Keir Starmer has said he wants the UK to have a closer partnership with the European Union and work closely with them at the European Political Summit.
The Prime Minister hopes that the summit will provide a chance to reset the relationship between the UK and Europe after a tumultuous few years since Brexit was voted through.
Starmer opened the summit at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire as he also promised that the Government’s support for the European Convention on Human Rights will continue after the conservatives had previously hinted that they could pull out of the agreement.
Mr Starmer told Europe’s leaders that the UK would be a ‘friend and a partner’ and even though they are ‘not part of the European Union’ they are ‘very much part of Europe’.
Read More:
- Lammy urged to use India trip to call for release of Dumbarton man facing death
-
Starmer announces child poverty taskforce in bid to see of dissent
With his Government inheriting the challenge of small boats crossing the English Channel and Europe as a whole addressing the issue of migrants crossing the Mediterranean and land borders, Sir Keir said the leaders had to tackle people smugglers.
“It is now I think a crisis,” he said.
“As we speak, as we gather here, a criminal empire is at work in every country represented here today, profiting off human misery and desperation, prepared to send infants, babies, pregnant mothers, innocent people to their deaths.
“And last week four more souls, and actually last night another one, were lost in the waters of the English Channel – a chilling reminder of the human cost of this vile trade.”
He said the summit was an opportunity to “set a new path on illegal migration” with increased co-operation.
“We must combine our resources, share intelligence, share tactics, shut down the smuggling routes, and smash the gangs.”
The Prime Minister said the “root causes” driving people from their homes, such as conflict, climate change and extreme poverty also needed to be addressed.
On the UK’s approach under his new administration, Sir Keir said: “We will approach this issue with humanity and with a profound respect for international law.
“And 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.
The Prime Minister, flanked by Volodymyr Zelensky, said the first task of the European Political Community (EPC) is to “confirm our steadfast support for Ukraine”.
“Every day Ukraine fights affects not just the Ukrainian people, but the European people,” he said.
“A continent where our belief in freedom, democracy and the rule of law was hard won and that wants to live in peace.”
Mr Zelensky said he would “sign an intergovernmental agreement with the UK on support for the Ukrainian defence and industrial complex, discuss future defence co-operation, and expand our defence capabilities”.
“Since the first days of the full-scale invasion, the UK has been one step ahead in its determination to support Ukraine. This is the kind of resolve we need to stop Russian terror,” he said.
The summit provides an early opportunity for Sir Keir to press ahead with efforts to build closer ties with Europe, particularly the European Union’s 27 members.
He wants to strike a security pact with the EU and also seeks to address some of the trading problems under the current Brexit deal.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said: “The new Labour Government has signalled its intention to reset its relationship with the European Union and to seek more structured co-operation with the EU in the field of foreign, security and defence policies.
“We welcome the new tone of the British Government and we look forward to engaging with it. We are ready to reinforce our foreign and security policy co-operation.”
The gathering at Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Winston Churchill, is a more informal affair than many international summits.
The leaders will attend a reception hosted by the King in the palace’s Long Library, which has walls lined by more than 10,000 books,
Sir Keir will have a series of face-to-face talks with key figures including a dinner with Emmanuel Macron and a meeting with Polish counterpart Donald Tusk – who was president of the European Council at the height of the Brexit drama – as he attempts to strengthen ties with the continent.
The EPC was the brainchild of French President Mr Macron and involves 20 non-EU nations including the UK as well as the 27-strong EU bloc.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel