraxis ballot, based mostly on 9,278 individuals surveyed in six nations, additionally revealed a really clear choice among the many British for prioritizing relations with Brussels slightly than with Washington after Trump’s return to the White Home.

When requested whether or not the UK ought to prioritize relations with “our European neighbours” or the US, 50 per cent of respondents selected Europe and 17 per cent selected America , the remaining expressing no choice.

The EU has additionally been very circumspect in its strategy to the reset, warning member states in inner paperwork that the bloc ought to stick with the “no selecting” mantra that underpinned preliminary negotiations after 2017.

Nevertheless, the ballot carried out for the suppose tank discovered that respondents in EU nations had been extra prepared to simply accept that the UK ought to have “particular entry” to the EU single market in an effort to strengthen the strategic partnership.

ECFR director Mark Leonard mentioned the ballot confirmed divisions linked to the Brexit period had been fading, including: “Governments should now meet up with public opinion and ship an formidable reset. »